Running News Daily

New Zealand-born Zane Robertson eagerly awaiting marathon debut at Gold Coast

When you want to be the best at something, you surround yourself with the best. That was New Zealand-born Zane Robertson’s thinking when he and twin brother Jake Robertson shunned US athletics scholarships and moved to Kenya at age 17 to immerse themselves in one of the culture that produces the world’s best runners.

Dubbed ‘Elvis’ by the Kenyans for once dying his hair black, the 29-year-old New Zealand 10,000m national record holder and Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games 5,000m bronze medallist has chosen to make his marathon debut at the Gold Coast Marathon, an IAAF Gold Label road race, on 7 July.

After a groin injury ruled him out of his first marathon at the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games, Robertson is hungry to make amends on the same flat and fast course.

“Missing out last year when I was in crazy shape was devastating. I watched the race from Kenya and couldn’t stop thinking about how I could have won,” Robertson said.

“By coming to the Gold Coast Marathon, I feel I can replace that loss of mine.”

Robertson, who has a half marathon PB of 59:47, is not letting last year’s disappointment faze him in the lead up to his first attempt at 42.195km.

“The mind is such a powerful thing in sport, especially in long distance races,” he said.

“If you don't believe in yourself, you've already lost. I always feel confident; if I don't, I won't race.”

Robertson is upbeat about his potential in this year’s event, despite toeing the line alongside a stellar line up in the men’s marathon including 2013 champion and 2018 Boston Marathon winner Yuki Kawauchi of Japan and three-time Gold Coast Marathon champion and race record holder Kenneth Mungara of Kenya.

“First and foremost, I always target the win. I want to run as fast as the pacemakers allow and once they step off the road anything can be possible. Perhaps a new Oceania record?” Robertson said. 

Robertson and his brother have now spent over a decade in Kenya and Ethiopia learning what makes the best runners tick and while the jury is out on whether it is nature or nurture, he’s confident the lessons learnt both on and off the track will stand him in good stead for a fast marathon time.

“I’ve learnt to live a runner’s life - which means to have discipline when you’re training, and to relax and recover when you’re not,” he said.

Twin brother Jake placed third on debut at last year’s Lake Biwa Marathon in Japan in an impressive 2:08:26, a time 16 seconds faster than Mungara’s Gold Coast Marathon race record of 2:08:42 set in 2015.

But despite his brother seemingly throwing down the gauntlet, Zane remains assured the pair have moved past sibling rivalry.

“We realised that this world is so much bigger than that and the challenge is not with each other but against ourselves to be better than we were yesterday,” he said.

Mike Lewis-Copeland finished the Edinburgh Marathon despite a broken leg

Despite searing pain for 10 miles an intrepid runner discovered he had completed the Edinburgh Marathon with a broken leg.

Mike Lewis-Copeland, 39 felt a twinge at mile 16, near Prestonpans, but rode the wave of adrenaline, and his own determination, to finish the race in 4 hours 30 seconds.

It was only after a cautionary trip to minor injuries that Mike was told he had fractured his fibula.

“The nurse asked me if I’d fallen in a pothole or if there had been an impact but nothing had happened,” Mike explained. “Obviously I didn’t thing it was a fracture. I just kept focussing on finishing it, and would worry about the pain after it.

“I had been joking on the train over how stupid it would be to keep going with a break and now here I am. I thought it was maybe a tendon but had no idea I had fractured it.

It did get to the stage that I was limping a lot and at times having to drag my leg but I just kept counting down the miles."

After suffering a minor muscular injury during the London Marathon in April, Mike knew it would be harder to stop and start again so just "grizzed it out".

"I was like Dory singing 'just keep swimming' in the Finding Nemo film. I kept saying to myself 'just keep running, just keep running'.

"I was thinking that I only had 10 miles to go, then 9 miles, then 8 miles and I counted all the way down knowing that after I had crossed the finish line I could sit down and deal with the problem. The pain was totally different to injuries I had experienced before.

After resting at home in Kelty on Sunday, Mike knew on Monday he would need to get proper treatment to treat what he thought was a tendon problem.

"Running is a big thing for me and I was really looking forward to taking part in my first ultramarathon in July," Mike said. "So I knew I needed to have someone take a look at it and after some poking and prodding from the nurse and an x-ray I was told it was a fracture, likely the result of an early stress fracture.

"I have no idea how I managed to keep going - a mix of determination and adrenaline I reckon. It must have dulled the pain because I tried to make the kids beds and that was harder and more painful than running the marathon!"

Running is What We Do is a unique new video series from My Best Runs publisher and lifetime runner Bob Anderson

As Global Running Day is approaching June 5 Bob Anderson, publisher and founder of My Best Runs has announced a new unique series of videos.  "The series called Running Is What We Do will be unique videos showing the world how important running is to us," says Bob Anderson.

The first in the series of short videos (2 to 8 minutes) was filmed in England at the Vitality London 10000.  Mo Farah won for the seventh time and Steph Twell won the woman's race.

"Of course it is always important to know who wins big races like this," says Bob.  "But there is so much more to know about this race.  Over 19,000 participants ran through central London Monday May 27.  The staging area was in Green Park, next to Buckingham Palace and we were right there."

Behind the scenes footage shows runners in the Park as they are getting ready to take off on their 10k journey through the city and after they finished.

The Vitality London 10000 was selected by My Best Runs as one of the Best 100 races in the World the last three years.  "In fact I think this might be the world's best 10K road race," says Bob after running it. 

"It has been on my bucket list for a couple of years and in March I decided to enter and travel from California to see if I could make the top three in the 70 plus division, since my training had been going well. 

"I had not run a race in England since 1966 and with over 415,000 people wanting to run the London Marathon (same group who puts on this race) I felt the race would be the perfect event to cover for our first video in our new series."

Part of racing is to make it to the podium in your age group, a goal that might have more meaning than the finishing medal. This was one of Bob's goals. He wanted to finish in the top three 70 plus. And he wanted to produce the first Running Is What We Do video.  Making it to the top three was more of a personal goal but it also added another story to cover.

Bob did reach his goal clocking 49:22 or 7:55/mile.  He had hoped to run a little faster but he started at the back of wave two being stuck in a toilet line.  By the time he got out he had three minutes to make it to the start. 

"I have been running races since 1962 and I even through there were tons of toilets, I made a quick wrong decision that cost me 25 minutes," says Bob.  "But at age 71 it seems like I need to go three or four times before racing.  It would have cost me more time if I had not made that stop.  I think as runners we all know what I am talking about."

He was stuck behind the pack and ran his first mile in 8:03.  And ran just under 25 minutes for 5k.  His last mile was 7:33.  So maybe he lost at least a minute.

Before and after the race he shot all the footage on his iPone 10 for this video.  He was able to cover the scene close-up and personal. His wife Catherine captured the race in over 1600 photos and several photos were used in the video.

"At the finish line I met Barrie Nicholls," says Bob.  "We talked about running and he told me he is an actor and I jumped on the opportunity for him to say a few words for our first video.

"I loved this race and I hope to return," says Bob.  "However for a race this size (over 19,000 runners) there is one thing they should change. They need more age-groups.  Making it to the podium is a big deal and for me right now at 71, 70 plus age-group is okay.  But for those 76, 88 or even 95 this age-group is too big. 

"We are all aging and we need all the encouragement we can get.  I am not even sure if they give out age-group awards or not (I have to check) but it is nice to make that top three."

The Running Is What We Do videos by My Best Runs will be showing all sides of the sport of running around the world.  "This series is not just about world-class races and elite runners but about all aspects of the sport we love, running."

If you have video footage you would like to share contact My Best Runs.

Siya Mqambeli could win the Comrades Marathon June 9

Granted, Siya Mqambeli is not yet in the class of a Bongmusa Mthembu or David Gatebe, but to win The Ultimate Human Race takes way more than talent. An athlete needs to have the will and self-belief that he can conquer one of the world’s most difficult ultra-marathons.

Mqambeli has both in abundance and those around him are in no doubt that the runner from Mount Frere in the Eastern Cape, South Africa will back his words with action come June 9.

Given his great runs at the Eastern Cape’s Buffs and Legends Marathons this year, you could not argue that he is one to watch.

Mqambeli finished third in both races, running 2hr 26min in the standard marathon and 4:12 in the 68km Legends event.

But it was at Entsika's camp in Dullstroom where he gave the clearest indication yet that he is going for Comrades gold.

During an easy one-hour run with five of his teammates and yours truly, Mqambeli was poetry in motion and hardly looked like he got out of first gear. He exchanged friendly banter with teammate Gordon Lesetedi and his face told the story of a contented man.

This was in stark contrast to last year when he resembled an adopted kid struggling to be at home in his new environment, reserved and conspicuous by his silence.

He ran an impressive 6:09.10 for 32md place in the Down Run last year to take home his sixth silver medal in seven attempts.

Next weekend, he is on no doubt he will bring home gold.

“So far my training has gone well,” he said with a broad smile. “I’m going to make things happen. I am confident that something great is going to happen come June 9.”

That Mqambeli is a new man has to do with the impact made by Entsika, the company that took coach John Hamlett and his athletes under their wing when their previous backers pulled out.

This year's Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon will be held at night for the first time in its history

The 2019 edition will flag off at 6pm on Nov 30, while the entire event will take on a three-day format with the Kids Dash happening on Nov 29, and the 5K and 10K races to take place on Dec.1.

The new evening format is part of the organisers' bid to further the appeal of the race and improve SCSM's chances of being inducted into the Abbott World Marathon Majors, a series of the largest and most renowned marathons, in 2021.  

This is "another step forward for the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon in their long-term aspiration of becoming an Abbott World Marathon Major", said Abbott World Marathon Majors executive director Tim Hadzima at the launch event on Tuesday.  

“The changes for this year’s marathon are just a few parts of stringent criteria that we assess each year, as there are many stages of this process still to be met. 

"We are excited to see how the runners react to the improvements that they will experience this year," he added. 

