Running News Daily

Cherono wary of long term effects coronavirus may cause

Long distance runner Lawrence Cherono is wary of the long term effects the coronavirus pandemic might have on global sports.

Speaking moments after the 124th Boston Marathon, scheduled for April 20, was postponed to September 14 due to the ongoing coronavirus outbreak, Cherono told Nation Sport that said it will be difficult for athletes to prepare adequately for 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games amid the cloud of uncertainty hanging over the Games.

Cherono, who is also the reigning Chicago Marathon champion, was due to defend his Boston title on April 20.

There are already fears that the Summer Games that are scheduled for July 24 to August 9 could also be postponed but the International Olympic Committee and the Games Local Organising Committee have affirmed that the event will continue as scheduled.

Men’s marathon, which will be the last race at the Olympics on August 8, has been moved from Tokyo to Sapporo for fear of the adverse weather in the Japanese capital.

Cherono, 31, had planned to use Boston Marathon as part of his preparations for Tokyo Olympics but with the coronavirus havoc, he will now have to halt his training until May.

“I had planned for only two marathons races this year and it’s disappointing. However, that is fate. One would rather stay healthy and look forward for the best than regret,” said Cherono, who is training in Eldoret under the Rosa Associati management.

“I really want to compete at the Olympics but we can only pray to God for everything to fall into place. We hope the virus will be contained by then,” said Cherono, adding that he will now take a break before resuming training.

Cherono has been picked alongside the reigning Olympic marathon champion Eliud Kipchoge and World marathon bronze medallist Amos Kipruto to represent Kenya at the Tokyo Games. Bedan Karoki and Titus Ekiru are the reserves.

Due to Coronavirus. Oaxaca Rock N Roll Half Marathon Suspended

Governor Alejandro Murat Hinojosa announced that the Rock'n 'Roll Half Marathon to be held on March 15 is suspended, following the Covid-19 pandemic decree.

He called on private initiative to avoid carrying out massive acts until the protocols established by the federal Ministry of Health indicate otherwise, in order to avoid further problems.

He said that his government will not carry out mass events for the same purpose, so that there are no conditions for the spread of the coronavirus.

He called on society in general to maintain preventive measures such as constant hand washing, cleaning the work area, avoiding going to crowded places, among other actions.

In the same way, he said that it is important to go to medical institutions as soon as they have symptoms of a respiratory disease, so that they can be treated promptly and this condition is ruled out.

28 of Top 30 Men at Tokyo Marathon Used Nike's Latest and Previous Platform Shoe Models

Nike's recent generations of thick-soled platform racing shoes swept the 2020 Tokyo Marathon, with 28 out of the top 30 placing men wearing them, including international entrants. Of these, 9 including new Japanese national record holder Suguru Osako (Nike) wear wearing the new Air Zoom Alphafly Next% model with a 3.95 cm thick sole complying with new regulations from World Athletics. With 10 Japanese men running under 2:08 in a single race for the first time in history, all 10 were wearing models of the platform shoes.

Despite a mix in choice of models, the shoes dominated the market in the race. One after another, thick green, black, pink, and green and orange shoes crossed the finish line in Marunouchi, Tokyo. From winner Birhanu Legese to 30th-place Shuho Dairokuno, 28 men had the Nike shoes on their feet. The other 2 were wearing Adidas and Asics. Wearing the latest model of the Nike shoes for his latest national record, Osako said, "Every race feels different afterwards. It's hard to say how much of a role the shoes played, but being able to take advantage of Nike's latest technology is a strength for us."

On Jan. 31 World Athletics established a new rule setting the maximum shoe sole thickness at 4 cm. On Feb. 5 Nike unveiled its new model with a thickness of 3.95 cm. With the shoes going on sale in Japan, the Tokyo marathon represented their Japanese debut.

Switching from the previous model to the new one for this race and finishing 27th in 2:09:41, Kenji Yamamoto (Mazda) commented, "My left foot starting hurting at 10 km, and something felt wrong. In the second half my legs felt like sticks, but I still felt like I was getting a lot of assistance. Somehow I still managed to squeeze out a sub-2:10. The rebound in these is amazing." Comparing them to the previous model he wore at last fall's MGC Olympic trials race he said, "The softness is completely different. When you step in them it feels like you're on top of a balance ball, and you get a real feeling of rebound."

There's no denying that the hard work and dedication that athletes put in on a day-to-day basis plays the biggest role in their success, but it's equally true that the last few generations of these platform shoes were in the director's seat of a race that saw an unprecedented 10 Japanese men run under 2:08.

The Prefontaine Classic has suspended ticket sales for the invitational track meet scheduled for June 6-7

The Prefontaine Classic has suspended ticket sales for the invitational track meet scheduled for June 6-7 at Hayward Field in Eugene because of uncertainty about the spread of the coronavirus.

Tickets were to go on sale Friday at the University of Oregon ticket office.

“We made the decision about 11 a.m. today,” said Pre Classic meet director Tom Jordan replying Thursday by text message. “There are so many unknowns at present we thought it best to delay the sale until the situation is clarified.”

The spread of the coronavirus has rocked the sports world, forcing cancellation of NCAA championships events, including the NCAA basketball tournaments and indoor track championships.

Professional leagues, including the National Basketball Association, Major League Baseball and Major League Soccer have suspended their seasons. The University of Oregon is moving classroom instruction online. The Pac-12 has suspended athletic competition until further notice.

The Pre Classic is part of the Diamond League, a series of world-class meets featuring Olympic level athletes.

It is scheduled to be held this year at Hayward Field, which is the final stages of a complete reconstruction.

How to Run Safely Amid Coronavirus Concerns

While the coronavirus pandemic continues to spread, causing running races—and many other large events—to be postponed and canceled, you might be wondering what you should do for your own personal health and how this could affect your training.

We tapped David Nieman, Dr.PH., health professor at Appalachian State University and director of the Human Performance Lab at the North Carolina Research Campus, and Brian Labus, Ph.D., MPH, assistant professor in the School of Public Health at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, to help answer runners’ most frequently asked questions.

Is it safe to run outside? 

Yes—in fact, it’s safer to be outside than inside when it comes to disease transmission. When people congregate together and someone sneezes or coughs, droplets get onto objects that people touch, and then people touch their face, Nieman explains. The best plan for running right now is to go out and run with a healthy buddy or small group and enjoy the outdoors.

Additionally, people might be afraid to run in the colder weather for fear of illness, but that’s not true; there is no data that you will get sick from really any respiratory pathogen when running in cold weather, Nieman says.

Should you avoid running in groups?

Your exposure to sick people in that situation should be minimal, as someone who has a fever and a cough won’t feel like going for a run, Labus says. When in a group, you could protect yourself a bit by spreading out and avoiding unnecessary hand-touching. And of course, don’t forget to wash your hands when you get back.

Can you run outside if you are quarantined?

Getting in 30 to 60 minutes of moderate to brisk activity can help your immune system keep viruses at bay. During a quarantine, Nieman suggests doing some exercise wherever you are to keep healthy—doing bodyweight exercises or running on an at-home treadmill are great ways to do this. Unless you’re sick.

“If you do have flu or coronavirus, or have fever, sick people think wrongly they can ‘exercise the virus out of the system’ or ‘sweat it out,’ that’s a myth. It’s actually the opposite,” Neiman says.

Should I avoid touching traffic buttons?

The latest data with the novel coronavirus is that it does not last very long on objects outside because of the exposure to sunlight. In general, objects outside should have little virus on them, Nieman explained. However, there could be a problem if someone coughs into his or her hand immediately before touching a traffic button, and then you touch the traffic button after them. If you must touch the traffic button, do not touch your face after. Even better? Use a glove, sleeve, or elbow. 

Can coronavirus be spread through sweat?

According to the CDC, transmission of the coronavirus happens between people who are in close contact with one another (about six feet) and through respiratory droplets, produced through a cough or sneeze—not sweat. 

Am I contagious if I have no symptoms?

This is one thing we don’t fully understand yet about coronavirus. You are probably contagious right before you begin to show symptoms, but we don’t know for what time period and we don’t know how contagious. It makes sense that you would be more contagious once you are coughing, but we don’t fully understand transmission yet, Labus says. 

Social distancing is the answer right now, Nieman says. Experts are still trying to figure out how long the virus lives on objects, and the problem is that it appears to be highly contagious, spread easily by coughing and sneezing, and can be spread by people who don’t think they’re sick. That’s why hand-washing and not touching your face are so important.

Is my immune system weaker postmarathon or after a hard workout?

As you deplete your stores of glycogen, your immune system does not function as well as it normally does. That means in the hours following a half marathon or marathon, if you have been exposed to someone who has been sick with the flu or coronavirus, your bodies defenses are down, Neiman says. Additionally, mental or physical stress—caused by running a marathon or a very hard workout—could slightly increase your chances of becoming ill, Labus explains.

“I would caution runners to avoid long, intense runs right now until we get through all this and just to kind of keep things under control,” Nieman says. “Don’t overdo it. Be worried more about health than fitness.”

However, that doesn’t mean you need to quit running or exercising altogether. There is a very strong connection between regular exercise and a strong immune system in the first place, so the long-term immune system benefits of running far outweigh any short-term concerns, Labus says.

Are gyms safe for indoor training?

While your gym of choice already sanitizes machines and locker rooms and (hopefully) your fellow gym-goers are cleaning up after themselves and washing their hands, most gyms have implemented additional cleaning. And, according to the CDC, it may be possible that a person can get COVID-19 by touching a surface that has the virus on it, like a treadmill or weights, and then touching their own mouth, nose, or possibly their eyes, but this is not thought to be the main way the virus spreads.

Gyms, like Barry’s Bootcamp, Lifetime Fitness, and WORK Training Studio, have issued statements to their clients about how each is tackling the virus—taking steps such as adding additional hand sanitizer and antibacterial wipes around the studios, and suggesting no high-fiving during workouts. And, some gyms are temporarily closing out of an abundance of caution, so be sure to check your local gym before heading there for a workout. 

“Wipe down the equipment before you use it to make sure that you have removed any viruses the previous use left behind. You should also remember to wash your hands regularly, especially after your workout,” Labus says.

If my race isn’t canceled, should I go?

You might be wondering what to do about your St. Patrick’s Day 5K, or the marathon you’ve been training for. The likelihood you would be exposed to someone sneezing or coughing is pretty low, and you’re more likely to run into that indoors than outdoors.

Plus, if a person has the flu or coronavirus, they’re going to be feeling pretty sick and not up to running. The problem becomes when you have hundreds or thousands of people jammed at a starting line.

Nieman suggests that the goal right now is to avoid crowds and gatherings of people indoors and outdoors until we know better about how the virus can spread.

If my race is canceled but there are other group run events in its place, should I go?

You might be seeing group runs or unofficial races popping up in your community in place of canceled races. But any time people come together, there is a chance for the disease to spread. If you are mindful of your interactions with others and take basic steps to protect yourself, like washing your hands, limiting direct contact with others, and not touching your face, you can reduce your risk of many different infections, Labus says. Remember that, even though everyone is focused on coronavirus, flu is still circulating widely.

How dangerous is spitting while running right now?

Spreading COVID-19 via spit is possible, according to Amy Treakle, M.D., an infectious disease specialist with The Polyclinic in Seattle. “COVID-19 is spread by respiratory droplets when a person coughs or sneezes, and transmission may occur when these droplets enter the mouths, noses, or eyes of people who are nearby. Spit contains saliva but could also contain sputum from the lungs or drainage from the posterior nasopharynx,” she says.

Sorry, snot rocketeers: Treakle says shooting mucus out of your nose isn’t any better. “Having witnessed and participated in races, I think it’s appropriate to note that this would apply to projectile nasal secretions.”

10k Ukrop’s Monument Avenue Postponed Until September 26

In accordance with the guidelines announced by Mayor Levar Stoney and the City of Richmond that recommend the postponement of large events in Richmond due to coronavirus (COVID-19), the Ukrop’s Monument Avenue 10k presented by Kroger and Virginia529 Kids Run will be moved from the original date of Saturday, March 28, to Saturday, September 26, 2020.

Sports Backers is working through details of the postponement and will continue to provide updates to share those details through email, social media, and our website, www.sportsbackers.org. 

The Mayor’s recommendation is being made following intensive discussion with public health and public safety officials and is informed by the Centers for Disease Control Interim Guidance designed for those planning large events and mass gatherings. 

“This has been a challenging week and we’ve worked hard to navigate rapid changes and prepare for all possible scenarios. Health, safety, and security are top priorities for our events and we appreciate the guidance from Mayor Stoney and our public health and safety officials,” said Meghan Keogh, event director of the Ukrop’s Monument Avenue 10k for Sports Backers.

“We’re thankful for the support and understanding of participants, volunteers, sponsors, and spectators and we look forward to the opportunity to put on a great event on September 26.” 

“At Sports Backers, our mission is to encourage active living and that can be very beneficial to the overall health of individuals and communities. Events like the 10k can certainly motivate people to stay healthy and active throughout the year,” said Jon Lugbill, Executive Director of Sports Backers.

“We recognize that the most important thing right now is to follow the guidelines of medical experts and focus community resources towards ensuring public health.”

Russian Athletics Federation was given an unprecedented fine of $10 million for breaking anti-doping rules

The decision came after discovering in November 2019 that Russian officials had been falsifying documents related to high jumper Danil Lysenko’s whereabouts when he was expected to take an out-of-competition test.

Both Lysenko and his coach have since been suspended by the AIU (Athletics Integrity Unit).

World Athletics president Sebastian Coe told The Guardian on Thursday that he hopes this sanction creates real change within the Russian system.

The Russian federation was suspended in 2015 following allegations of a widespread state-sponsored doping of athletes at the Sochi Winter Games of 2014, but in September 2018 the suspension was lifted early, prompting an outcry from numerous athletes. The Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) was given a deadline for handing over data from their Moscow Laboratory, which it failed to meet, leading to a ban handed down in December 2019, which remains under appeal.

High jumper Mariya Lasitskene and pole vaulter Anzhelika Sidorova competed as neutral athletes at the 2019 World Championships in Doha. Both won gold medals in their events.

Half of the total owed, $5 million, must be paid by July 1, 2020 or the neutral Russian athletes will have their Olympic status revoked.

World record-holder Eliud Kipchoge disappointed by coronavirus outbreak after cancellation of London Marathon

World record-holder Eliud Kipchoge on Thursday took to social media to express his disappointment over the cancellation of the 2020 London Marathon amid coronavirus outbreak.

According to the event organizers, the 40th edition of the race, which was due to take place on April 26, will now be held on October 4.

Kipchoge and Kenenisa Bekele were among the men's elite names due to take part, as was women's record-holder Brigid Kosgei.

Following the postponement, the fastest marathon runner immediately expressed his disappointment, sharing a photo of himself crossing the line of the 2019 London Marathon, with a caption:

"It is unfortunate news that the @londonmarathon has been postponed but I fully respect the decision made by the organization as safeguarding the health of the world always takes our top priority.”

He also shared a message of positivity to all the runners disappointed by the news.

"To the thousands of runners who with me, have devoted the last months of our lives towards this goal I would like to say: Be proud of the work you have put into this journey, keep smiling and seek your next goal on the horizon to continue running in a smooth and positive way. I hope to share the starting line with you again soon," he added.

The decision comes three days after the Ministry of Sports banned Kenyan athletes from travelling to any international Sports events for the next 30 days following the global outbreak of Covid-19 (coronavirus).

Already a number of other high-profile sporting events, including marathons in Paris and Boston, have been called off due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Organizers of the 35th Annual Big Sur International Marathon postponed Due to Growing Coronavirus Threat

Organizers of the 35th Annual Big Sur International Marathon, originally set for Sunday, April 26th, have announced that the race will be postponed until later this year. Over the past several weeks, the Big Sur Marathon Foundation has been monitoring updates from county, state, federal, and international public safety and health agencies regarding the global coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. With state and local efforts to control the virus expanding quickly, the Foundation’s governance board, medical director, and race officials decided that postponing the race is the best way to help ensure the safety of participants, volunteers, spectators, and residents.

Race officials are currently coordinating with local agencies, partners, and other impacted entities to secure a reschedule date for the 2020 Big Sur Marathon, Relay, 21-Miler, 11-Miler, 12K, and 5K. They aim to reschedule for late summer or early fall and plan to update participants as soon as a date is secured. The By-the-Bay 3K, which draws roughly 4,500 schoolchildren from Monterey County Schools each year, will not be rescheduled for 2020.

“Like our participants, we were disappointed to have to move the race to a later date, but we strongly feel it is the responsible thing to do,” said Doug Thurston, Race Director and Executive Director of the Big Sur Marathon Foundation. “This situation is moving so quickly locally, nationally, and world-wide and we all have to work together to try to stop the spread of this virus.”

Registered runners in the 2020 Big Sur Marathon weekend of events will be given the chance to run their race on the rescheduled date or choose from other options, the details of which are in process. Thurston said all options will be made public as soon as possible.

“We understand a postponement might not work for some of our participants and we are working hard to determine alternate options for those runners,” Thurston said. “We appreciate the patience, understanding, and concern of all those affected during this stressful time.”

The mission of the Big Sur Marathon Foundation is to “create beautiful running events that promote health and benefit [the Monterey County] community.” This year, the marathon and other race weekend distances were scheduled to receive a sold-out, 13,000-plus participant field from all 50 U.S. states and 40 countries. To hold the Big Sur Marathon next month would be in direct opposition to the organization’s mission of promoting health. The swiftly evolving nature of the COVID-19 pandemic caused race officials also to consider the event’s potential impact on local health care and public safety resources.

“When we conduct one of our races, we partner with several local health-care and public safety resources. We need to ensure that these resources are available for our community,” said Thurston.

The Big Sur International Marathon is produced by the Big Sur Marathon Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting the health of the Monterey County community. The organization carries out its mission by providing grants to local groups who volunteer at Foundation races throughout the year and other charitable programs including the year-round JUST RUN youth fitness program.

The 2020 Big Sur Marathon is the third Foundation event to be affected by situations outside the organization’s control. The Salinas Valley Half Marathon in 2016 and the Monterey Bay Half Marathon in 2018 were canceled due to poor air quality from nearby wildfires.

How to continue with your running routine if your spring marathon got cancelled

Many runners are expressing concern about their exercise routine amidst the rapidly spreading coronavirus. The virus has caused most spring marathons to cancel, countries to quarantine and the stock market to tank. But should runners also stop their routine to save their immune systems? The answer, according to several studies, is no.

If you’re an avid runner.- Competitive athletes, according to a 2014 study out of the Journal of Sports Science Medicine, report very low numbers of sick days. A study that examined 11 endurance athletes (including distance runners), found that their immune systems weren’t taxed by their routine, but rather, improved.

If you’re an avid runner who’s accustomed to working out frequently, keep doing what you’re doing. Limiting your running routine isn’t proven to strengthen your immune system. As with all things, take sensible hygiene precautions like avoiding sick teammates, and—this should go without saying—snot rocketing mid-workout.

If you’re a new runner.- If you’re new to running, avoid ramping up your training but also don’t cut it out entirely. Researchers have found that it “is a misconception to label any form of acute exercise as immunosuppressive, and, instead, exercise most likely improves immune competency across the lifespan.”

There are some studies that suggest a particularly strenuous workout can temporarily deplete the immune system, which is only to be avoided if it hasn’t been in your routine previously.

If you’re not a runner.- If you’re not a runner, chances are low that you’re looking at starting up a new routine right now. However, if you can, consider an at-home workout routine to stay moving without overly taxing your system. The Journal of Sport and Health Science suggests that with more people working from and remaining at home, there’s a risk of sedentary lifestyles contributing to worsened health conditions.

If you have a stationary bike at home, ride it. If you have a treadmill at home, use it. Even if it’s walking the stairs or lifting some light weights, do your best to keep moving.

Italy in Lockdown mode: Day 3

As we enter Day 3 of the nation being essentially “Chiuso” or closed, many things have changed, especially the social habits that make Italy, Italy.  

As of this writing, there have been more than 1,000 deaths caused by the virus and more than 15,000 cases of people who have tested positive for COViD-19 in Italy

As a response, the Prime Minister of Italy Giuseppe Conte announced on March 10 that the country will take drastic measures in the fight against the virus by virtually locking down the country. 

That morning coffee at the bar or aperitivo with friends after work doesn’t exist anymore because all eateries have been closed; church mass has been suspended because people can’t congregate in close quarters; shops except for supermarkets, pharmacies, hardware/computer stores are all closed.  

If you take your car from one place to another, or even walk on the streets, you may get pulled over by the police and asked to show a self-declaration that states you are out because you are going to work or to a medical appointment or for some other necessary movement. If you lie, you could face a fine or jail time. 

And perhaps the most dramatic of all for Italians, all professional soccer matches have all been momentarily cancelled, leaving the Italian championship title for 2020 at risk.

Supermarkets are open but in the past three days, long lines have formed outside as people are panic buying because it is not clear how long the lockdown will last. A population that has never respected lines, now respectfully wait their turn in line, wearing masks and obeying the recommended one meter of distance that should be kept from person to person.

The big question for runners this past week has been whether their daily run is considered a non-essential activity that could get them fined, as running on the roads or parks is the only alternative since all tracks and other sports venues, gyms and pools have been closed until further notice.

 NOTE: Special exception has been given to Italian athletes training for the Olympics or hoping to make the national team.

Italian runners on social media have been split over whether running during the lockdown is socially responsible or not. 

Others seem to think that it is a healthy outlet for being locked indoors most of the day with little else to do. But there hasn’t been a clear, official voice until yesterday, when several authorities explained that yes, it was okay to go running, if you go by yourself, or at the most, with another person, always respecting the one meter of distance. 

Rome is lucky to have a few very large parks – Villa Borghese, Villa Pamphili and the Caffarella – where it is easy to run in practical anonymity.  On Sunday morning and Tuesday midday when I went to the Caffarella to do my workout, it was full of people out for a run or walk, soaking up the sun of a spring-like day in Rome. But this was before the lockdown.  

On Wednesday morning, I went for an early morning run at a favorite park behind the San Paolo Basilica in my neighborhood and it was relatively empty, maybe for the time of day, maybe because people still didn’t understand what they could and couldn’t do. 

Seeing people out running, cycling, walking and just out doing their thing, responsibly, on a beautiful day, seems to be the best medicine against the increasingly negative news of this virus.

Second photo Carla getting in a run.  

The first case of the Coronavirus has come to Kenya and all races have been banned for at least 30 days

Kenya has confirmed its first Coronavirus case.

Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe on Friday said the patient is a Kenyan who travelled from US via London.

He said that although the patient, a Kenyan, is stable and eating, she will not be released from hospital until she is confirmed negative.

The woman is at Kenyatta National Hospital's Infectious Disease Unit.