The main event's evening start time will be "more conducive for runners", said organisers in response to CNA, "given the cooler temperatures and humidity levels, in addition to more time for sleep and rest". 

"This arrangement also promises better preparation for race day as runners are able to simulate race conditions with the friendlier timings, such as evening runs after work," they added. 

Mo Farah says he will almost certainly not run a track race again and said his sights are now firmly set on running the Olympic marathon in Tokyo 2020

Speaking after winning the Vitality London 10km on Monday ahead of Andy Butchart, Farah admitted that, while he had wanted to defend his world 10,000m title in Doha, he had changed his mind because it was too close to the Chicago marathon.

“I would have loved to have won more medals for my country, as well as run Chicago, but the two events are only a week apart in October,” Farah said.

“If I did Doha how much would it take out of me for the marathon? At the marathon you can’t give these guys an inch. If you are not on your A game, you will get beat.” Asked if it meant that his track dream was now dead, he nodded. “I think so, at the minute.”

The 36-year-old has changed his mind before but he accepts it is increasingly unlikely he would return to the track given he last raced there in 2017. “Whenever I watch the 10,000m guys, I speak to my coach and ask: ‘Do you think I could do that? Because I think I could.’

But at the same time you have to be smart and you have to think about not just this year but the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.”

When asked directly if he was going to run the marathon in Tokyo he said: “At the minute, yeah. The strategy is to build up in the marathon. The more marathons I do, and the more experience I get, the better chance I have of a medal.”

Farah also denied that his extraordinary row with Haile Gebrselassie had affected his performance at the London marathon when he finished a disappointing fifth. “To be honest I am kind of sick of it in a minute but I stick by every word I said. It is the truth,” he said.

“As an athlete you’ve got to put your hand up when things go well and when they don’t. I felt great, it felt good. I was running 2:03 up to 35k, then shit hit the wall, bang, I was gone. From that point my last 7k was just ‘boom’. It won’t happen again.”

Kenya’s Benard Ngeno dominated Bolder Boulder race on Monday

Hopefully Americans Reid Buchanan and Jared Ward got a good look at one of the favorites at the 41s annual Bolder Boulder in the men’s professional race, Benard Ngeno, before the starting gun sounded.

Once the runners set out, Ngeno blazed a speedy trail impossible to match and never looked back.

Ngeno, from Kenya, sprinted out of the gate and never really let his pace dip throughout the 10-kilometer race, winning the Bolder Boulder men’s pro race in 28 minutes, 29 seconds. Buchanan was the top American finisher in eighth-place (29:46) followed by ninth-place Jared Ward (29:53).

Ngeno clocked his first mile at 4 minutes, 20 seconds and soon put the rest of the field deep into the background. His winning time of 28:29 was the eighth-fastest mark in the history of the Bolder Boulder men’s professional race.

“When they go out in 4:20, I don’t know what to do,” Buchanan said. “I started to race by myself but they never came back to me. That’s pretty unbelievable to me, I’ll just leave it at that. You just have to race your own race.

I ran the majority of that myself and keep saying to myself keep pressing, keep pressing. I really didn’t do anything, I guess. I just stayed in the same spot.”

Still, for Buchanan and Ward both believed they hit their personal goals in Monday’s meet. Buchanan is a seasoned 10K runner but was running the Bolder Boulder for the first time. Ward is a marathoner by trade who finished sixth in the marathon at the 2016 Olympics.

“I quickly was reminded I’m a marathon runner,” said Ward, who also finished eighth at the 2015 Bolder Boulder. “I knew they’d go out fast because it’s kind of a downhill start, and these are 10K guys.

So for me, it was just trying to stay in control enough the first couple of miles that I could keep a rhythm across the rest of the race. Kind of run it marathon-style.

“I looked at this race and said for me, 30 minutes is good. Being a little bit under 30, I’m happy with it.”

Ngeno won $6,500 of prize money for his performance. He was followed by Ethiopia’s Terefa Delesa (28:58) and Joseph Panga of Tanzania (29:03).

Ethiopia´s Hiwot Yemer won Bolder Boulder women´s race

Aliphine Tuliamuk was an All-American long before she became an American citizen in 2016, and the Kenyan-born runner gets into the patriotic spirit just like most people do at the Bolder Boulder.

The annual Memorial Day celebration and 10K road race is also one that brings the best out of Tuliamuk, as it should considering the high-level international talent the race draws. As the reigning runner-up, Tuliamuk entered this 41st Bolder Boulder among the favorites to win the professional race and headlining a U.S. women’s team that had an excellent shot at a team title.

Despite her best efforts while in the early stages of altering her marathon-centric training regimen to build speed, Tuliamuk settled for third. That combined with the emotional Memorial Day atmosphere left Tuliamuk with plenty to think about.

“For me being a new American, especially by choice, is that we’re here celebrating a day for so many people who gave up their lives for the freedom of this country,” Tuliamuk said. “I’m not in the military, obviously, so I feel like my only way to give back to this country is running this Memorial Day weekend and commemorating with everyone else.”

Tuliamuk, whose time of 33 minutes was the third-fastest time by a USA runner at the Bolder Boulder, took the lead around the midpoint of Monday’s race and held it until the final kilometer of the race. She finished third behind Ethiopian runner Hiwot Yemer (32.49) and Yemer’s teammate Meseret Tola (32:55), who had the lead entering the stadium but lost it when she mistakenly turned off course into a staging area where media members and photographers were being directed so that they could get across Folsom Field to the finish line.

Though she did lead and looked to be in control for a time, Tuliamuk just couldn’t hold off the long-striding Yemer and a massive uphill kick from Tola down the final stretch heading into the stadium.

“I was looking back so many times because I was thinking that I’m working really, really hard,” Tuliamuk said. “I was in so much pain at that point and I thought maybe they’re also feeling the pain … Right before the hill at the finish, I realized that I was just running out of energy. Before I knew it, the girl who ended up getting second went by me and I’m like, ‘You go, girlfriend. I’ve got nothing left in me right now.’”

Tuliamuk’s U.S.A. Red finished second in the team scoring and 16 points behind Ethiopia, which claimed first, second and fifth place.

Also for U.S.A Red, Kaitlin Goodman (34:21) and Shalaya Kipp (34:32) placed 10th and 11th, respectively.

Records were broken at the 40th Annual Cotton Row Run

The winner of the women's open 10k race broke the record held since 2007 by 28 seconds.

Thousands took to Big Spring Park this morning for a 10k, 5k and a one mile "Fun run" for kids. The winner of the women's open 10k race broke the record held since 2007 by 28 seconds. She's from Kenya, and her coach told us this was her first road race. He told us he is proud of the outcome.

“You know the course is tough. The first 5k are very hilly. We have a very muggy morning. It's warm. It's humid. But nothing bothers Catherine. She's so tough," said Coach Owen Anderson.

Anderson and Catherine Mwanzau traveled to Huntsville for the race from Michigan. She told us she enjoyed the experience.

"I'm very happy. I did enjoy it. It was a very nice race," said Catherine Mwanzau 10k winner.

Anderson also coached last year's male winner who set the new race record. The race takes place every Memorial Day to remember those who gave the ultimate sacrifice.

Bahrain’s Dawit Fikadu and Kenya’s Sheila Chelangat emerged victorious at the Okpekpe Road Race

Fikadu and chelangat win Opkepke, both races boasted stellar line-ups with many of the athletes boasting PBs significantly quicker than the course records of 28:35 and 32:41, but in humid conditions and on a hilly route not conducive to fast times, those mark remained intact for another year.

Fikadu, who won the Asian 10,000m title last month, was part of a large lead pack in the earlier stages alongside 2016 winner Alex Korio Oloitiptip and 2015 champion Simon Cheprot, both aiming to become the first two-time winners in Okpekpe.

The lead group passed through the half-way point in 14:13 and largely remained together for another few kilometres, but the pack started to break up as they began to ascend the uphill section for the final kilometer.

As the group splintered, Fikadu, Korio, Ethiopia’s Berehanu Tsegu and Kenya’s John Kipsang Lotiang emerged as the lead quartet. But Korio soon dropped behind and was followed by Kipsang moments later, leaving Tsegu and Fikdau out in front.

With 27:30 on the clock, Tsegu tried to forge ahead but Fikadu stayed within striking distance and timed his final effort to perfection, kicking ahead to win by one second in 29:03. Kipsang held on for third place in 29:17 with Korio following one second later in fourth.

In the women’s race, Kenyan duo Sheila Chelangat and Dorcas Jepchirchir Tuitoek broke away from the rest of the field in the opening kilometres, reaching half way in 15:49.

They continued running side by side until the closing stages before Chelangat edged ahead on the final straight, crossing the line in 33:14. As a measure of how tough the Okpekpe course is, the 21-year-old was more than two minutes shy of the 31:01 PB she had set just eight weeks ago.

Tuitoek finished four seconds behind her compatriot in 33:18 and was followed by Ethiopia’s Asifa Kasegn, who finished fourth in 33:31.

Albert Korir was the surprise winner of the Scotiabank Ottawa Marathon on Sunday

Korir and Ethiopia’s Aberu Kuma, who has a personal best of 2:05:50, were running side by side after dropping Ethiopia’s Tsedet Ayana, Kenya’s Martin Kosgey and Ethiopia’s Adugna Takele when Kuma came to a complete stop at the water station. Seizing the opportunity, the tall Kenyan took off and quickly opened up an insurmountable gap.

Kuma eventually finished second in 2:08:14 with Ayana completing the podium with 2:08:53.

“This is a great achievement. It is a dream,” said the winner. “Kuma is a strong guy, I didn’t know I would beat him. But at 40km I saw he somehow stopped so I made a move to go.

“It’s a dream. I was hoping to improve my personal best; I didn’t know that I could improve. The weather was good and the course is flat, good. The first half was hard (1:03:35) but when the pacemakers went out, the pace went down.”