The government says it has traced all contacts the patient made since her arrival.

Consequently, Kenya has suspended all travel outside the country unless necessary.

Public gatherings are also suspended, including all inter-schools events.

CS Kagwe urged Kenyans to remain calm, noting that there's no need for panic or worry provided people abide by the measures put in place.

"This is not a time to assign blame but one to join hands to ensure this pandemic does not tear through our country. This is not the time to make abnormal prices," he warned pharmacies and business people.

CS Kagwe has invoked the Public Health Act which requires Kenyans to:

1. Maintain a distance of at least one metre from persons who are coughing

2. Those coughing and have fever and difficulty in breathing should stay at home

3. All public gatherings, and events that have large gatherings

4. Suspension of interschool events but schools will remain open

5. Public transport operators will be required to regularly clean their vehicles and provide sanitizers to passengers 

6. Suspension of all visits to prisons for the next 30 days

7. Kenyans have been warned against spreading misinformation

8. Unless absolutely necessary, travelling to affected countries have been banned. 

The London Marathon has been postponed this year to Oct 4 due to the coronavirus pandemic

The London Marathon has been postponed to Oct 4 today as the coronavirus chaos escalates, sources say.

It comes after cases in the UK climbed to 798 this afternoon as the deadly bug continues to infect the nation.

Sources close to the London Marathon told The Sun the event was due to be called off this afternoon.

The expected confirmation will be a blow to athletes who have been training hard to hit the capital's streets next month.

It had already been feared the annual event, which draws in runners and spectators from all over the globe, would be affected as the outbreak worsened.

The 40th London Marathon was due to take place on April 26, with Health Secretary Matt Hancock already warning last week it could be restricted or cancelled.

Earlier today the Premier League also bowed to pressure and announced they are suspending the season for three weeks amid the coronavirus outbreak.

It comes with the football world in crisis as Uefa also announced ALL Champions League and Europa League matches scheduled for next week have been postponed.

Cities and towns across Britain appeared deserted at times today as people worked from home and avoided shops and transport links over concerns about the virus.

One day after flame was lit, Greece suspends Olympic torch relay because of coronavirus

The Greek Olympic Committee suspended the remainder of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics torch relay through the country on Friday due to concerns about the coronavirus outbreak. The decision came one day after the flame was lit before an unusually small crowd of accredited guests in Ancient Olympia, where the Games originated.

Amid growing fears about the coronavirus, the torch-lighting ceremony, which dates from 1936 and normally draws thousands to the Temple of Hera, was held without spectators lining the slopes of the tiny town for the first time since the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. Greece reported its first fatality as a result of the coronavirus Thursday.

The Greek Olympic Committee said that Friday’s leg of the relay, which featured actor Gerard Butler carrying the torch through the town of Sparta, attracted unexpectedly large crowds. The handover of the flame to the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee in Athens on March 19 is still scheduled to take place, without spectators.

Japan’s leg of the relay is scheduled to begin March 26 in Fukushima Prefecture, which was ravaged by an earthquake, tsunami and nuclear accident in 2011. After traveling through all 47 of Japan’s prefectures, the flame is due to arrive in Tokyo 121 days later for the Opening Ceremonies on July 24.

Greek actress Xanthi Georgiou used a parabolic mirror to ignite the torch on Thursday before handing it to Greek Olympic shooting champion Anna Korakaki, who became the first woman to be the first torchbearer of the torch relay. The gold medalist at the 2016 Rio Games then passed the flame to Japan’s Mizuki Noguchi, who won the gold medal in the marathon at the 2004 Athens Games.

Even as the spread of the coronavirus has led to the cancellation and postponement of sporting events across the globe, International Olympic Committee officials have been adamant that the Tokyo Games will take place as scheduled. The IOC said it intends to follow advice from the World Health Organization.

In a speech at Thursday’s ceremony, IOC President Thomas Bach thanked organizers, including the Greek Olympic Committee, for making the event possible “under difficult circumstances.”

“This demonstrates once more our commitment to the success of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020,” Bach said. “Nineteen weeks before the Opening Ceremony, we are strengthened in this commitment by the many authorities and sports organizations around the world who are taking so many significant measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus."

Boston Marathon Postponed to September 14

The Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.) has been meeting regularly with city and state officials to discuss all updates related to the coronavirus (COVID-19). Governor Charlie Baker declared a state of emergency on March 10, 2020.

In consideration of this and guided by Boston Mayor Martin Walsh along with state and municipal government leaders at all levels to undertake all possible measures to safeguard the health of the public, the B.A.A. understands the city’s decision that the Boston Marathon cannot be held on April 20, 2020.

We offer our full support to take all reasonable efforts to postpone the 124th Boston Marathon to Monday, September 14, 2020.

“On matters of public health and safety we take our guidance from the officials entrusted with protecting the public in this area,” said Tom Grilk, C.E.O. of the B.A.A. “We understand our role, along with our partners, in ensuring a safe environment for all participants, volunteers, spectators, and supporters that meets the standards set by those officials.”

The B.A.A. has been cooperating with municipal leaders across the eight cities and towns through which the marathon course runs to coordinate the September 14 date for the 124th Boston Marathon. The B.A.A. 5K, which draws a field of 10,000 participants, will also be rescheduled to a later date.“The B.A.A.’s mission of promoting health through sports, especially running, has guided our organization for more than a century. In collaboration with our many partners, we look forward to welcoming the world to Boston in September in celebration of the 124th Boston Marathon,” Grilk said.

The Carlsbad 5000 is being postponed because of the Coronavirus To September 19-20

As with all of you, we awoke to the news this morning (March 12) of Governor Gavin Newsom’s announcement that state public health officials issued a policy stating non-essential gatherings over 250 people should be postponed or canceled across the state until at least the end of March. Well friends, with over 6,000 participants from around the world, that includes our event.

So, it is with a very heavy heart that we must inform you that the 2020 Carlsbad 5000 has been postponed. If you are reading this message feeling disappointed, please know that we share those sentiments and more.  We will holding our events September 19-20.

Our team cares deeply about this event and the running community as a whole, and we are doing everything we can to ensure this race can take place when it is safe to do so. Now is the time for all of us to focus on the health and safety of our families and one another.

We are passionate runners ourselves and understand the current uncertainty and desire for immediate answers. What we can tell you this morning is that we have been working with the city on contingency plans since the beginning of this outbreak and expect to have a rescheduled date for later this year confirmed very soon.

All registrations will be valid for the new 2020 date. Participants will also have the option to switch to our Virtual Run or defer their registration to the 2021 event. All of these options will be provided at no additional cost. We will not be issuing refunds. We will email all participants with full details on these options as soon as possible.

Thank you for your continued support during these challenging circumstances.

The Boston Marathon Could Be Postponed

In an unprecedented move, the 2020 Boston Marathon may switch to the fall because of the coronavirus. Sources familiar with race planning confirmed today that there have been discussions about postponing the race.

No decision has been made about the future of the 2020 marathon, but Boston Mayor Marty Walsh has met with representatives from municipalities along the course. The Mayor's office confirmed one potential option is postponing the race to the fall. Meetings are ongoing and a sources indicated they hoped to have a decision soon.

By rescheduling the race, local officials from the towns and cities along the historic route hope to preserve as much of the event’s economic benefit as possible. An outright cancellation would likely mean a loss of hundreds of millions of dollars. The race and related events, including the marathon expo, annually inject more than $200 million into the Greater Boston economy,  according to the Greater Boston Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Each year, the Boston Marathon welcomes more than 30,000 runners and thousands of visitors from around the world. For the 2020, race, the Boston Athletic Association accepted runners from 112 countries and all 50 states. More than a million spectators annually line the course that runs from Hopkinton to Boston.

If race organizers move forward with a fall date, it would be the first time in the marathon’s 124-year history that the race wouldn’t be held on its traditional April date. This year, the race was scheduled for Monday, April 20.

Other major road races have been altered or cancelled because of the coronavirus. On March 1, the Tokyo Marathon was limited to elite participants only. The New York Half Marathon, one of the largest races in the country, was originally scheduled for this Sunday, March 15 but officials cancelled the event a couple days ago. The New Bedford Half Marathon, a traditional tune-up for Boston Marathon runners, was also scheduled for this Sunday and cancelled.

The 44th Grandma's Marathon is three months away, but its organizers are continually monitoring the new coronavirus developments to determine if and how it may affect the race weekend

For now, Grandma's weekend June 18-20 remains on schedule, said Mandi Peterson, the marathon's marketing and public relations director.

"At this point, we're moving ahead on all planning," Peterson said. "We're keeping an eye on it."

In many areas of the world, the spread of the coronavirus has forced officials to restrict travel and limit or cancel large-gathering events, such as stadium soccer matches. The NBA's Golden State Warriors announced Wednesday that the team will play home games without fans, and other events at San Francisco's Chase Center have been postponed or canceled through March 21.

Grandma's began in 1977 with 150 participants. In 2019, more than 18,000 people competed in the marathon, the Gary Bjorklund Half Marathon and William A. Irvin 5K. Participants came from 46 countries and all 50 states. Thousands more gather throughout the city to watch the races and take in other activities.

The Minnesota Department of Health has not yet recommended a ban on large gatherings or the cancellation of events, and Peterson said Grandma's Marathon officials will monitor and follow the lead of the department and other health organizations.

Grandma's Marathon officials will soon post a statement about the coronavirus situation at grandmasmarathon.com, Peterson said.

"Right now, it's not affecting Minnesota to the point that we have to change plans," she said. "We'll continue to see how it evolves."

The Vienna City Marathon 2020 will not take place until 2021

This message was sent out to friends of th Vienna City Marathon:

We've been torn apart these last few days. Until the very last moment we wanted to organize the 37th Vienna City Marathon (VCM) and we told you so. Your feedback has strengthened us. Nevertheless we noticed how the situation has changed. Europe is in an exceptional situation. In Austria and several other countries far-reaching measures have been taken to contain Covid-19.

We have put all our energy into planning this event, the realisation of which has been increasingly questioned. This is perhaps the most difficult announcement we have ever had to make in regard to the VCM. But it is what it is.

The Vienna City Marathon 2020 will not take place.This concerns all running events on Saturday, 18th April and Sunday, 19th April, the Expo Vienna Sports World in the Marx Halle as well as the VCM Carbo Loading Party in the Festsaal of the Vienna City Hall.

Also yesterday the last run of the VCM Winter Running Series in the Vienna Prater, which was planned for March 29th, was cancelled. "We are deeply sorry for all our hobby runners, for all top athletes and for all our employees who have been preparing for the event with great commitment for months. In the light of a health crisis that is affecting all countries, and out of a sense of responsibility towards all runners, staff and the entire population, we cannot help but refrain from holding the VCM," says event organizer Wolfgang Konrad.

"We wanted to make the VCM fit for Covid-19 and have looked at all areas of the event and reorganized many parts. However, there is probably no major event with an expected 45,000 participants from 130 countries, 12,000 of them from abroad, that can compete with the virus while at the same time reducing social contacts," says VCM Managing Director Gerhard Wehr.

This step is also intended to give all runners the opportunity to orientate them newly and, if possible, to cancel booked trips and overnight stays. We do not want to get into a situation where our participants might be infected or quarantined before, during or after their participation in the Vienna City Marathon or contribute to the spread of the virus. We are also well aware that this is a very difficult time for the health stuff and we do not want to put additional pressure, strain or endanger our medical service and medical team.