This was the second victory this year for Korir. He was the Houston winner in January and now, understandably, he has huge ambitions.

“I have to improve my athletics career,” he offered, “at least win a World Major and have a better time, 2:04 or 2:03.”

If Kuma was disappointed, he masked it well. With a stellar career to date, he had been the favourite to win the race.

“At 35km I didn’t take any water and so I knew I must drink water at 40km,” he explained in English. “I take water – the guy’s gone. That’s my problem. “The weather really affected my running.”

The women’s race resulted in another Ethiopian victory – the 10th consecutive time – with the ever improving Tigist Girma dropping her compatriots Bethelhem Moges and Etaferahu Temesgen at 28km. She and one of the elite women’s pacemakers opened up a gap and many observers wondered if she had moved too early.

Girma was full of confidence and ran across the line in a personal best of 2:26:34, throwing her arms up in the air in joyful celebration. She earned herself CDN$30,000.

“I was extremely ready for this race,” Girma declared. “I tried my best. Because I was all alone, I couldn’t push because the weather was not good so that’s why the time is slow. I really had good preparation.

Kenyan Dorcas Kimeli finished first at the Ottawa 10k with heavy rainfall

The Kenyan was at the front for most of the race, sharing the early spadework with her compatriots Valary Jemeli and Paskalia Kipkoech. After the first 5km was passed in a sedentary 15:57, one by one the pack was whittled down as Kimeli went to work.

Turning on to the final straight, only Jemeli was close and the gap between the two widened to the finish. Jemeli finished second in 31:12 which was also a personal best. Kipkoech came next in 31:30. The winner collected CDN$5000.

“This is my first time in Canada,” Kimeli acknowledged. “I was confident because of my training. I believed in myself and I won. I was thinking around 7km we would push and then go on to a good time. It was my plan.

“At first I was worried (about the competition) but when the race started I was confident and I dropped them one by one. I was thinking to win the race.”

Jemeli was gracious in second place and was clearly pleased with her effort which comes only 11 weeks after her third-place finish at the Nagoya Women’s Marathon.

“The pace was good because I have not done any 10k in Canada or anywhere,” Jemeli said. “I was thinking I might win the race but in the last stretch my leg was in pain and she passed me. But I am very happy; it’s my personal best.”

Equally important to the Ottawa victory was the ‘gender gap’ contest which saw the elite women set out 3:40 ahead of the elite men. Spectators could follow the race on a split screen television as the men chased the women.

The men’s pack quickly evolved into five runners at the front with three Moroccans – Mohammed Ziani, Mohamed Reda El Aaraby and Abderrahmane Kachir – running alongside Kenya’s Moses Kibet and Wilfrid Kimetei. Kibet did a lot of the early work, taking the pack through 5km in 14:19. Then Ziani went to the front a couple of times surging.

With two kilometres remaining it was the three Moroccans who appeared likely to fill the podium as Kibet and Kimetei went to the back. Kibet dropped well off the pace and out of contention but Kimetei had other ideas.

Ziani came around the final bend in front and sprinted away to a 28:12 victory. Kimitei finished four seconds behind with El Aaraby third in 28:22 and Kachir, racing for the first time outside Morocco, fourth in 28:33.

This was the second time Ziani has won the Ottawa 10km and he was pleased with his race today. However it was the second occasion where he has been unable to close the gap on the leading women. In 2016 it was Peres Jepchirchir who won the gender gap. Today Kimeli took the CDN$2000 gender gap bonus.

“First of all I am happy with my second victory here in Ottawa,” said Ziani, who has been fasting for Ramadan. “The rain was not a big problem. I had some good training so it’s not about the weather.

“At 9km I had the confidence that I would win and I increased my pace. I wasn’t worried. There were some very strong athletes though.”

“My body was not responding well so I was like jogging back so I could run at my own pace,” said Kimitei. “When they (the Moroccans) dropped their pace, that was the time I got those two guys.”

The Ottawa 10k once again served as the official Canadian championships. Natasha Wodak of Vancouver, a 2016 Olympian at 10,000m, was the first Canadian finishing seventh overall in 32:31. The men’s Canadian champion was Dylan Wykes, a 2012 Olympic marathon runner who was sixth overall in 29:56. The Canadian champions each earned CDN$3000.

London 10,000: Britons Mo Farah and Steph Twell win men's and women's titles

Sir Mo Farah and Steph Twell retained their British 10K road race titles at the Vitality London 10,000 this morning as thousands turned out to run through the sun-bathed streets of the British capital.

For Farah it was his seventh win in seven races on the famous central London course, while Twell took two seconds from her personal best to win the women’s crown for a second time just 24 hours after setting a world mile record for running hand-in-hand.

In the end Farah’s win was easy enough but the four-times Olympic champion was pushed hard by Rio Olympian Andy Butchart and former British Mile champion Nick Goolab before prevailing in 28:15.

“I really enjoyed it today,” said Farah, who was racing for the first time since finishing fifth in the Virgin Money London Marathon last month. “I love coming to London and particularly running on this course. It’s fantastic to win for a seventh time.

“The London Marathon is behind me now. I was a bit disappointed not to run quicker there but I have recovered well and was confident today.”

Goolab led the trio through halfway in 14:08 before he dropped back, but Butchart hung on until the last two kilometres, when Farah finally kicked away and put more than 100m between the pair.

“I knew Andy and Nick are both running well and I would have to keep my eyes on them,” said Farah. “We got rid of Nick, but Andy kept pushing and pushing and pushing.

“I thought, ‘When am I going to get rid of you?’ He did very well, but I was confident I could do it in the end. This is my race.”

Butchart may have failed to add to his victories here in 2016 and 2017, but the Scot was pleased enough to finish runner-up just 13 seconds behind, matching his personal best from 2016.

“I knew I would have to do the hard work,” said Butchart, who led for most of the first 5K. “But Mo was just chilling really. It’s really hard to lead a 10K and get away from someone like him.

“I wanted a good run and got that. It was only in the last 2K that he pulled away and I’m pleased to equal by PB. It shows I’m ready to run fast in the track.”

As for Twell, she set off at a pelt in the women’s race, running with a small group of male club runners as she established an unassailable lead that grew with every step.

On Sunday she and husband Joe Morwood had smashed the Guinness World Record for the fastest road mile holding hands, but that effort did little to dent her 10K title defence.

Twell passed halfway in 15:33 and eventually won by nearly 40 seconds from Stockport’s Jess Piasecki with Verity Ockenden of Swansea taking third.

“This is a great course and a great event,” said the two-time Olympian who stopped the clock at 31:55. “A personal best and a world record in one weekend can’t be bad.

“My legs were fine after yesterday, but I think I felt it in my arms a bit. The bigger races always bring out the best in me, and this is one of the biggest and the best.

“Today was London in its full glory and the crowds were fantastic. I’m just delighted.”

The unheralded Piasecki was also pleased as she clinched the runner-up spot in her best time of 32:33, while Ockenden also took some well-known scalps from a race loaded with internationals as she pinched the last podium place in 32:39, a PB for her by nearly two minutes.

“I saw Steph go off and I knew that was too fast for me,” said Piasecki. “But I ran quite within myself until the last kilometre. That was tough but it was worth it to finish second.”

As an aside,  My Best Runs publisher and founder Bob Anderson placed third in the 70 plus division clocking 49:22.  “What a great event,” says Bob.  “This is for sure a Bucket List race.  It may only be 10k but it is worth traveling too.  Congrats to Mo and Steph, the winners today.”  (Third photo) Bob with Barrie Nicholls (65-year-old runner/actor from London) at the finish line. 

Tokyo unveil new heat prevention measure for the 2020 Olympics. - umbrella hats

It’s hard to tell whether making people look like mercenary swordsmen of feudal Japan was intentional or not.

The weather is warming up as Japan heads back into the summer, and it’s quickly reminding everyone just how much this season sucks. In urban areas, little green space and scant shade transform entire neighborhoods in heat islands, which are places where the heat hits you from both the scorching sun above and the blistering asphalt beneath.

Runners from all over the world run will be running the marathon, 10,000m and 5000m on the track and thousands of spectators will be standing around for the 2020 Olympics. The city has been mulling several strategies such as shifting the event to the early or late hours, adopting day light savings time, and even having all nearby shops blast the air conditioning with their front doors open.

But now at a press conference on 24 May, Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike unveiled their latest weapon against the heat: these goofy looking hats!

Kenyans dominated the 22nd edition of the Mont-Saint-Michel marathon

This is the queen race and Kenyans are the kings. They were nearly 5000 runners this Sunday morning to start at Cancale, the Mont-Saint-Michel marathon, culmination of Run In Mont-Saint-Michel 2019.

A trio was quick to detach and race in the lead, a trio 100% Kenyan. At the end of the marathon course, it was Moses M'Warur, winner of the Antwerp Marathon on May 9, who crossed the finish line first clocking 2:17:17.  Stephen Kiplimo and Isaac N'Geno climbed up the steps of the podium respectively for second and third clocking 2:17:31 and 2:19:40. 

On the women's side, Kenya's Fatih Kipsum was first in 2:42:31, ahead of Ethiopia's Ge'damnesh Mekuanent.

Kathy Lynch is hoping to complete her first BOLDERBoulder since liver transplant, this Monday

More than 50,000 runners and walkers will fill the streets of Boulder on Memorial Day for the running of the BOLDERBoulder . Many of those people will be first-time participants, but others will be running their fifth, tenth, or even 41st races.

“It’s just a fun event and I love it. It’s a great way to stay in shape,” said Kathy Lynch.

Kathy will be running her twelfth BOLDERBoulder this year, but this time around, it’s got a special meaning all because of something that happened back in January.

“I got a phone call right when I came home and they said, ‘We have a liver. You have to come in for surgery,’ and I was shocked and I couldn’t believe it,” she remembered.

Five years ago, Kathy was diagnosed with Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis (PSC), a rare autoimmune disease that destroyed the bile ducts of her liver. She had been on the list for a new liver ever since.

“The doctors are surprised at how well I’m doing,” she said. “They feel I’m ahead of schedule as far as recovery goes.”

Kathy was one of 378 Coloradans waiting for a new liver. Across the state, just under 2,000 people are waiting for transplants; 1,540 are waiting specifically for kidney transplants.

“When they get this new organ, it’s almost like getting a new life and they are able to continue on with what they used to love and do before,” Donor Alliance ’s Brianna DiPilato said. “You can go run races. You can do whatever you did before.”

Kathy and her family expect that it may take her a bit longer this year to cross the finish line, but they say it’s going to be very special when she gets there.

Not only will she be doing it with a smile on her face, but she will be doing it with a ring on her finger inscribed with the date of her transplant.

“It reminds me every day of the donor who donated and his family,” Kathy said. “I’m so grateful and I’ll be thinking of them all.”

For more information on how to become an organ donor, visit the Donor Alliance webpage and click on " Become a Donor " in the upper left corner.

Rachel Hannah and Reid Coolsaet are Canadian headliners for Ottawa Marathon this weekend

Last year’s Scotiabank Ottawa Marathon saw a new female Canadian All-Comers record set at 2:22:17 and the field for the 2019 event could rival that of 2018.

Shuko Gemeno, Abeba-Tekula Gebremeskel and Tigist Girma all have personal bests under 2:27:00 and all have recent wins under their belts. The three Ethiopian women could work together to being each other to new personal bests and challenge the Canadian All-Comers and course record.

The Canadian women’s contingent includes 2:32 marathoner Rachel Hannah, Dayna Pidhoresky and Anne-Marie Comeau. Hannah and Pidhoresky are no strangers to the distance, but Sunday will be Comeau’s debut. The 22-year-old winter Olympian has been dominant on the roads for several years and we’re excited to see what she can do over 42.2K.

In the men’s field, Abera Kuma of Ethiopia has run under 2:06 twice, most recently 2:05:50 at the 2018 Rotterdam Marathon. Joining Kuma is Adugna Takele who was third in Ottawa a year ago, and ran a huge personal best in February at 2:06:32. The fastest man in the field is Getu Feleke at 2:04:50. Kenyan Martin Kosgey is also racing with an incoming time of 2:06:41.

The dark horse in the field is 23-year-old Ayana Tsede who comes in with a recent win at the 2019 Seville Marathon and a new personal best of 2:06:36.

Reid Coolsaet leads the Canadian men on his 10 year anniversary since his debut marathon. “I’m going to try to run as fast as I can on the Ottawa course, which will hopefully give me a solid placing and some points to help with my world ranking.

I’m realistically aiming for a 2:13 on the weekend.” The world championships in Doha this fall are also on Coolsaet’s radar. “Worlds would actually be a great setup for the Olympics. If you finish well at worlds the points could qualify you for Tokyo. It will be very hot in Doha, which will be good training for Tokyo as well.”

Coolsaet is coming off his longest altitude stint yet. “Boulder was really great. I got good training in and I had great people to train with. My son liked it too–any time we did some technical mountain climbing he got really into it.”

Peres Jepchirchir and Mohammed Ziani, the winners in 2016, headline the fields for Saturday night’s Ottawa 10km

The elite women are given 3:40 head start over the elite men and the first across the line earns an extra CDN$2,000 in addition to the CDN$5,000 winner’s purse. It was Jepchirchir who held off Ziani in 2016.

Jepchirchir, who held off Ziani in 2016, is making her comeback since giving birth to a baby boy at the tail end of 2017. Whether she can find the form that carried her to a PB of 30:55 for the distance in 2015 as well as capture the 2016 world half marathon title is intriguing, but she started 2019 strongly with a 1:07:36 clocking at the Ras Al-Khaimah Half Marathon.

The expected competition will likely come from her compatriot Paskalia Kipkoech, the 2012 world half marathon bronze medallist who has a 10km PB of 30:57, and 20-year-old Ethiopian Gete Alemayehu, who ran 31:12 to win the Corrida Pédestre Internationale de Houilles in France last December.

The heat and humidity at the 2016 Ottawa 10k left Jepchirchir shattered at the finish and requiring brief medical attention. But the forecast calls for rain this year, possibly even a thunderstorm.

Ziani, who finished fourth last year, will be joined by compatriot Mohamed El Aaraby who ran 27:58 at the Valencia 10k earlier this year.

Kenya’s Moses Kibet, a former steeplechaser, will challenge the two Moroccans no doubt. Last June he won the La Corrida de Langueux in a personal best of 28:26, while more recently he finished second at the Jianzhen International Half Marathon in China in a PB of 59:58.

Major flooding in recent weeks along the Ottawa River has meant that the Ottawa Marathon course has undergone substantial changes. Still, the incoming international athletes are aware that the women’s (Gelete Burka 2:22:13 2018) and men’s race records (Yemane Tsegay 2:06:54 2014) are going to be tough to beat.

Pre-race favorite Tirfi Tsegaye was forced to withdraw earlier this week after picking up a hamstring injury, but her absence leaves an evenly matched group tasked with extending Ethiopia’s winning streak to 10 women’s marathon titles in Ottawa.

Shuko Gemeno, Abeba Gebremeskel, Bethelhem Moges and Tigist Girma are all capable of victory. The latter keeps improving in leaps and bounds though her personal best is still ‘just’ 2:26:44. The winner will earn CDN$30,000.

Kara Goucher Nearly Collides With Mountain Lion on Morning Training Run

The big cats are a regular part of life in Boulder, but the former Olympian wasn’t expecting to see one on a populated road.

Even Kara Goucher, 2:24:52 marathoner and mainstay of U.S. women’s distance running for over a decade, gets spooked sometimes. But when it’s a dangerous wild predator just inches away from you, that’s understandable.

Since the return of an old hamstring injury forced Goucher to drop out of January’s Houston Marathon after 16 miles—her first marathon attempt since her heartbreaking fourth-place finish at the 2016 Olympic Trials—Goucher has taken her running in a new direction: the trails.

Though she wants more time to acclimate to the new discipline, Goucher told Runner’s World, training in her home of Boulder, Colorado has been going well. That is, until she nearly collided with a mountain lion.

Goucher set out around 8:45 a.m. local time on Monday, May 6, toward the trail systems west of Boulder. As she passed alongside a parked truck outside a residential construction site on Sunshine Canyon Drive—still a Boulder road, not a trail—a mountain lion sprinted across the front of the vehicle. The two were inches away when they saw each other, Goucher told Runner’s World.

“It happened so fast,” Goucher said. “In my mind I was like, ‘That’s not a dog, that’s not a cat. Holy sh--.’”

Goucher set out around 8:45 a.m. local time on Monday, May 6, toward the trail systems west of Boulder. As she passed alongside a parked truck outside a residential construction site on Sunshine Canyon Drive—still a Boulder road, not a trail—a mountain lion sprinted across the front of the vehicle. The two were inches away when they saw each other, Goucher told Runner’s World.

“It happened so fast,” Goucher said. “In my mind I was like, ‘That’s not a dog, that’s not a cat. Holy sh--.’”

But the circumstances—along a developed, populated road in broad daylight—caught her off guard.

“The more I’ve talked to people, the more I’ve thought about it, the fact I ran into it was such a fluke incident,” she said.

Goucher hasn’t braved the trails alone since the incident. (She has run with her male training partner on the trails and alone on the road.) She’s not sure if the unease will wear off in time, but doesn’t plan to venture into the wilderness alone in the near future.

Her biggest takeaway is the need to be more actively prepared for similar encounters, Goucher said. In theory, she knew the standard advice—stay calm, stand your ground, appear intimidating—but that knowledge went out the window in the moment.

“I don’t normally worry about it, because I think I make smart choices,” she said. “But people should practice making yourself big and backing away. I want to make sure if I’m in the situation again, I make the right decisions.”

Erick Stark 8-year-old plans to run the Bayshore Half Marathon this weekend

Eric Stark’s races begin with a pizza dinner and the Stark family pre-run motto: “We are going to do our best and have fun.”

The Kingsley 8-year-old’s been running — and placing — in fun runs, 5ks and 10ks since he was 3. But his biggest challenge yet comes Saturday — the Bayshore Half-Marathon. The 13.1-mile race kicks off at 7:30 a.m. just south of Bowers Harbor Park, And Eric is ready.

“For training, I’ve ran eight miles and 10 miles so far, and then shorter runs,” said the third-grader, who splits his time between running, schoolwork and practice with his baseball team in the Kingsley Recreational League.

His most recent race, in which he placed second for his age group, was the Interlochen Run for the Arts 5k, and last year he ran the Bayshore 10k. Eric’s age groups tend to be small — he says he competes against “mostly older people” — but that doesn’t mean he’s not competitive.

“He’s a pretty fast 8-year-old,” said Dad Chris Stark. “His times in 5ks usually place him in the top 20 racers.” Chris, a member of the Traverse City Track Club’s racing team and board of directors, started running competitively about seven years ago. Since then he’s run five marathons, including two 26.2-mile jaunts in the Boston Marathon.

“It helps keep me physically fit and helps set an example for my children — which I feel like I’ve done a pretty good job at,” Chris said. “And it helps with my mental health — it helps clear my mind and ease some stress of the day.”

He often runs races at his son’s side, and will for Saturday’s half. Lately, though, Eric’s made it through several 5ks and 10ks on his own. It’s a natural next step — Eric started with 1-mile races as a toddler. He ran his first 5k at 5 years old.

“He was one of those kids who didn’t bother walking — he started running right away,” Chris said. “We figured we should channel that.”

The pair carve out time to train a few times a week, joined by longer runs on the weekends. Both run, too, with the Track Club, It’s a family matter.

“My wife is a pretty avid runner and my 6-year-old daughter has been doing 5ks as well — she’s definitely getting the itch to join us,” Chris said.