In a decree of the Federal Ministry of Social Affairs, Health, Care and Consumer Protection (Measures against the confluence of large crowds of people according to §15 Epidemic Law), the holding of outdoor events with more than 500 participants and indoor events with more than 100 participants has been banned for the time being until April 3. This was the end of the planning of the event. The Vienna City Marathon works together with approximately 450 companies and partners and a total of 3,500 employees to realize Austria's largest sporting event in a long-prepared, joint effort.

Many of our helpers are also students and pupils whose institutions are about to close. Stalling our participants, suppliers, sponsors and partners until the Easter holidays without any prospect of clarification of the situation would be irresponsible and unreasonable.

"We have to change our lives for a few months", said Health Minister Rudolf Anschober on 10 March when presenting the first measures to limit the spread of Covid-19. "Further measures and steps will be needed", said Federal Chancellor Sebastian Kurz on the same day on ORF: "We must assume that the situation will keep us busy for many weeks or months to come". Taking into account the decree and these statements, there is no further perspective for the VCM 2020.

All of us in the VCM organisation have worked hard over the past few months, and have pushed ahead with our preparations with professionalism and passion. We have seen how you have trained and run with great commitment, at the VCM Winter Run Series, at the VCM Training Runs or elsewhere. It was great, fun, inspiring.

The INEOS 1:59 Challenge in October 2019 has given a huge boost to running in Vienna and to the VCM in general. We were extremely looking forward to a big runners' festival in Vienna in April.

The preparations, the efforts and the anticipation that we all share - runners and organizers - will unfortunately not culminate in an emotional running festival. But we are convinced that we will have many more great marathon moments in the future.

We still have to get used to the situation ourselves. More than once we have been desperate in the last few days. At some point, each of us has cried once. We can well imagine how it looks like inside of you now. But we are sportsmen. We get up again. We look ahead. We keep running.

In the coming weeks we will comprehensively evaluate and clarify the consequences of this cancellation for the organization of the Vienna City Marathon. As soon as possible we will send you, the participants, an offer so that you can participate with pleasure in one of the next events of the Vienna City Marathon.

We ask for your understanding that this is also for us an extraordinary and unprecedented situation. Please allow us some time to evaluate all aspects and for administrative preparation.We have also checked if it is possible to postpone the VCM to a later date in 2020, but due to numerous activities in the federal capital Vienna, there is not enough space available for a marathon. The dates for the marathon are fixed several years in advance in coordination with the city administration and other organizers. A short-term postponement is not possible in this context. Many other races and events are now postponing their staging until autumn. However, from the current perspective, nobody can say whether major events will be possible at such a date in 2020.

Thank you to everyone who has supported us on the way so far - the entire stuff, the various departments of the City of Vienna, our sponsors and above all the runners from all over Austria and the world who have chosen to run the Vienna City Marathon.We hope above all that you and your families and friends are in good health. Adhere to the hygiene regulations and the measures to contain Covid-19.It only remains for us to wish you a nevertheless beautiful running spring. We would be happy if you continue to be friends of the Vienna City Marathon. We will continue to be there for you with full energy and will do everything we can for a great Vienna City Marathon on 18 April 2021.

Keep on running - this is how you strengthen your immune system. Go outside. Do things that you enjoy. Do something good for someone else. Run and enjoy it. Keep reaching for the stars.

Milano Marathon postponed for the Coronavirus emergency

The Milano Marathon scheduled for early April due to the Coronavirus emergency has been postponed. The announcement arrived today via social media. Organization working to find a new date in the calendar. This is the message: Dear Runners, nobody knows better than you that running is freedom. And in sport as in the marathon of life, freedom is choosing. Also not to run, if this is the right thing to do for oneself and for others. That's why we are convinced that, in this moment of serious emergency for Italy and its people, you will all share and make your choice, albeit painful, to postpone the Generali Milano Marathon scheduled for next April 5th. It is not just a matter of complying - as absolutely right and necessary - with the measures to combat the coronavirus epidemic envisaged by the Decree of the Prime Minister of the Italian Republic of 8 March 2020.

It is also and above all a question of respect, affection and strong links between a long-awaited event and the iconic city that welcomes it. Milan is not only the scenario in which a competition has been taking place that has accompanied its extraordinary economic and social growth for 20 years. It is the living organism that feeds the race with its extraordinary energy, the enthusiasm of the institutions, the passion of the citizens.

Now that the Lombard metropolis and its territory are experiencing one of the most difficult moments in their recent history, stopping all together is an act of love that lays the foundations for starting again. Together. RCS Sport has been running alongside you for years as organizer of the Generali Milano Marathon. His first concern is, and always will be, the protection of the health and safety of runners, volunteers, staff members and everyone involved.

For this, in agreement with the Mayor and all the institutions involved, he must confirm with extreme regret the decision to stop a competition of great international prestige which in 2020 turns twenty. But continuing to run - get back to running soon - is your passion and our mission. This is why we can tell you right now that what we have communicated today is only a delay. We are already working to find, in the coming months when the emergency is over, a new date in the Fidal calendar that we will communicate to you soon.

That day, we will be many at the start of the Generali Milano Marathon and we will run lighter. In the awareness of having acted as real sportsmen and of having witnessed something important. But continuing to run - get back to running soon - is your passion and our mission. This is why we can tell you right now that what we have communicated today is only a delay. We are already working to find, in the coming months when the emergency is over, a new date in the Fidal calendar that we will communicate to you soon.

That day, we will be many at the start of the Generali Milano Marathon and we will run lighter. In the awareness of having acted as real sportsmen and of having witnessed something important. But continuing to run - get back to running soon - is your passion and our mission. This is why we can tell you right now that what we have communicated today is only a delay. We are already working to find, in the coming months when the emergency is over, a new date in the Fidal calendar that we will communicate to you soon.

That day, we will be many at the start of the Generali Milano Marathon and we will run lighter. In the awareness of having acted as real sportsmen and of having witnessed something important. we will be many at the start of the Generali Milano Marathon and we will run lighter. In the awareness of having acted as real sportsmen and of having witnessed something important. we will be many at the start of the Generali Milano Marathon and we will run lighter.

In the awareness of having acted as real sportsmen and of having witnessed something important.

Andrea Monti director of La Gazzetta dello Sport for RCS Sport

The Haspa Hamburg Marathon also canceled

The Haspa Marathon Hamburg will definitely not take place on April 19th.

As events with more than 1,000 participants were prohibited until April 30th in Hamburg, it is impossible to hold the Hamburg Marathon on this date.

Postponement planned.-However, the marathon should not be canceled, but made up for later in the year. The organizer has not yet announced when this will happen. Many major organizers had already postponed their event until autumn. This could also be an option for the Hamburg Marathon.

Fall appointment realistic.- It could also be possible to hold the marathon event in May or June, provided the situation has eased by then. However, according to the current situation, an extension of the restrictive measures is more likely and therefore only an appointment in autumn is realistic.

The Logicom Cyprus Marathon Marathon has been canceled due to coronavirus outbreak

We are saddened to inform you that the 22nd Logicom Cyprus Marathon which was to be held on Sunday 15 March in Paphos is being canceled due to the compulsory compliance with the measures announced  by the competent authorities, including the Ministerial Council of the Republic of Cyprus to tackle the coronavirus epidemic (COVID-19).

The Marathon Organizing Committee understands the problems this decision may cause, but we are obliged to comply with the Cypriot Government's emergency security measures.

We will be in touch with all interested parties. All events under the auspices of Logicom Cyprus Marathon are also canceled: “Marathon Expo”, “Cyprus Marathon Symposium”, “Cyprus Wine Run”.

Ukrainian runner Oleksii Borysenko is missing in Japan

In Japan for the Tokyo Marathon, Ukrainian runner Oleksii Borysenko has been missing since late February.

A search was launched on Monday on Mt. Fuji for Ukrainian marathoner and trail runner Oleksii Borysenko. Borysenko was in Japan for the Tokyo Marathon, but was unable to race due to the cancellation of the mass participation race. He was last seen on February 28 heading into a subway station.

Borysenko, 37, is an accomplished runner and ambassador for Hoka One One Ukraine. In 2019, he posted several impressive results from races across Europe. He ran a 2:37:29 at the Berlin Marathon in September, and later in November he came fifth at the Kyiv City Half-Marathon in 1:14:58 (which, according to his Instagram page, are his PBs at each distance).

He also represented Ukraine at the 2019 Trail World Championships in Miranda do Corvo, Portugal.

The Tokyo Reporter wrote that the search was called off after just one day due to unsafe weather conditions on Mt. Fuji. The rescue team reached an elevation of 3,000 meters before they had to turn around (Mt. Fuji has a total elevation of 3,776 meters). The search is set to resume once the conditions clear up.

Great Britain´s Tish Jones has endured injuries, a bike crash and a kidney stone problem but remains focused on the London Marathon

Since running a marathon PB of 2:31:00 in London last year to qualify for the World Championships in Doha, luck has not been on Tish Jones’ side and she has endured injuries, a bike crash and a kidney stone problem among other things.

Speaking from her training base in South Africa, she says she has had “a bumpy road” in recent months – and she is not exaggerating.

The build-up to her first GB appearance in Doha went well, with much of her training done in Colorado, but just before going to the holding camp in Dubai her carbon fiber bike was stolen in Teddington – a blow for an athlete who enjoys mixing cycling with running.

She was then forced to pull out of the marathon in Doha in October with a leg muscle injury.

Then just days later she came off her mountain bike while riding along a trail and broke a bone in her arm and cut her face badly in the crash. This led to her arm being in a sling for a while but she battled on training with Tokyo selection in her sights.

However, 2020 then began with her father suffering a major heart attack and her own training has been troubled by a kidney stone problem.

“It’s been a bit physically and mentally exhausting lately,” she says with some understatement.

Based in Cape Town and covering several hundred kilometers every week on her bike, in addition to running, Jones is used to taking the unconventional route. In her younger days she was not a keen runner at school and instead spent more time horse riding before eventually coming into running after impressing in obstacle course racing.

She has faced plenty of obstacles during recent months of training too. On her bike crash in October, she says: “I’d ridden the trail many times but my front suspension didn’t take kindly to this one chunk of wood that I tried to go over. My wheel planted into it and stuck and my arm collapsed on the handlebar. I landed on my face and my elbow, so I broke my radius.

“I think I was mildly concussed but I got up, checked that I had everything in my pockets and that my teeth were okay because there was blood everywhere. My helmet was crushed on one side and my ear was cut up with gravel. I thought my arm was sore but didn’t realize it was broken. I was at a high point on the mountain so had to ride down, although I realized I couldn’t brake properly so I got off occasionally and carefully made my way back to the gym in the end, where my stuff was.

“When people saw me, they were shocked. I didn’t know how bad my face was. When I got to the emergency room, I ended up being there for six hours until midnight. Although I was fine after that. It was just annoying that all that stuff (bad luck) happened at the same time.”

On her current kidney stone problem, she says: “The doctor didn’t seem too concerned about the size of it so I think I just have to wait and it’ll go of its own accord and I’m keeping myself as hydrated as possible in the meantime.”

The 34-year-old had an injury-hit build-up to London last year, though, but she came good in the end to finish second Brit behind Charlie Purdue and ahead of Lily Partridge, Hayley Carruthers, Tracy Barlow and Sonia Samuels. Jones was unable to run during January but kept fit with cross-training and then packed lots of work into the final two months before taking two minutes off her PB in the big race itself.

“I was devastated not to run in Doha,” she says, adding that the British Athletics team were brilliant in helping her throughher preparations and subsequent difficulties. “The hot climate didn’t matter to me. I wanted to run and I would have dragged myself to the finish. But my coach says it was a blessing that I missed it because I could have come out of it in a bad way.