Ex-All-American Joseph Whelan goal is to qualify for the Olympic marathon trials

Joseph Whelan, 38, a high school All-American in 2008, is training for the Grandma’s Marathon on June 22 in Duluth, Minn., and aims to run his goal marathon pace of 5:05 per mile up to 18 miles in Buffalo first.  

“I’m going to try to do a workout inside of the Buffalo marathon,” said Whelan, who lives in Spring Branch, Texas, where he is a construction site supervisor. “I’m going to try to win, but it makes sense for me to come home, get out of the heat and get a nice, long effort in, before I have another big marathon.”

Joseph began running marathons a little more than two years ago. Whelan ran cross country and track at Syracuse, but after he graduated in 2014, he focused on relocating and starting his career. When he told people he was a runner, other hardcore runners asked two questions of him: What’s your mile time? What’s your marathon time?

“I took a couple years off after college, not competing, but I’d run all through middle school, high school and college, and it felt like I was obligated to run,” Whelan said. “In 2017, that was the first year that I really thought, ‘I need to put something on the table and do something other than work.’ I needed to run a marathon to say that I’m a runner, and that became my New Year’s resolution in 2017.”

Whelan, who was third in the Buffalo YMCA Turkey Trot in November, is now preparing to qualify for the 2020 Olympic Trials next year in Atlanta. The qualifying time for the 2020 marathon trials is 2:19; Whelan aims to complete the 26.2-mile course in less than 2:13.48.

“I enjoyed the training and the buildup for a marathon, and I thought, hey, if I can focus on this, I can do really well in a marathon. Eventually, I want to do the marathons in Chicago, Boston and New York. They’re the big ones.”

80-year-old Denis McKee is set to run his fourth 5K at Tamarack in Ottawa

80 years old, McKee will be running the 5K at the Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend on Saturday at 4 p.m.

“It’s good for you, but it’s hard work … I think there’s a payoff. I’m still here, that’s one thing,” McKee said. “I feel good about it after I’ve done it. I’m tired … but I feel like I’ve accomplished something.”

Exercise was reintroduced to his life after he got into a car accident in 2013.  Luckily, he could turn to his daughters, Heather McKee and Nancy Fay, for some motivation.

“I felt I had to do something to get training because of the pain … I saw Heather, who started (running half marathons) in her early 40s … and my other daughter, Nancy, has been trekking … the Himalayas, the Andes,” McKee said. “I guess they inspired me.”

In 2016, he tried exercising again. Currently, he heads to the gym for an hour most mornings. He hits the treadmill and does some other leg-strengthening exercises.

“I do it because it feels OK for me. I don’t train so much for races. I just do the exercise. Racing is the cream on the pie,” he said. Though this year’s Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend won’t be his first run, it’s his first since turning 80.

In October 2017, he ran his first 5K during the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon. McKee said he was nervous at the time.

“I was embarrassed to be there. (I’m) tall and skinny and (didn’t feel) like (I was) in the greatest condition. (I) expected to see a whole bunch of real jocks,” he said.

All McKee wanted to do was finish, and he did. “I was quite arrogant. I was pleased with myself,” he said. “It was an amazing experience to see the people, all ages, sizes, shapes and conditions, getting out there.”

Next, he ran the 5K in last year’s Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend, then followed that up by running his third 5K back at Toronto’s Waterfront in 2018.

Wilf Scolding known by millions as Rhaegar Targaryen on The Game of Thrones is running the Edinburgh Marathon

Wilf is known by millions as Rhaegar Targaryen, the character he played in hit TV series Game of Thrones, but on Sunday Wilf Scolding will be taking on the much more likeable role of fundraiser as he runs Edinburgh Marathon on behalf of children’s charity – Mary’s Meals.

The Welsh actor has raised more than £1,000 already for the charity that provides meals for chronically poor children across 18 developing countries around the globe, including Malawi, Zambia, South Sudan, Haiti, India and Zimbabwe.

The 29-year-old was inspired to take on the marathon, despite having never previously ran more than a few miles, after he was gifted The Shed That Fed a Million Children, a book written by Mary’s Meals founder Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow for his birthday.

The Game of Thrones actor explained: “It opened my eyes to how lucky I was and how unlucky some people can be.

“They feed just over 1.4 million children in places of education across the world. All too often in developing countries children cannot go to school because they are working alongside their parents to put food on the table.

“They are trapped in this cycle of poverty because they do not have access to an education.

“Mary’s Meals, by providing food in a place of education, breaks this cycle of poverty. 

Wilf has utilised his thousands of Twitter followers to raise funds for the charity by continuing to share his training progress as well as his dedication to ending world hunger across his social media platforms.

Commenting on Wilf’s efforts, Frank Nelson, Head of Fundraising at Mary’s Meals, said: “We are extremely grateful to Wilf for supporting Mary’s Meals and helping to raise awareness of our charity. We wish him the very best of luck with Sunday’s marathon.

“Our work would not be possible without the generosity of supporters like Wilf who are inspired to make a difference.”

Yuki and Yuko have known each other for 11 years and today they got married

The 2018 Boston Marathon champion Yuki Kawauchi married Yuko Mizuguchi today.  He wrote on Facebook,  “She loves running as same as me. Yuko PB’s are 2:31:39 for the marathon, 1:11:03 Half marathon and 32:10 for 10000m.

They recently won both the men’s and women’s titles at the Vancouver Marathon in Canada.  

Yuki who is now a professional runner and not working full time continued,  “We met at New Caledonia international marathon 11 years ago.”

They will run the Gold Coast marathon in July and the New Caledonia international marathon in August.

Aliphine Tuliamuk and Stephanie Bruce are set to run the BOLDER Boulder 10K event on Monday

Aliphine Tuliamuk and Stephanie Bruce have a neatly entangled relationship as NAZ Elite teammates.

It's the kind of relationship that's somewhat elusive to the sport of running, and it's been working for the two veterans.

“They are good friends, they respect one another, they have a lot of admiration for one another, and yet on race day they try to beat one another," NAZ Elite head coach Ben Rosario said Wednesday, "and then afterward they are friends still. It’s a pretty cool situation because they are raising the bar for one another it seems like constantly.”

Tuliamuk and Bruce are set to run the BOLDER Boulder 10K on Memorial Day, and then compete again on Saturday, June 8, when they take on the New York Mini 10K, which serves as this year's USATF national championship at the distance. Both toe the lines of the next couple races on a level of performance that's been demanding attention, with fans and opponents waiting to see what the two will do next.

They have each other to thank for the attention they deserve, whether it be on the big stage such as a championship race in New York City, or a race that's part of their buildup for more major events. 

When Tuliamuk joined NAZ Elite in January of 2018, she brought plenty of past success along with her aggressor mentality that surfaces, according to Rosario, on race day and during practices. Meanwhile, Bruce makes sure she and others are hitting their paces while training, bringing a practical approach to training and racing.

Together, they create a balance and a drive to get better.

Bruce enters BOLDER Boulder and the Mini 10K riding arguably the best run of success of her career. She's also arguably in the best shape of her life.

The last time Bruce ran BOLDER Boulder was in 2017 and she took eighth place in 34:35. Tuliamuk took second place last year at the event with a time of 32:48 while not far removed from her back-to-back national titles.

Coach John Hamlett says defending Comrades Marathon champion will be hard-pressed to defend his 2017 title

Speaking at the Team Entsika's launch in Dullstroom in Mpumalanga on Thursday‚ Hamlett‚ who has coached five Comrades Marathon winners since 2001‚ said Mthembu will be hard-pressed to defend his 2017 title because of his recent Two Oceans Marathon win.

“He's a tough athlete and there's nothing wrong with the man."It would be wonderful for him to win because it would make him into a legend.

"However‚ he's got a problem in reality because the guys feel exactly the way he does. They're hungry‚” Hamlett said.Team Entsika‚ which replaced the Tom-Tom Athletics team two years ago‚ has the likes of Gordon Lesetedi‚ Gift Kelehe and Siya Mqambeli to call on.

Kelehe followed in his brother Andrew's footsteps by winning the 2015 up-run in a time of 5.38.36 while his brother won the 2001 down-run in a time of 5.25.51.

Lesetedi (sixth)‚ down-run record holder David Gatebe (eighth) and Kelehe (ninth) were part of a Team Entsika trio that finished in the top 10 in last year's down-run that was won by Mthembu in a time of 5.26.34.

Mthembu won the 2017 up-run in a time of 5.35.34 in a race where Kelehe was third in a time of 5.41.48.Mthembu won last month's Two Oceans Marathon in Cape Town in a time of 3.08.40.

“We've given him the bonus for the past two years but as a coach‚ I am concerned by the fact that he's run and won the Two Oceans Marathon so close to the Comrades‚" he said."It doesn't help you too much but we'll talk after 65kms.

”This year's Comrades Marathon up from Durban to Pietermaritzburg will take place on June 9.

Past national champions Stephanie Bruce, Aliphine Tuliamuk, Emily Sisson and Deena Kastor to toe the line in Central Park

This year’s NYRR New York Mini 10K, the world’s original women-only road race, will serve as the USATF 10 km Championships for the first time in the event’s 47-year history on Saturday, June 8 and feature one of the best professional athlete fields ever assembled for the event.

The professional open division will include four U.S. 10K champions – Stephanie Bruce (2018), Aliphine Tuliamuk (2017), Emily Sisson (2016), and Deena Kastor (2007) – while the professional wheelchair division will return for the second year with defending champion Susannah Scaroni.

“The Mini is one of road racing’s crown jewels and has been a showcase for many of the world’s greatest runners for decades,” said Chris Weiller, NYRR’s head of professional athletics. “With the national championship on the line for the first time, we’re excited to welcome one of the greatest collections of American women in event history. This year will be special.”

The 2019 USATF 10 km Championships will offer a $75,000 prize purse – the most-ever for a single gender USATF 10 km Championships – including $20,000 for the first-place finisher and will be streamed live on USATF.TV. The women’s 10 km Championships have taken place every year since 1978 and since 2002 have been a part of the USATF Running Circuit, which features championships from one mile through the marathon and consistently attracts the best American distance runners. 

Sisson, who won the USATF 5 km title in Central Park last year and was the top American woman in April’s London Marathon in her 26.2-mile debut, will be going for her second national title in the distance. In Central Park, she will be challenged by defending USATF 10 km and Half-Marathon champion Bruce, nine-time U.S. champion Tuliamuk, and U.S. champions Jordan Hasay, Sara Hall and Laura Thweatt, along with Kastor, the American marathon record-holder and 2004 NYRR New York Mini 10K champion. 

“I’m excited to be lining up for one of the greatest American women’s fields ever assembled at the country’s most historic all-women’s race,” Sisson said. “I’ve had success in winning the USATF 10 km Championships before and will look to repeat that at this year’s NYRR New York Mini 10K, which is a great showcase of how far women’s running has come in our country.”

Steven Hollander and his brother Spencer ultimate goal is to run all six marathon majors

Steven Hollander made one of his dreams come true April 15.

For the past 10 years, Hollander dreamed of running the Boston Marathon, the oldest annual marathon in the world and the most prestigious in the marathon community. Runners must qualify based on their age and finish time, which makes it extremely competitive to get into.

He qualified in January 2018 during the Houston Marathon with a time of 2:57:13, just under the 3:00:00 qualifying time for his age group. Three months later, nine marathons after he first set the goal, he and his brother, Spencer Hollander, ran the Boston race.

Out of nearly 26,000 runners, Steven finished in top six percent with a time of 2:54:35, which qualified him for next year’s event as well. He was the fourth runner from the state of South Carolina to cross the finish line, second from the Lowcountry region and first from the Summerville area.

Spencer finished with a time of 3:05:26. Their ultimate goal is to complete the Abbott World Marathon Series together, which means completing the Boston, NYC, Chicago, Tokyo, Berlin, and London marathons. Later this year, they will run in the Chicago marathon, step two of six.

The Cotton Row Run in Huntsville is celebrating 40 years and is featuring a new 5k course

For four decades, this road race has been a Memorial Day tradition in downtown Huntsville.

Each year the runners assembled at the start are reminded of the meaning of Memorial Day and that they have the freedom to run because brave Americans sacrificed for this nation’s liberty.

The 40th annual Cotton Row Run is scheduled for Monday, Memorial Day. Construction moved the start from the Von Braun Center to Big Spring Park. The 10K course remains basically the same, including the big hill on Mountainwood Drive, but the 5K course is totally different.

“We’re excited. Lots of new changes this year,” said Donna Palumbo, in her second year as race director.

The new title sponsor, Bill Penney Toyota, will give away a 2019 Mitsubishi Mirage, to a race registrant whose name is selected by computer.

On Monday, the 10K starts at 7 a.m. and the 5K at 9 a.m. The pace car will be given away during the 5K opening ceremony from 8:40-9. The one-mile fun run starts at 10 a.m.

More runners have registered for this year’s race than in 2018, according to race organizers. By the close of regular registration, 2,140 had registered for the 10K, 1,719 for the 5K and 205 for the one mile. By comparison the final numbers for the 2018 Cotton Row had 2,079 10K, 1,620 5K and 184 one-mile.

“We’re ahead of the total numbers now (from last year),” Eric Fritz, president of the Huntsville Track Club, which conducts the race, said. “We usually get over 400 (late registrants) the day before the race.”

Three men who have run all 39 Cotton Row 10Ks and plan to run their 40th on Monday include Bill Allbritton, 64, of Scottsboro; J.D. Turner, 71, of near Elkton, Tennessee; and Kevin Jose, 58, of Huntsville.

More than 450,000 runners want to run the next London Marathon, the most ever

More than 450,000 runners have entered the ballot for next year's London Marathon, breaking the event's own world record for registrations, organisers said on Tuesday.

The final total of 457,861 applicants from Britain and overseas represents a 10.5% increase on last year's 414,168 bidding for a place in the world's most popular marathon.

More than 56% of British entries were from people who have never run a marathon, and the majority of those are women.

"One of our goals is to inspire people to take up sport and it's fantastic that more than 210,000 people from the UK have been inspired to apply to run a marathon for the first time in 2020," event director Hugh Brasher said in a statement.

"At the first London Marathon back in 1981, fewer than 300 of the 6,300 finishers were women.

"More than 179,000 women from the UK have applied to run in 2020 and, for the third successive year, there are more female than male first-time marathon runners from the UK."

The 40th London marathon will take place on April 26, 2020.

Twenty elite runners are confirmed for Saturday’s 7th Okpekpe International 10km Road Race in Okpekpe

Leading the cast of gold level running athletes are former Okpekpe race winners, Alex Korio and Simon Cheprot of Kenya. Korio won in 2015 edition (29.20) while Cheprot outran all his rivals the following year (29:47). Both are 27 minutes runners as they hold 27:48 (2017) and 27:41 (2014) respectively.

“Just last June, Cheprot ran 27.44 at Oelde in Germany and looks like he will be aiming to become the first man to win two Okpekpe titles,” said Mercy Etukudo, head of secretariat for the first IAAF road running event in West Africa to be granted an IAAF label status.

“We also have Taye Grima, one of the Ethiopians on board the Okpekpe train that will challenge the Kenyans for the title. He has done 28:33 this year (January) and looks to be among the on-form athletes who will be coming to rewrite the course record on Saturday,” Etukudo added.

For the women, another former winner, Polline Wanjiku will be leading the charge for the title and possibly set a new course record.

“Wanjiku was the winner in 2016 and ran 33 minutes, 28 seconds to win. She is one of the gold level running athletes that we hope will crack the course record on Saturday.”

Etukudo is confident this year’s race will be very explosive going by the quality of athletes confirmed and reveals why organisers of the event have gone to invite as many as 20 gold level running athletes, surpassing the 12 stipulated by the IAAF.

“You know we always go for the best when it comes to the organisation of the race. What we have done is unprecedented in the history of road running in Nigeria. To have as many as 20 gold level-running athletes in a road race in Nigeria is a record and at Okpekpe we always set new records.

“Remember we are the first to have its course measured by an IAAF/AIMS accredited measurer. We are also the first to be granted a label status, a bronze in 2015.

“We graduated to silver last year which is another first in Nigeria and the West Africa sub-region.

”We have confirmed 10 male athletes and 10 female gold level running athletes, five silver level and two bronze level running athletes for Saturday’s race. We have 13 with no status as well as the Nigerian elite athletes who also come under no status. We now have the perfect stage to set new marks on Saturday.

“The last time we had athletes who ran under 29 minutes for men and 33 minutes for women was five years ago, precisely 2014 when the Ethiopian duo of Teshome Mekonnen and Wude Ayalew ran 28:35 and 32:41 respectively to set the current course records for men and women,” added Etukudo.

Impressive International field will be racing at the Prefontaine Classic at Stanford

World 5000m and cross-country champion Hellen Obiri will be making her sixth appearance at the Prefontaine Classic. She set meeting records at 1500m in 2013 and 2014, then won the 5000m in 2016.

The Kenyan, who won the 5000m IAAF Diamond League title in 2018, is undefeated this year and won the 3000m at the opening leg of the IAAF Diamond League in Doha earlier this month in a world-leading 8:25.60.

Multiple world record-holder and five-time world indoor champion Genzebe Dibaba has won all three of her past Pre Classic appearances and her 14:19.76 victory in 2015 is the fastest 5000m ever run in the US.

Sifan Hassan won the 1500m Diamond League trophy in 2015 and followed it with world indoor gold over the same distance in 2016. The Dutch athlete is one of the most versatile runners in history, boasting an 800m PB of 1:56.81 and a half marathon PB of 1:05:15. She also holds the European 5000m record and the world 5km record.

Olympic 10,000m champion and world record-holder Almaz Ayana will be competing in the US for the first time. The Ethiopian won the 2015 world 5000m title, 2016 5000m Diamond Trophy and 2017 world 10,000m title, but missed all of last year with a knee injury.

Obiri, Dibaba, Ayana and Hassan are among the seven fastest women of all time at 5000m, but this will be the first time they have all raced one another at any distance.

The addition of world and Olympic 800m champion Caster Semenya adds further interest. Although she has contested the distance in low-key domestic races in South Africa, this will be her first international 3000m race.

Ethiopia’s Letesenbet Gidey and Senbere Teferi, ranked eighth and ninth respectively on the world 5000m all-time list, are also in the field. Gidey is a two-time world U20 cross-country champion, while Teferi earned world silver medals at 5000m and cross country in 2015.

The field also includes two-time Ethiopian champion Fantu Worku, versatile Kenyan Caroline Chepkoech Kipkurui, world U20 cross-country champion Beatrice Chebet, 2017 world cross-country bronze medallist Lilian Kasait Rengeruk, double European indoor silver medallist Konstanze Klosterhalfen, 2016 European 5000m and 10,000m champion Yasmin Can, European 1500m bronze medallist Laura Weightman, six-time NCAA champion Karissa Schweizer and USA’s Rachel Schneider.

Gwen Jorgensen had undergone surgery to correct a foot issue called Haglund’s deformity

On May 17, American triathlete-turned-marathoner Gwen Jorgensen of Portland, Oregon had surgery in Colorado to repair a Haglund’s Deformity, a bony growth on the back of the heel (where the Achilles tendon attaches) that causes pain. Jorgensen expects to be out of training for three to four months as she recovers.

This is the same surgery Galen Rupp had in October, though as Jonathan Gault reports, his operation was a bit trickier since the surgeon had to detach and re-attach his Achilles tendon, where that was not necessary in Jorgensen’s case.

Jorgensen reports she has been dealing with pain from the injury for some time. She tried PRP (platelet-rich plasma) injections and cortisone shots, but was never pain-free for long, and the decision was made to have the surgery.