“I was so upset not to race there though as it was my first British vest. I was in bits. It was like being in mourning afterwards. But with the injury there was no way I could have run it – that was the problem.”

“I don’t have much patience for most things. I lose my temper so easily. But I have patience for running. Everything goes into my running.”

Prague Half Marathon also postponed

RunCzech running events has postponed Prague Half Marathon after the Czech government decided to ban until further notice all cultural, sporting and social events with participation over 100 people.

This first RunCzech event of 2020 organized in the Czech Republic, the Sportisimo Prague Half Marathon was scheduled for Saturday, 28 March. The expected participation was 11,500 runners plus thousands of volunteers and fans. After long internal debates, it was decided to postpone the race to another date later this year. The new date will be announced as soon as possible on the official website www.runczech.com and other RunCzech channels.

“Due to recent circumstances around the world and in the Czech Republic, to limit the spreading is the appropriate effort taken. Health is always the priority. I thank to my colleagues, volunteers and everyone involved in the race preparation for their enthusiasm. Mainly enormous thanks go to all the runners. I wish we can meet soon” said RunCzech race director Václav SkÅ™ivánek. The organizers have been preparing the race since last year’s June, when the registrations opened.

Runners that are registered for the race do not have to report anywhere or confirm their participation in the postponed race – all start numbers together with the additional services like T-shirt or medal engraving will be automatically transferred to the new date.

The next RunCzech race – Volkswagen Prague Marathon – remains as it was scheduled for May 3. RunCzech will provide updates latest on 31 March.

The new date of the Sportisimo Prague Half Marathon 2020 will be announced on www.runczech.com, on social media and all registered runners will be notified by e-mail.

Commonwealth Games 10,000m bronze medalist Marceline Chelangat promises to bounce back after giving birth

Many athletes have abandoned sport or retired after giving birth, but the 24-year-old will not hear any of that and promised to return to action.

Motherhood has taken a toll on Commonwealth Games 10,000m bronze medalist Marceline Chelangat since giving birth to a bouncing baby boy last year.

Speaking to the New Vision in Kapchorwa, the first-time mother said it has not been easy raising the eight-month old baby and that it has taken the help of his grand mum to raise the kid.“It has not been easy being a mother and a first-time mother at that.

I had never baby seated anyone because I’m the last born, but my mum has been very supportive; she has tried a lot because I even didn’t know how to carry the baby,” Chelangat who was found carrying her baby on the back said.

Many athletes have abandoned sport or retired after giving birth, but the 24-year-old will not hear any of that and promised to return to action.

“I will be returning very soon, and for me, I hope to return very strong,” Chelangat, an Assistant Inspector of Police, married to Police Constable Benson Cheboriot said.“The baby is still young, but when he makes one year, I will leave him with his grand mum and return to training.”

Chelangat and Stella Chesang won two medals for Uganda at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia.

Meanwhile, Stephen Kiprotich believes Uganda's athletics team will win up to five medals from the 10,000m-men’s race, 800m women and the men’s marathon at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

“I have a very tough team of marathoners here who I believe will perform well because last year out time was lowered to 2:07.05 so  I have a belief that we will be strong contenders in those races, so  my prediction is that Uganda will come back with five medals,” Kiprotich said as he watched runners participate in the TeamUganda Tokyo 2020 run in Kapchorwa.

The Lisbon Half Marathon, originally scheduled for March 22, is now postponed to September 5 2020 due to coronavirus

Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa said on Tuesday that the Portuguese people must be prepared for the worst-case COVID-19 scenario.

"We are facing a virus that is new in Portugal and in the world, and that naturally puts factors of uncertainty about what is the forecast of what may be its evolution," Costa told reporters after meeting with his ministers of finance, economic affairs, internal administration, health, infrastructure and planning, to announce further measures in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.

"If we compare it with other European countries, the number of cases of infection in Portugal is low," he said, adding that this may be because the novel coronavirus outbreak is still "at an early stage" in Portugal.

"We must foresee an increase in the number of cases of infection over the next few days and weeks. We must be prepared for the worst-case scenario," he said. However, he also reiterated that panic is the worst enemy of all.

As of Tuesday morning, 41 confirmed coronavirus cases had been reported in Portugal.

Portuguese authorities are beginning to adopt strict containment measures, such as closing homes, schools, universities, or suspending visits to hospitals and prisons. All flights between Portugal and the most affected areas of Italy have also been suspended.

The Lisbon Half Marathon, originally scheduled for March 22, is now postponed to September 5 2020.

United Airlines New York City Half-Marathon has been cancelled due to the Coronavirus

New York’s number of confirmed coronavirus cases jumped to 173 Tuesday, up 31 since Monday.

In New York City, there are 17 new cases, bringing the total to 36, according to Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office.

“Against the backdrop of 8.6 million people and for the vast majority of New Yorkers, life is going on pretty normally right now,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said in an interview. “We cannot shut down because of undue fear.”

Officials are urging New Yorkers to practice what they call “social distancing.” That means avoiding large gatherings and public transit as much as possible.

The concerns are having an impact on several events around town. On Tuesday night, organizers cancelled New York City Half Marathon scheduled for Sunday.

Here is the press release from the NYRR: "At New York Road Runners, the welfare of our running community is always our top priority. Due to the rapidly developing coronavirus (COVID-19) situation, the NYC Half, scheduled for Sunday, March 15, and the accompanying Rising New York Road Runners youth event, have been cancelled. We appreciate the support of New York City officials through this complicated decision-making process.

"We know this is a challenging time for everyone, and the cancellation of the NYC Half is disappointing news to many, but the resources necessary to organize an event with 25,000 runners on the streets of Brooklyn and Manhattan have become strained during this difficult period. Over the past week the NYRR team worked hard to adjust plans, implementing modifications and accommodations to alleviate crowding and facilitate social distancing. Unfortunately, it has become clear that we will be unable to proceed in the manner that our runners have come to expect at NYRR events, where the safety and security of our runners, volunteers, staff, partners, and spectators are our main concern.

"Due to the scale of the race during this unprecedented time, runners who registered directly with NYRR will be contacted in the next few days with the option to select either a full refund of their entry fee or guaranteed non-complimentary entry to the 2021 NYC Half next March (exact date TBD). Runners who gained entry through a charity or tour operator should reach out directly to that organization for the options available to them."

Tokyo 2020 Olympic Flame lighting to be held without spectators on Thursday March 12, as part of their measures against the spread of coronavirus

Only 100 guests invited by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Tokyo 2020 will be present to watch the first Torch bearer Anna Korakaki carry the flame away from the Ancient Olympic Stadium at the beginning of the relay in a Ceremony which normally attracts thousands to the site.

IOC President Thomas Bach is expected to be joined by Prokopis Pavlopoulou, the Greek President, in one of his final engagements before the formal end of his term of office.

"Today, the Hellenic Olympic Committee (HOC) announced that the Lighting Ceremony of the Olympic Flame will take place without spectators present," a Tokyo 2020 statement said.

"One hundred accredited guests from the International Olympic Committee and Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee will participate. 

"Tokyo 2020 is grateful for the efforts of all parties involved to ensure that the Ceremony will take place while taking into consideration the latest countermeasures by the Hellenic Government against COVID-19. 

"As part of Tokyo 2020’s commitment to delivering a safe and secure Torch Relay, the Organising Committee will reduce the size of its traveling delegation as much as possible, and will take every consideration for protecting public health as Tokyo 2020 participates in the Lighting Ceremony of the Olympic Flame."

It was also confirmed that the final full dress rehearsal, scheduled for Wednesday (March 11) will be also be  held without spectators. 

A reserve lit at the rehearsal will be held on standby in case the weather makes it impossible to kindle a flame on the day of the actual Ceremony.

The Ancient Olympia archaeological site where the lighting is set to take place was closed today "due to emergency measures to avoid and limit coronavirus".

This measure has been taken by the Ephorate of Elis which has also closed all other ancient sites and museums in the region  until March 18

A total of 73 cases of COVID-19, as coronavirus has been officially named by the World Health Organization, have been confirmed in Greece.

Organisers of the Olympic Flame lighting ceremony have also called upon local Mayors on the torch route to follow precautions recommended by the Greek Health Ministry during the week long relay around Greece.

"We urge the Mayors of the cities through which the Olympic Flame will pass or stay overnight to follow the instructions of the Ministry of Health and the National Public Health Organization." said the Hellenic Olympic Committee (HOC).

The HOC have not ruled out further changes to the programme which, they claim, will be taken "with a view to protecting public health".

Limassol Marathon has been postponed until November, due to the coronavirus outbreak

In face of the recent developments with the novel COVID-19 virus, and as part of its containment strategy, the Cyprus government has decided that among others all public gatherings of more than 75 people will be banned.  

Due to these circumstances, the organizing team of the OPAP Limassol Marathon GSO announces the postponement of the event which was to take place on Saturday and Sunday, the 21st and 22nd of March 2020.

As promised to our runners, friends, sponsors and associates, the organizing team of the OPAP Limassol Marathon GSO has an operational plan to reschedule the event. The new dates for the 14th OPAP Limassol Marathon GSO are the 21st and 22nd of November 2020.

We will be in contact with all affected parties (runners, visitors, sponsors and associates) to support all of their enquiries. 

Despite the disruption, and our consequent disappointment, this decision has been made by the government of Cyprus and it is our obligation to abide by it. 

Further updates on the issue will be communicated via our website and social media.

Keira D’Amato has been selected to represent the USA in the World Half Marathon Championship in Oct. 2020 in Poland

It was a surprising accomplishment, as Keira had been training for the past year for the US Olympic Marathon trials in Atlanta for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

“The race was everything I hoped the Olympic dream would be and as terrible as the marathon can feel,” said D’Amato.

The 35-year-old finished 15th out of 511 women with a time of 2:34.34 (which is 5:42 minutes per mile)!

“To think that 4 years ago, watching the Olympic trials I was pregnant with my daughter Quinn and on the couch 50-plus pounds overweight watching them on TV, thinking I would never be there and just fast forward 4 years later, and somehow I was there in the mix of things and finished 15th, I’ve come a long way,” said D’Amato.

This was the first time Atlanta’s Olympic Cauldron torch has been lit since 1996.

“It was a surreal experience to run through where they hosted the '96 Olympics. Through the course, you run by the Olympic rings and you go by the Centennial Olympic Park," said D’Amato. "Watching the Olympics in '96 as a child, I saw the torch the lit, the torch that day, it hasn’t been lit since the '96 Olympics and it was really cool.”

Unfortunately, Keira’s running time and placement wasn’t fast enough, but she still held her head high and proud as she crossed the finish line.

“When I saw the finish line, everything just hit me like a ton of bricks and I saw the finish line and I started pumping my arms and I was flying down the straightaway and I’m sure people watching realized 'she’s not winning, right, she’s 15th, she’s not making the team, someone should probably tell her,'" said D’Amato. "But I was so proud of the work I had done and that I finished and that I can hold my head up high knowing that I left it all on the course that day.”

Several weeks before the big race in Atlanta, Keira competed in the Houston half marathon to prepare herself for what was in store in Atlanta.

She finished the race 8th with the time of 69:59 and little did she know that race in Houston would change her life.

“I got an email and I didn’t really read it correctly, so I thought they were saying would you been interested, and so I wrote back saying 'Heck, yeah I’m interested, let me know how,' and they wrote back saying, 'maybe you didn’t understand, congratulations: you’ve been selected for the USA team,'” said D’Amato. “Running a half marathon for the US definitely hits my goal for just representing the U.S."