The injury has been linked to wearing high heels (not likely a factor in Jorgensen’s case) but is generally termed idiopathic, meaning it can crop up in anyone without any obvious cause.

Jorgensen reports that this is the first chronic injury she has had to deal with in her careers as a triathlete and runner. (Jorgensen won gold in the 2016 Olympic triathlon, and ran her professional marathon debut at Chicagolast October, where she finished in 11th place in 2:36.)

She is in a cast and walking with crutches for the first two weeks, and will not be able to run for about six weeks. The timeline for recovery is likely three to four months, but Jorgensen says she’s prepared to take it as it comes and does not have any races on her schedule. “The number-one goal is to be healthy,” she says.

“The one major reason I did this surgery was so I could accomplish my goals, and I need to be healthy in order to do that.”

Cu­ba's Rich­er Perez Cobas and Raquel Agude­lo Berrio of Colom­bia the win­ners of the Sea to Sea Marathon

Perez has earned him­self the name 'The Beast' for his per­for­mances over the week­end. The Cuban, on Sat­ur­day, sprint­ed past the fin­ish line to claim the event's 10k road race.

Then 24 hours lat­er the Cuban held off his close ri­val Jose Elmer Ararat Di­az of Colom­bia in the marathon to take the victory clocking 2:51:10. 

Perez won last year and if he wins in 2020, he will get the tro­phy for keeps.

The Colom­bian took the run­ner-up prize in 2:52.26 while Kenya's God­frey Mbi­hia placed third.

Among the women, Agude­lo cruised to the win ahead of Sjae­lan Evans in three hours, 12 min­utes and 47 sec­onds. Evans placed second in three hours, 35 min­utes and 26 sec­onds.

She was fol­lowed in third by Chris­tine Reg­is (3:54:05) and fourth place went to Chantel Lemaitre (3:55:26).

The sweltering hot sun slowed down even the elite runners in all the races.  

Beatie Deutsch became the first Haredi woman to win an international half marathon competition

Beatie Deutsch, 29, won Sunday’s Riga Half Marathon race in Latvia clocking 1:17:34 making her the first haredia to win an international competition.

The New Jersey native always runs in modest attire which includes a head covering, skirt and long sleeves.

“It felt truly incredible to be running through the streets as a proud Jewish woman,” Deutsch wrote on her Facebook page.

Deutsch won the 2018 Jerusalem Marathon and the Tiberias Marathon in January. She ran the Tel Aviv Marathon in 2017 while seven months pregnant.

“I began running in October 2015. I made my decision to train for my first marathon in desperation to get back into shape. I was always athletic and enjoyed sports, but having four children in six years, I just couldn’t find time to consistently exercise.”

Deutsch came in second the Jerusalem Half Marathon and is a candidate to train for the Olympics in Tokyo next year.

“I’m working with my own coach now that Israel is partially funding my training. I was accepted as a candidate to train for the Olympics. I would have to meet certain criteria to make it to the games in Tokyo 2020. It's a process and I have to take it step by step."

Juggling her family, running, work and religion is definitely a challenge, says Deutsch but it's one that she is up for.

"My whole life I wanted to do something for the Jewish people.  I work at OLAMI, an organization that brings college students closer to religion as well as helping professionals get in touch with their roots by coming to Israel.  It's amazing that I was able to combine my passions with the goal of bringing more unity to the Jewish people."

Beatie created more headlines when she won the Tiberias Marathon, known as the Israeli Championship; on January 4 with a time of 2:452.  This put her squarely on center stage as a potential Olympic athlete. 

Caster Semenya is going to run the 3000m at the Pre Classic, a distance she can race without reducing her testosterone levels

South African's Caster Semenya is scheduled to compete in the 3,000m at the Diamond League's Prefontaine Classic in Stanford, California on June 30.  This is a distance she can race without reducing her testosterone levels, however it is not really her distance at least not at this point.

Semenya, who has won two Olympic gold medals over 800m, has made it very clear that she will not take medication to lower her testosterone levels to comply with the new IAAF rules.

This race will be her first since the new rules went into effect.

Under the new regulations, female athletes with high natural levels of testosterone wishing to compete in events from 400m to a mile must medically limit that level to under 5 nmol/L, double the normal female range of below 2 nmol/L.

Barring an appeal, Semenya can no longer compete in her specialist event after she lost her appeal against the new rules, stating that the regulations were necessary to ensure fair competition.

Semenya will be part of a world class field at the Prefontaine Classic that includes world 5,000-metres champion Hellen Obiri, 2016 world indoor 1,500-metres champion Sifan Hassan, and 2018 world indoor 1,500 and 3,000-metres champion Genzebe Dibaba.

“It was a request from Caster Semenya’s agent asking if she could run a 3,000,” meet director Tom Jordan told Reuters. “Of course we said yes.”

Semenya became South African national champion over 5,000m in April, but her time is way off the leading runners in the world over that distance.

Semenya has a personal best of 9:36 for 3,000m, the slowest in the field.  Dibaba is the quickest in the field with a best of 8:16. 

The South African’s last race over 800 meters was in the Diamond League in Doha on May 3, when she cruised to victory in 1:54.98, nearly three seconds ahead of Burundi’s Francine Niyonsaba.

“I’m a crazy athlete, 800 meters is my calling, I believe in it, and that’s what I want to do,” she said after winning in Doha.

“I will switch races when I want to — no man can tell me what to do. I’m here for a purpose, if I want to switch events I switch them, but if someone wants me to switch them, that’s their own problem, not mine."

The Prefontaine Classic is being staged in Stanford, California this year while a new stadium is built in Eugene, Oregon for the 2021 world championships.

Allyson Felix, the most decorated woman in Olympic track and field history, spoke out in support of Caster Semenya

Felix reacted to the IAAF rule change capping testosterone levels for athletes in women’s events between the 400m and mile, conversing with Julie Foudy on the Olympic soccer champion’s podcast, Laughter Permitted.

Semenya, the two-time Olympic 800m champion on a three-year win streak, has said she is being specifically targeted by the rule change.

The South African challenged the new rules but lost a decision, nearly a decade since word leaked that track officials mandated she undergo gender-verification testing after she won the world 800m title by 2.45 seconds at age 18.

“I’ve been disappointed from the beginning, of just how everything has been handled,” Felix said of her fellow Nike-sponsored runner. “I just think that it’s not OK. I stand with Caster. She’s a friend of mine. I just think that no one should have to go through what she’s had to go through. Not just in this moment. From the beginning of when she started competing. So I think it’s a very, very complex issue. … But I just think that it has been mishandled from the start.”

Barring another appeal, and one that is successful, it’s unknown if or when Semenya will be able to compete in her best races again.

Felix is glad that she’s not making the decision in a case that has been fiercely debated for years.

“There has to be something, or there should have already been something in place when you’re dealing with athletes with differences or intersex athletes. I don’t know. It’s challenging,” she said. “We’re talking about human beings. This is a person. To have all of this play out the way that it has, it makes me cringe to think of her dealing with this. This has been for 10 years now. I just feel like there is a better way.”

Felix also reiterated that she’s going for what would be her fifth Olympics in 2020 — “this last one and enjoy the whole ride.” Her daughter, Camryn, is now five months old after being born eight weeks premature and spending her first month in the NICU.

Aliphine Tuliamuk will be on the USA roster for the up coming Bolder Boulder

The women’s team will feature former Colorado Buffaloes star Aliphine Tiliamuk along with Shalaya Kipp, Tiliamuk finished second at last year’s women’s International Team Challenge.

Tuliamuk finished 11 seconds behind Ethiopia’s Mamita Daska, who won the elite 10-kilometer race for a record sixth time in 2018.

Rounding out the women’s squad will be Lindsey Scherf, who finished sixth last year on a USA women’s red team finished second behind Daska’s Ethiopian team; Taylor Ward, who finished third at the FORTitude pro 10K in Fort Collins last year; 2017 women’s citizen’s race winner Lauren Martin Masterson; a Deanna Ardrey, Stephanie Bruce, Melissa Dock, and Kaitlin Goodmen.

The remainder of the men’s team will be comprised of Parker Stinson, Haron Lagat, Reid Buchanan, Reed Fischer, Tim Rackers, Jake Riley, and Diego Estrada, who finished eighth last year and is the top returning American in the professional field.

The remainder of the international field will be announced at a later date.

“We’re ready for a super competitive international event thanks to the athlete’s continuing commitment to the race, “ Bolder Boulder race director Cliff Bosley said in a statement.

“Some of the top-ranked teams are trained in both altitude and marathon running and bring a competitive edge that keeps the event exhilarating to watch each and every year.”

Morné Basson will be attempting to run 72 half marathons in 72 days

For many, running one half marathon is a big deal, but Morné Basson, 43, is planning to run 72 consecutive half-marathons – in as many days.

When asked why he would be attempting to tackle this big (and maybe crazy) task, he answered, “Yes, Ido realise that people think I am crazy and am doing this for personal gain, but I’m actually doing it for a very good reason; to create awareness for people who suffer from Motor Neuron Disease (MND).

”He decided to undertake this challenge after losing a family member to this disease many years ago. “I ran quite a few Comrades Marathons, but, in 2015, I was not able to do so after my contract on a cruise ship was extended. So, while I was working on this ship in Alaska, I decided that I wanted to do something to create awareness for MND, and that I would run the marathon on a treadmill, at the same time as they were running in Durban,” said Morné. 

“In 2016, I decided to run 160km on a treadmill at the SA Rugby Museum in Cape Town for the same cause. In 2017, I became the first person in the world to run 31 full marathons in 31 days on a treadmill at various shopping malls in Gauteng. The plan was to do a crazy event in 2018, but my fiancèe passed away on 12 March 2018, and it became a very challenging and difficult year for me.”

Morné believed that he should continue to create awareness for this disease, which still has no cure, and explained, “There are very few companies or individuals doing anything for MND patients, and that is the main reason I will continue to create awareness and put pressure on companies to do more for this crippling disease.” 