Keira is currently training day and night with the team’s coach and hopes to bring home the Gold.

"Nothing has set in yet, still feels like this wild ride that I’m watching from the sideline or the stadium like I can’t believe this is me,” said D’Amato.

Brazilian racing driver Tony Kanaan will be running in the OneAmerica 500 Festival Mini-Marathon on May 2

Tony Kanaan's last season in IndyCar will include a race of a different kind.

The 2013 Indianapolis 500 champion will run in the OneAmerica 500 Festival Mini-Marathon on May 2.

“I’m excited to join in on the celebrations by running in America’s best half marathon - the OneAmerica 500 Festival Mini-Marathon," Kanaan said. "Not only is it a great way to stay physically fit, but gives me another opportunity to connect with fans.

I’ve already recruited my wife, Lauren, and several friends to join me on May 2. I hope that fans will feel inspired and commit to join me at this Indy Mini!”

Kanaan finished the Mini in 2016, posting a time of 1:43:29 and ran as the race's charity pacesetter in 2017. The 500 Festival donates money to a charity for each runner who beats the pacesetter's time.

He has announced that the 2020 IndyCar season will be his last and will compete in five oval races, including the Indianapolis 500 on May 24.

How an uncertain spring is affecting runners' chances at becoming Olympians

The rapid spread of coronavirus has already caused numerous changes in the 2020 racing season. News of events being canceled or postponed is breaking daily. This is having an effect upon every road runners’ racing season, including those trying to qualify for the upcoming Olympics. While the IOC says the Olympics will go ahead as planned, the Games have already been impacted, even before they’ve begun.

Molly Huddle, the American half-marathon record holder, wrote in Slate Magazine yesterday that factory closures have meant that some athletes aren’t getting their gear–a small price to pay for worker safety, but a consideration for runners nonetheless. At the Olympic Trials, which took place on February 29, Huddle raced in some well-worn flats.

“I had to race on some shoes with maybe 100 more miles on them than I’d have liked,” she says, “as the fresh pair of Saucony flats I ordered a few months ago were coming directly from the factory in China and production had already been shut down when I tried to do my usual pre-race order about five weeks out.”

One possible avenue for Olympic hopefuls to achieve standard is through a top-10 finish at a World Major Marathon. The 2020 Tokyo Marathon mass participation race was canceled, but the elites were still allowed to run (though the course was without spectators and the field sizes was under 200).

As the situation progresses, there’s speculation that the next two World Majors on the calendar (Boston and London) could be outright canceled. And even if the elite races still run, travel bans will affect runners’ ability to get to the race.

For track runners who haven’t achieved standard, world ranking will play a huge role on their shot at qualification. One place where runners stood a chance to gain big points was at the 2020 World Indoor Championships, which has now been postponed until 2021.

Another spot for points, which would’ve been a huge grab for marathoners, was the World Half-Marathon Championships which has also been postponed until fall 2020.

Olympic 5,000m champion Vivian Cheruiyot is keen on defending her title at the Lisbon Half, and reclaiming her London Marathon title on April 26

Olympic 5,000m champion Vivian Cheruiyot has revealed that winning the marathon title at this year's Olympic Games in Tokyo will be the icing on the cake in an illustrious career spanning over two decades.

Cheruiyot, nicknamed ‘Pocket Rocket’ is also a multiple-time world champion on track and cross country but insists she has her work cut out in her chase for what she describes as her all-time career goal.

But before Tokyo, Cheruiyot is keen on defending her title at the Lisbon Half  (March 22) and reclaiming her London Marathon title on April 26.

This, she says, will boost her confidence heading to Tokyo.

Speaking in Elgeyo Marakwet County during the Maria Soti Cross Country Championships 10 days ago, the two-time 5,000m and 10,000m world champion said she has been preparing well for the Games.

“Heading into these two major races, I will be running as a typical Vivian and I have hope, determination and the zeal to do well,” said Cheruiyot.

“I will be defending my Lisbon title as a precursor for the London Marathon. I also have a big task ahead of me, that of representing my country Tokyo, where I also hope to win my second Olympic title.”

Arguably the most decorated Kenyan runner, Cheruiyot began her international career in 1999, when she won a silver medal in the junior race at the World Cross Country Championships in Belfast and a 3000m bronze medal at the World Youth Championships in Bydgoszcz.

Since then she has won numerous accolades at the African Championships, Commonwealth Games, World Championships, Olympic Games and World Marathon Majors.

“The journey has been good and I want to do better than I have ever done. I want to promise Kenyans a good fight in Tokyo,” added Cheruiyot.

This, she says, will boost her confidence heading to Tokyo.

Speaking in Elgeyo Marakwet County during the Maria Soti Cross Country Championships 10 days ago, the two-time 5,000m and 10,000m world champion said she has been preparing well for the Games.

“Heading into these two major races, I will be running as a typical Vivian and I have hope, determination and the zeal to do well,” said Cheruiyot.

“I will be defending my Lisbon title as a precursor for the London Marathon. I also have a big task ahead of me, that of representing my country Tokyo, where I also hope to win my second Olympic title.”

Arguably the most decorated Kenyan runner, Cheruiyot began her international career in 1999, when she won a silver medal in the junior race at the World Cross Country Championships in Belfast and a 3000m bronze medal at the World Youth Championships in Bydgoszcz.

Since then she has won numerous accolades at the African Championships, Commonwealth Games, World Championships, Olympic Games and World Marathon Majors.

Ethiopian-German middle- and long-distance runner Homiyu Tesfaye will be among the elite men´s field at the Haspa Hamburg Marathon

The elite starting list of the Haspa Marathon Hamburg 2020 continues to take shape. Following the recent confirmation of the two previous year’s winners Dibabe Kuma and Tadu Abate and last year’s runner-up Ayele Abshero (all three from Ethiopia) as well as the German running twins Debbie and Rabea Schöneborn, Homiyu Tesfaye has now also announced his start in Germany’s largest spring marathon.

The middle distance specialist from Frankfurt with Ethiopian roots is thus the second German top athlete after Philipp Pflieger to start in the elite field on April 19. Since 2012 Tesfaye has been able to record considerable competition successes in the 1,500 meters and 10.00 meters, including several German championship titles. 

 At his first and so far only marathon competition in September 2019 in his hometown, he fell short of his own expectations. The 26-year-old has ambitious goals for his start in Hamburg: “I am very much looking forward to my start in Hamburg.

I have heard that it is an impressive city with great spectators and a fast course in a great setting. I will do my best and hope that in the end it will even be enough to get an Olympic ticket”, Tesfaya Says.

Chief organizer Frank Thaleiser adds: “Homiyu Tesfaya has considerable potential for a great marathon career. We are very pleased to have him at the start in Hamburg and to be able to contribute to his development into a successful long-distance runner by providing good conditions”.

For optimal preparation, Homiyu Tesfaye will be training in an altitude training camp near the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa from now until shortly before the event .

The Marathon des Sables has been postponed due to coronavirus

The Marathon des Sables ultramarathon, scheduled for April 3-13, has been postponed to Sept. 18-28.

Marathon Des Sables: Communicate. Dear competitor:

Given this more than worrying situation and the circular published by the Ministry of Interior of the Kingdom of Morocco on March 4, 2020 on the spread of Coronavirus (Covid-19), it is very likely that the 35th MARATHON DES will be banned SABLES planned from April 3 to 13, 2020.

As a precaution, we prefer to anticipate and assume our responsibilities. Therefore, we inform you today that this edition is postponed until the 35th period from September 18 to 28, 2020.

We understand that the postponement of this edition can be very complicated for each and every one of you. However, unfortunately it seems inevitable to us to make this decision one month after the initial departure for the well-being of all and for the pleasure that we want to keep within the MDS family.

Know that this situation affects us all, but we will see each other in a few months to celebrate this anniversary edition in the best conditions.

Thank you for your understanding and see you soon under the stars!

The organizers of Jerusalem Marathon decided to cancel the event due to coronavirus

Due to the new instructions from the Israeli Ministry of Health, and concern for the health of the participants, on Thursday, Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion decided to cancel the Jerusalem Marathon which was to have been held on March 20th.

For now, the Marathon has been postponed until after the holidays, in October. The notice did not say which year.

40,000 people were supposed to have been participating in Jerusalem Marathon, which for many organizations is also a fundraising opportunity.

Hitomi Niiya is back from retirement and now is fully focused on Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games

It is a little hard to fathom, but Hitomi Niiya – potentially one of Japan’s strongest track hopes at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games – hates running.

The 32-year-old, who blitzed to a Japanese half-marathon record in Houston and is eyeing up a spot on the 10,000m team for this year’s Olympics, says with a smile that running makes her tired and does not remotely compare with her passion for shopping.

However, what Niiya lacks in enthusiasm for the sport, she certainly makes up for in ability and it is not beyond the realms of possibility that the diminutive athlete could threaten the podium in Tokyo.

Born in the Okayama Prefecture in the south of the island of Honshu, Niiya was inspired to take up running after watching her compatriot Naoko Takahashi win marathon gold at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

“I did a lot of sports when I was younger,” says Niiya. “My two older brothers played football so I did too, but it was watching Takahashi that inspired me and I joined a club team at junior high school.”

She made quick progress and at the age of 15 her talent was snapped up to attend the Kojyokan High School, one of Japan’s most powerful running schools.

The impact was immediate. At the age of 16 she represented Japan at the 2004 World Cross Country Championships in Brussels. On hilly terrain and thick mud, Niiya performed respectably to finish 19th in the women’s U20 race, helping her country secure team bronze.

However, the Japanese teenager was far from satisfied.

“When I arrived, I thought I could beat the athletes from the other countries,” she says. “But it was after competing in Brussels that I first realized the level of the athletes from the African countries was higher.

“It was also the first event I’d been to without my coach,” she adds. “The experience taught me I needed to be more independent. Running in Brussels acted as motivation to return to the World Cross and run better.”

She was good to her word. Twelve months later she competed at the 2005 World Cross Country Championships in St Galmier and placed 13th. Later that year she gave more evidence of her exciting potential, earning 3000m bronze at the World U18 Championships in 9:10.34 in Marrakech.

“I didn’t expect to win a medal because the Africans are so strong,” she recalls. “I was very proud. Winning bronze and watching the Japanese flag at the medal ceremony was such a happy memory.”

Training at an intensity which she believes puts her on a similar level to the top African athletes, her coach elected to enter Niiya for the Houston Half Marathon in January. Her main intention was to use the event as preparation for her 10,000m ambitions, but she excelled and won the race in 1:06:38 to carve 48 seconds from the Japanese record set by Kayoko Fukushi in 2006.

“My aim was to break the national record and I was really pleased to do so,” she adds.

“My hope is to make the Olympic team,” she explains. “If I do, I will feel a lot of responsibility for a good result. The aim is to win a medal for all the people who have supported me, from my coach, my sponsors and all the people in my life.”

Bayelign Teshager of Ethiopia, Margaret Muriuki of Kenya win 2020 L.A. Marathon

Ethiopia’s Bayelign Teshager won the Los Angeles Marathon on Sunday after finishing in 2:08:26.57, while Kenya’s Margaret Muriuki topped the elite women’s field with a time of 2:29:27.68, according to the marathon’s leaderboard.

John Langat of Kenya had the lead until Teshager made his move down the stretch to win by 40 seconds.

Teshager turns 20 years old on Monday. (The L.A. Marathon listed his age Sunday as 20.)

Wilson Kwambai Chebet, 34, also from Kenya, placed in third, L.A. Marathon’s website said.

Last year’s winner Elisha Barno, 34, came in ninth place.

In the women’s field, Muriuki won with her personal best time. It’s her second marathon victory in three months after the 33-year-old won at Honolulu in December.

She was in control of the women’s race throughout and kept a strong pace, eventually pulling away from 23-year-old Almaz Negede of Ethiopia with seven miles remaining to win by 3:01.

Jane Kibii, a 34-year-old runner from Kenya, placed in third.

Ridouane Harroufi, Marielle Hall win 2020 Gate River Run

Only one second separated the top two men’s finishers in Saturday’s Gate River Run.

Ridouane Harroufi edged Frank Lara at the line in one of the closest-ever finishes to win Saturday morning’s Gate River Run through Jacksonville.

In the women’s competition, Olympian Marielle Hall won her first appearance in the race at the USA Track & Field 15-kilometer national championships. Natosha Rogers placed second with former Providence School and University of North Florida runner Eden Meyer in third.

Harroufi, who had dropped behind the front duo of Lara and Reid Buchanan along Atlantic Boulevard, caught both on the descent from the Hart Bridge.

Harroufi won in 44:42, with Lara one second behind and Biya Simbassa two seconds further back in third.

The race began at Duval Street for the first time in more than two decades as a result of the planned Hart Bridge ramp demolition.

Macharia Ndirangu wins Lake Biwa Marathon; Shogo Nakamura leads Japanese in seventh

OSAKA – Shogo Nakamura led the Japanese runners in the Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon on Sunday, finishing in seventh place behind winner Macharia Ndirangu of Kenya.

Nakamura finished the sunny Shiga Prefecture race in 2 hours, 10 minutes and 51 seconds, while Ndirangu crossed the tape with a comfortable lead in 2:07:53.

Kenyan Albert Korir (2:08:17) beat his personal best for second, and New Zealand’s Jake Robertson (2:08:26) broke a 34-year national record to finish third. Besides Korir, Nakamura and the top three runners were all making their marathon debut.

The result earned Nakamura a spot in next year’s Grand Championship, a qualifying race for Japanese runners for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

“I was desperate in the last kilometer because I didn’t want to miss (qualifying for the Grand Championships),” Nakamura said. “I was able to run with confidence since I trained hard.”

Masato Imai and Takuya Noguchi finished ninth and 10th, respectively.

Ichiyama clinches final spot on Japan’s Olympic marathon team in Nagoya

Going into the Nagoya Women’s Marathon on Sunday (8), the goal for Japan’s leading distance runners was clear: run faster than 2:21:47 at the World Athletics Platinum Label road race and secure a spot on the national Olympic team.

Mao Ichiyama, who had finished sixth at last year’s Marathon Grand Championship, Japan’s main trial race, broke away from the two fastest runners in the field at 30km to go on to win in 2:20:29, claiming the third and final spot on Japan’s Olympic marathon squad.

Before this race, Mizuki Matsuda – who had won the Osaka Women’s Marathon in January in 2:21:47 – was in line to take the third place on the team, but she will now be entered as a reserve after being supplanted by Ichiyama.

The pacemakers, aiming for a finishing time of 2:20:30, led a huge pack through 5km in 16:41 and 10km in 33:19. Nancy Kiprop was the first big name to drop out, stopping at 11km. Betsy Saina, who finished fifth in the 10,000m at the 2016 Olympic Games, did likewise one kilometre later.

After 15km, reached in 50:12, Olympic team contenders Reia Iwade and Kayoko Fukushi started to falter. 11 runners passed 20km in 1:06:50 and only Ai Hosoda had drifted out of the group by 25km (1:23:30). After passing 30km in 1:40:31, Ichiyama made a decisive move, covering the next five-kilometre segment alone in 16:14.

By 35km Ichiyama was 25 seconds ahead of Rionoripo. By the time she reached the finish line in 2:20:29, a PB by four minutes, the 22-year-old was more than two minutes ahead of the next finisher.  

Yuka Ando, who passed four runners in the final seven kilometres, finished second in 2:22:41, the second-fastest time of her career. Rionoripo, who was in second at 40km, finished third in 2:22:56, while Ethiopia’s Hirut Tiberu was fourth in a PB of 2:23:17. Marathon debutante Sayaka Sato was fifth in 2:23:27.

Ichiyama is now the fourth-fastest Japanese woman in history, behind Mizuki Noguchi, Yoko Shibui and Naoko Takahashi, all legendary runners in Japan. Her winning performance is also the fastest time by a Japanese woman on home soil, replacing Noguchi’s 2:21:18 from Osaka in 2003.

“I had been dreaming of a day like this,” said Ichiyama. “The weather was bad, so I thought it would look great if I ran fast today. My goal was to run under 2:21:47, so I am very happy to run much faster.

“I trained to run alone from 30km on, so I am happy that the race went as planned. However, my time is still not world class, so I am going to train at a higher level for the Olympics and produce a great performance at the Games for my country.

“Last year at the Tokyo Marathon the weather was even worse, but that was a good rehearsal for today,” she added. “My only concern today was my time, so I was not worried about my overseas opponents. The race went exactly as I imagined. At about 37km, I was sure I could run under 2:21. But after 40km, it was starting to get tough.”

The Coronavirus is really hurting a lot of professional runners in Kenya and around the world

This is a tough time for professional runners in Kenya and other parts of the world.  All races in Italy have been cancelled for at least a month.  Plus many other races in Europe have been cancelled or postponed due to the Coronavirus.  

Case in point, Kenya's Joel Maina Mwangi had won three races in three weeks in Italy (last being March 1).  In one race he clocked 1:00:40 and he was set to break an hour in Rome this weekend and win the race.  This is the half where Galen Rupp ran his first sub hour half in 2018.  That half marathon was cancelled and all the prize money associated with it.    Of course,  thousands of non-professional runners could not run either.  

So Joel is heading home today to continue to train at the Ujena Fit Club training Camp in Thika.  He had no reason to stay in Italy.  

Like many professional runners he was looking forward to winning thousands of dollars from races to help support his family.  Prize money has been his only source of income for several years.  Kenya runners alone have been winning millions of dollars annually from races.  Races featured on the My Best Runs lists over $20 million (US) of prize money.  There is most likely over $25 million US being awarded annually.  Much of this going to Kenya runners. 

Hopefully the world will get a handle on this deadly virus.  There have been no cases reported in Kenya todate.  

"In the meantime our team in Thika at our UjENA Fit Club Training Camp is training hard and getting stronger and stronger," says Coach Dennis.  What else can they do but remain positive.  

"The spirit of our team is inspiring," says operations director Willie Korir.  "We only started  training together since January 19 of this year and our Ujena Fit Club team is really shaping up.  We will be ready to run some good times."

This is a tough times for racing in many parts of the world.  But things will return to normal at some people.  Runners just need to keep training and be strong during this time.  

Foundation of Tokyo Marathon donates extra masks and disinfectants to schools and hospitals

On Mar. 5 the Tokyo Marathon Foundation announced that it has donated 40,000 masks and 200 liters of disinfectant left over from its measures against the novel coronavirus at last weekend's Tokyo Marathon to schools and medical institutions.

The Tokyo Marathon's general division was canceled and its volunteer staff was cut by 90%, leaving the Foundation with a surplus of material it donated to municipalities through the Tokyo metropolitan area and through the Tokyo Medical Association.

According to the Metropolitan Government, the items donated for schools will be used at after-school care programs and elsewhere.

The Barcelona Marathon will be postponed until October due to coronavirus

The Barcelona marathon scheduled for next weekend has been postponed until October to stop the spread of the coronavirus, Barcelona's city hall said in a statement on Saturday.

The race was due to take place on March 15 but has been rescheduled for Oct. 25 following a meeting between the city hall's sport department and local and regional health authorities.

Spain's health ministry has reported 441 cases of the virus, leading to eight deaths. One hundred and seventy four cases have been reported in Madrid, with 24 in Catalonia.

New Zealand middle and long-distance runner Zane Robertson is the one to beat at the 35th annual L.A. Marathon this weekend

His obstacle Sunday morning will be 26.2 miles winding up, down and through Los Angeles, from Dodger Stadium to Santa Monica.

Given the hurdles Zane Robertson cleared in reaching the starting line of the 35th L.A. Marathon, a little more road work shouldn’t be too discouraging.

“I want to see what talent and a very hard mind-set can get me on Sunday,” said Robertson, 30, a New Zealand native and one of the race favorites.

He’ll be joined in an elite field that includes a pair of two-time L.A. winners — Elisha Barno and Weldon Kirui of Kenya — and nine runners who have broken 2 hours, 10 minutes.

The event is expected to be staged as planned despite growing concerns throughout the country regarding the coronavirus.

Organizers are attempting to maintain as much normalcy as possible, while they acknowledged that the size of the field — more than 26,000 runners are registered — and spectator turnout could be affected.

“I’d encourage everyone to go out and enjoy the race,” Robertson said. “Don’t stress about the things you can’t control. It’s only extra stress. Your body follows your mind. I’m not even worried about it. I think we’ll be fine.”

An accomplished track athlete, Robertson competed for New Zealand in the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and set a national record while he finished 12th in the 10,000 meters.

This will be his second marathon, after his debut came in July when he ran a 2:08:19 in Australia’s Gold Coast Marathon.

“I’m here to try and win,” Robertson said. “I’ll run my own rhythm and run my own race and see what happens. It’s all about position, not time.”

Couple returns for Gate River Run 25 years after mid-race wedding on Hart Bridge

Rich and Lorrie Goodwyn were married atop the Hart Bridge during the 1995 Gate River Run. Now, 25 years later, they’re coming back to Jacksonville to celebrate their anniversary at the race.

Rich Goodwyn clipped the page and took it and made it into a poster, the one with the bridge and the bright green beams.

He holds that poster still, the one with the March 12, 1995 edition of the Florida Times-Union, the caption with the three words.

“Tying the knot.”

This was a strange sort of way to tie the knot. Tank tops and aluminum, asphalt and the press. Sweat-soaked perfect strangers walking — make that running — down the aisle, the one shared by the happy couple moments before, half of those strangers wondering exactly what they were witnessing but racing past anyway.

A quarter-century has passed, and Rich Goodwyn is not going to forget that day.

Because 25 years ago, he was the man in that photo.

His wife, Lorrie, was the woman.

His son, Christopher, was the child.

Jacksonville’s Hart Bridge was the scene.

It was their picture, their day, their story.

Now, they’re coming back.

“I’m not sure I can come up with the right words,” Goodwyn said.

On Saturday, instead of just husband and wife, a much-grown family will be racing the Gate River Run through Jacksonville together and stopping once more atop the Hart Bridge, the celebrated Green Monster, a party of six celebrating the day that changed it all.

Along with Rich and Lorrie, traveling down from northern Virginia to celebrate their 25th anniversary, Christopher will be there again, along with his wife, Emily. So are the Goodwyns’ two younger children: Hannah, 23, who lives in the Space Coast area, and Drew, 21, who’s making the trip down two days after completing midterms at the University of Virginia.

“I was pushing [Christopher] in a stroller the whole time, and now he’s 30,” Rich Goodwyn said, “Times have changed.”

From that spring in the middle of the 1990s, times have changed immensely.

Rich Goodwyn was a lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy stationed in Jacksonville, with skills as a pilot. Lorrie Nemecek was a flight attendant for USAir. Both were looking to build a new life together.

So it always made sense that this would be a match made in the air.

Rich said he and Lorrie were looking for a unique wedding experience, and marriage atop a bridge during the USA Track and Field 15K championship surely qualifies.

“There’s a lot of special memories,” race director Doug Alred said. “We’re really thankful that people have such a warm spot in their hearts for this race.”

The only requirements: There had to be a minister present, and Christopher, his son from his first marriage, had to be able to participate.

Originally, Goodwyn said, the plan was to conduct the ceremony from a hot air balloon, but upon further review, the idea for an aerial wedding deflated quickly.

“We realized that was probably not going to be the thing for a 5-year-old,” he said.

So instead, they decided on the Gate River Run, then still in its mid-1990s configuration due to the reconstruction of the old Gator Bowl as Jacksonville Municipal Stadium. Both planned to run. And they even had a minister designated who was willing to accompany them and finalize the ceremony.

But Goodwyn still had questions. How would the logistics work? Would it be possible to get everyone together atop the bridge without congesting the roadway?

“I called the newspaper to find out who was running [organizing] the race and try to make a memory,” he said.

That connected Goodwyn with longtime race director Alred, who gave the thumbs-up to the mission.

Everything was in place. Until it wasn’t.

One week before the race, Goodwyn received a shock. The minister who was lined up to marry the couple had been informed of a death in his family, and had to leave for the services out of town.

Plan ruined, it seemed. There would still be a wedding coming, but the Hart Bridge wasn’t going to be the location.

Or was it?

The Times-Union had run a short note on the Goodwyns’ search for a minister, titled “Uphill climb.” Word was getting out.

And while Rich didn’t know anything about the story, he was about to find the answer to his search.

“If it wasn’t for the Times-Union,” he said, “I’m not sure we’d be doing this 25 years later.”

Goodwyn had already scrapped his race-day wedding plans when he received a call that was about to change everything.

The instruction: To return a message and contact a man he didn’t know named Tom Slater, someone who had heard about the couple — not that Slater, as Goodwyn remembers, could quite explain what prompted his decision to speak with him.

“The Lord works in mysterious ways,” he said.

Soon, Goodwyn realized the Hart Bridge wedding just might happen after all.

Slater, then pastor of Faith Lutheran Church, was an experienced runner — as Goodwyn remembers, “I’m about 100 times slower than that.”

But that meant Slater would be able to run ahead of them and come back to meet the couple atop the bridge.

The Thursday before the race, Goodwyn and Slater were discussing the final procedures when another thought popped up.

“The director of music [at Slater’s church] is asking, ’Do you think they would be able to play music?” he recalled. “And I went, ‘What?’ You can’t just play music on top of the Hart Bridge.”

But the recommendations were strong. Goodwyn decided to try it. After all, once you plan a wedding during a 15K run at the top of a major bridge, acquiring music suddenly doesn’t seem like such an improbable task.

Still, Rich and Lorrie had one other problem to solve, and it surrounded the ceremony’s smallest participant: How do you get a 5-year-old to the top of the Hart Bridge?

Then, a Navy colleague offered him the use of a double-wide stroller to help push Christopher along the route.

“I was living the dream, in there with some snacks and drink boxes,” recalled Christopher, who now lives in Jacksonville.

So on a March morning to remember, a day on which Todd Williams achieved the still-standing United States record of 42 minutes and 22 seconds for 15 kilometers, it was a pair of slower runners atop the bridge, 141 feet above the St. Johns River, who were writing their own story to remember.

Slater, in black running pants and white collar — “he looked like a priest,” Goodwyn recalls — was there. Christopher was there. So, too, was a small press contingent.

“The music director is sitting on the curb with this electronic organ, playing the Wedding March as we run up the bridge,” Goodwyn said.

Runners No. 6,115 and 6,116 came to a halt. Then came the vows, and a new start. Bouquet in hand. The pounding of runners’ feet behind. The kiss the camera captured, and the moment frozen in time.

They are excited to be out there again.

Despite coronavirus concerns, the L.A. Marathon will go on, officials say

As the Los Angeles Marathon approaches, some athletes and city residents are worried that the race could be a hotbed for the spread of the novel coronavirus.

The marathon, scheduled for Sunday, is one of the largest in the country. Runners traverse the city, starting at Dodger Stadium and ending near the Santa Monica Pier.

This year, roughly 27,000 athletes have registered from all 50 states and more than 78 countries, according to the marathon’s website. That total doesn’t include the thousands of volunteers and others who watch from the sidelines each year.

Many have raised questions about whether the marathon will continue given the spread of coronavirus cases in the United States. More than 100 cases of the virus have been diagnosed nationwide, with 90,000 cases around the world.

In California, the state’s first coronavirus-related death was announced Wednesday as the number of cases continue to rise.

L.A. County officials confirmed Wednesday that there have been a total of seven cases of the virus in the county, all linked to travel, and announced a public health emergency to ensure that aid from the state and other counties may be obtained if needed. Tests so far have not indicated that the virus is spreading in the community, officials said.

County officials have discussed the possibility of banning spectators from attending sporting events in Southern California, but so far, the L.A. Marathon is scheduled to proceed as planned.

The Paris Half Marathon was canceled Saturday as cases mounted in Europe. The Seoul Marathon, originally scheduled for later this month, also has been indefinitely postponed. Other marathon organizers have asked only elite runners to participate in their races in order to reduce crowds.

L.A. County’s health officer, Dr. Muntu Davis, said officials have been discussing precautionary measures with marathon organizers to make sure there are places for people to wash their hands and for medical staff to evaluate whether people are ill.

“When we look at the relatively small number of cases in the U.S., the risk of exposure for those who are here to this virus is relatively low,” Davis said at a L.A. City Council meeting on Wednesday.

Davis said the most important recommendation is that people stay home if they are sick, so as to not infect others.

Jason Redmond, 45, plans to fly from Seattle to L.A. to run his first marathon this weekend. He and a childhood friend agreed to jog the course together.

He said that he had been monitoring updates from the L.A. Marathon to see if he needed to cancel his trip. The virus is most dangerous for people who are elderly or have underlying health conditions, experts say.

“For someone like me, I’m not at great risk,” said Redmond, a freelance photographer. “I feel like in my situation, I’m OK doing the marathon, but I worry about other people.”

At the L.A. City Council meeting, Councilman Mike Bonin raised concerns about people traveling to L.A. for the marathon from other parts of the world. Major coronavirus outbreaks have been reported in China, Italy and South Korea.

Davis said that travelers will be screened at the airport. People flying in from countries such as China and Italy “probably would not, based on their risk assessment at the airport, be able to participate,” he said.

Other large events and conferences have been canceled by organizers who did not want to worry about having to mitigate the risk of spread of the virus, Davis said. In rare circumstances, health departments have shut down events because of a known risk, he said.

“Given what we’ve seen based on the screening that’s happening, based on the numbers that we understand, based on areas of community transmission in the U.S. ... the risk to the general public is still deemed as low in the U.S.,” Davis said. “I wish I had a crystal ball.”

Redmond, who used to live in Echo Park, said his goal is just to finish the marathon, and he’s looking forward to it.

“It’s just one of those things I’ve been excited to do, but I’m also nervous,” he said.

An assault of Wilson Kipsang's course record on tap at the 75th edition of the Lake Biwa Marathon

An assault of Wilson Kipsang's 2:06:13 course record from 2011 is on tap at the 75th edition of the Lake Biwa Marathon, a World Athletics Gold Label road race, in Otsu, Japan, on Sunday.

Three sub-2:06 and two sub-2:07 runners are in the line-up. Four of those have career bests faster than Kipsang's nine-year-old record. All of those performances came in 2019, suggesting that quartet is on top of their game.

The fastest in the field is Evan Chebet who clocked 2:05:00 in winning last year's Buenos Aires Marathon. Chebet has also produced sub-2:06 runs in Valencia, Berlin and Seoul and also finished fourth in the Tokyo Marathon with 2:06:42.

The next fastest is Filex Chemonges who broke the Ugandan national record with a 2:05:12 performance in Toronto last year. He has run three marathons and each time improved his personal best.

Felix Kiprotich, the third fastest in the field, won the 2019 Daegu Marathon with 2:05:33, and also has three more sub-2:07 runs to his credit. Samuel Ndungu, the Lake Biwa winner in 2015, improved his personal best to 2:06:02 in Lisbon last year. The final sub-2:07 man in the field is Dutch national record holder Abdi Nageeye who improved clocked 2:06:17 in Rotterdam, also last year.

Former winners joining Ndungu are 2018 champion Joseph Ndirangu and 2019 winner Salah Bounasar. Other contenders include Stephen Mokoka who was third in 2019 in 2:07:58, the second-best time of his career.

The race also serves as the final chance for Japanese men to win a spot on the Olympic Marathon team. To secure their spot, a runner must run faster than the 2:05:29 national record set last week by Suguru Osako.

The fastest among the five invited Japanese runners is Yuki Kawauchi, with a lifetime best of 2:08:14. Other high-profile Japanese include Takuya Noguchi, with a 2:08:59 best; Kohei Ogino, who's clocked 2:09:36; Shohei Otsuka, a 2:10:12 man; and Kengo Suzuki, who has a 2:10:21 best.

A quintet of sub-2:23 runners will be gunning for the course record at the Nagoya Women's Marathon on Sunday

Traditionally, the Nagoya race is the largest women's-only marathon in the world, with 24,000 runners entered to run this year. But due to concerns over the outbreak of Coronavirus cases in Japan, organizers restricted entry to this year's race to elite athletes only. 

Among those are five sub-2:23 runners who set their career bests in 2019 who will be eying the 2:21:17 course record set by Eunice Kirwa in 2017. 

Purity Rionoripo is the fastest in the field at 2:20:39 from the 2019 Valencia Marathon, but also has a 2:20:55 to her credit from the Paris Marathon in 2017.

Helen Tola was second in the 2019 Tokyo Marathon with 2:21:01 and also ran 2:21:36 in Berlin later in the year. Tola also has two additional 2:22 performances under her belt, both from Berlin.

Helalia Johanness is the defending champion, clocking a personal best of 2:22:25 last year. Shen has a strong championships records having won the 2018 Commonwealth Games title and taking bronze at last year's World Championships.

If the favorite falters, then Nancy Kiprop, Stella Barsosio, Betsy Saina, Birke Debele and Hirut Tiberu could emerge.

Kiprop ran 2:22:46 in Frankfurt in 2018 and then ran a personal best of 2:22:12 in Vienna the following year. Barsosio clocked 2:23:43 in Paris two years ago and 2:23:36 in Rotterdam last year. Saina won the 2018 Paris Marathon with 2:22:56 and ran 2:22:43 in Toronto last May. Debele ran 2:23:19 in that Toronto race while Tiberu has a best of 2:23:35. Tiberu has run 2:25 or faster in all her completed marathons since 2017.

The race also provides the final chance for Japanese women to make the Olympic Marathon team. They'll have to faster than 2:21:47, the winning time at the Osaka Women’s Marathon, which may prove to be a tall order.

Yuka Ando is the fastest among Japanese with a 2:21:36 personal best set in this race in 2017. The best she's run since is 2:26:47.

Kayoko Fukushi is vying to make a fifth Olympic team. The 37-year-old, who has a 2:22:17 personal best which dates to 2016, started but dropped out of January's Osaka Marathon to focus on Nagoya.

Others to watch include Mao Kiyota, who comes armed with a 2:23:47 best; Reia Iwade, who's clocked 2:23:52; and Mao Ichiyama, with a best of 2:24:33.