So, on July 15, Morné will kick off his Guinness World Record attempt, which will be done at various Planet Fitness branches throughout South Africa.

Yassine Rachik won the Mattoni Karlovy Vary Half Marathon clocking 1:02:59

Prestigious  victory in the Mattoni Karlovy Vary Half Marathon, in the Czech Republic, with Yassine Rachik who established herself in 1:02:59, three weeks from 2:08:05 in the London marathon, the fourth Italian ever and best national result in the last thirteen years.

The 25-year-old, registered for the Athletics Casone Noceto, won clearly at the end of a race conducted for more than half in solitary, clearly detaching the Ukrainians Roman Romanenko, defending champion, second in 1:04:39, and Mykola Iukhymchuk, third in 1:04:58.

For Yassine this is his fourth career performance on the half, with the PB stopped at 1:02:13 obtained in 2017 in Agropoli.

"I'm really happy for what I managed to do. I thought I wasn't doing too well after the marathon, but instead I had a good time running around feeling. I found myself in the lead from the seventh kilometer, with a stretch, then I tried to go on by myself and I didn't lose anything on the rhythm ”, the words of the blue.

In the women's field the victory of the Moldovan Lilia Fisikovici in 1:12:34 on the Ukrainian Olha Kotovska, second in 1:14:32, and Viktoria Kalyuzhna, third in 1:14:45.

Gabriel Geay was the overall winner of the 108th annual Alaska Air Bay to Breakers clocking 35:01 for 12K

108 years of tradition hit the streets of San Francisco Sunday morning.

Gabriel Geay is the overall winner of the 108th annual Alaska Air Bay to Breakers with a time of 35:01, organizers announced via the Twitter account for the race.

The Bay to Breakers winner spoke with KTVU reporter Sara Zendehnam after crossing the finish line, saying “the course is tough, there’s a big hill, downhills.” 

The female division winner was Carlone Rotich, with a time of 39:28.

Tens of thousands braved the wet weather to participate in the annual event.

Race officials said it’s the first time in 14 years it rained hard on race day, but that didn’t stop runners from putting their unique costumes on display.

Victoria Macias and her friends dressed up as Supreme Court Justice Ruth Badar Ginsburg.

They put a lot of thought into their costumes, “We’ve been planning this since October. We wanted to dress up as a strong female figure,” said Macias.

While runner Eugene Asuncion’s decision was last minute, “Went to Party City had some left over Halloween things on clearance and I said, ‘How about some avocados?’”

From the start line where tortillas were thrown in the air to the finish line, the energy and excitement was felt all throughout the city.

“It was epic. We had so much fun,” said runner Shamra and Andrew Martin.

The morning 12K race started near the Embarcadero and finished at the Great Highway.

Kenya´s Edwin Kamaiyon made his American racing debut by overtaking two-time champion Philemon Terrer near the 24-mile mark and held on to win the Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon

Fellow countrywoman Margaret Njuguna, 49, finished first in the women’s marathon in 2:45:31. Local entrant and last year’s winner Sarah Horbol, 32, of Westlake finished second in 2:48:21.

Kamaiyo and Njuguna each earned $3,000 for their wins. 

In the men’s marathon, Kenyans Terrer, 33, (2:23:36) and Kipkoech Ruto, 30, (2:26:22) finished second and third, respectively. Finishing third in the women’s race was Joan Massah, 29, of Kenya with a time of 2:49:30.

Approximately 15,000 runners participated in the 42nd anniversary of the race on a warm day where temperatures reached into the 80s. All three Sunday races – 10K, half-marathon and marathon – started just outside the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse and finished on Public Square. Race weekend included the 1-mile, 5K, 8K, and kids race on Saturday. Walking divisions were offered in all three Sunday race distances. 

Additionally, two participants took part in the hand crank wheelchair division. There was also a Challenge Series, which gave competitors an opportunity to compete in more than one race over the weekend.

“It was great to see the city come out and support the Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon on this bright, sunny, albeit warm race day,” said Jack Staph, executive race director, Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon. “The atmosphere created by the tens of thousands of participating runners and spectators city was electric.”

In addition to the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, the runners’ tour of Cleveland included passing by landmarks and popular neighborhoods such as the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, FirstEnergy Stadium, Great Lakes Science Center, Tremont and Ohio City, West Side Market, Playhouse Square, Edgewater Park and Public Square.

Beyond the weekend’s races, tens of thousands of racers and health and fitness enthusiasts visited the Health & Fitness Expo at the Huntington Convention Center of Cleveland on Friday and Saturday. The weekend’s activities resulted in an approximate $18 million economic impact for the city.

Kenyan Dominic Korir, 26, won the men’s 10K with a time of 29:17.

Danish all-comers record broken at the Copenhagen Marathon

Jackson Limo and Etalemahu Habtewold took top honors at the 40th Telenor Copenhagen Marathon and set Danish all-comers’ records at the IAAF Bronze Label road race on Sunday May 19.  

Eleven runners passed the half-way stage in 1:04:18, putting them well inside the required pace to break the course record. Marathon debutant Victor Kiplimo and Ethiopia’s Gebre Roba Yadete broke free from the leading pack after 29km, but Yadete struggled to maintain the pace for much longer.

At 37km, Limo emerged from the chase pack and took the lead, building up a gap of 70 seconds over the last five kilometres and eventually winning in 2:09:54.

“My goal was to break the course record,” said Limo, whose only other sub-2:10 run dates back to 2014. “I ran my own race but at 25km I started to feel a minor hamstring pain. Luckily it disappeared after 32km.”

Two Danish male pace-makers led a group of four women through the first half in 1:13:33. The pace dropped slightly in the second half, but Habtewold built up a clear lead with about 10 kilometres remaining.

Fellow Ethiopian Dinknesh Mekash joined Habtewold with five kilometres to go, but the shared lead didn’t last long as Habtewold went on to win in 2:29:19, 53 seconds ahead of Mekash.

Victor Kipchirchir wins the Salzburg Marathon as the start and finished was moved back to old town

Victor Kipchirchir from Kenya won the Salzburg Marathon and narrowly missed the course record. The high temperatures slowed him down on the second lap.

Even with lots of sunshine and temperatures reaching 20c Victor clocked 2:17:03 at the 16th annual event in Salzburg.   The  Salzburg course record is 2:16:14, posted in 2013 by Eliud Kiplagat.

“In the first round it went very well, after that I had to take some speed out," said the winner. Early on, he was on the road without a companion and had to find his own pace. His compatriots Antony Maina  placed second in 2:22:37 for his first marathon and Philip Kirui was third clocking 2:28:21).

Thomas Punz was the best Austrian clocking 2:44:03 to finish fourth.  He caught Christian Doppler (2:44:51), who had been lying in front of him for a long time.

Gadise Negesa was the fastest woman to finish. In her marathon debutant the Ethiopia clocked 2:46:36. Irmine Schatz from St. Andrä-Wördern was the best Austrian finishing in 3:23:24.  

The Sparkasse half marathon was as expected a prey of the Swiss Marco Kern (1:07:46), the Nussdorf Alexander Knoblechner finished third in 1:09:48. Half marathon women's winner Edeltraud Thaler (1:25:39) from South Tyrol was very surprised by her success. The 53-year-old left behind hundreds of opponents.

Huge crowds lined the streets both Saturday and Sunday.  The course was moved back to the old town. For two years, the marathon had moved to Mirabellplatz but starting and finishing in old town makes for a much better course.  Manu enthusiastic spectators applaused for the runners on their last meters to the finish. Deputy Mayor Bernhard Auinger said, “This is the best location to showcase the beauty of the city, the event was great, and we definitely support it further."

Kipkoech clocked the worlds fastest 12K at Cape Town 12 Onerun

Brillian Kipkoech produced the fastest 12km run in history to win the FNB Cape Town 12 ONERUN while fellow Kenyan Morris Gachanga secured a hat-trick of titles in the men’s race at the IAAF Bronze Label event on Sunday May 19. 

Uganda’s Commonwealth 10,000m champion Stella Chesang went out hard with the intention of breaking Vivian Cheruiyot’s 38:22 course record from 2015 and led a group of five women through the first 5km in 15:58.

Chesang, Kipkoech, Sofiya Chege and Degitu Azamirew maintained that pace through 10km, reached in 32:00, and then upped their tempo for the last two kilometres. With a strong final 500 metres, Kipkoech out-kicked her opponents to win in 38:05.

The top four women all finished inside the previous world best for the rarely-run distance with Chesang taking the runner-up spot in 38:09, just ahead of Chege (38:10) and Azamirew (38:11).

“When I made my move at 11km, I wanted to see how my body felt and it responded well, so I attacked again with about 500 metres to go and was able to move away,” said Kipkoech. “I did not know about the course record, so I am very happy today.”

The first kilometre in the men’s race was covered in 2:47, prompting talks of a course record, but a slight headwind in the next few kilometres slowed the pace. All the main contenders, including defending champion Gachaga, were in the pack as they passed through 5km in 14:22.

The second 5km was covered in 13:50 as Abdallah Mande threw in numerous surges with Gachaga the only man capable of sticking with the Ugandan.

As the lead duo reached 11km, South Africa’s Stephen Mokoka had closed up on them until they attacked again in the final 500 metres with Gachaga emerging the winner in 33:38. Mande was second in 33:39 and Mokoka third (33:50).

Belihu takes the title at the TCS World 10K in Bengaluru

Andamlak Belihu added the TCS World 10K Bengaluru title to the Delhi Half Marathon crown he won seven months ago, crossing the line in the IAAF Gold Label road race in 27:56 on Sunday May 19.  

In difficult conditions with high humidity and temperatures reaching 26C, the 20-year-old Ethiopian was prominent at the front of the leading pack from the outset. Eight men went through 5km in 14:11 before Uganda’s Mande Bushendich made an audacious early move just after the halfway point.

Bushendich went through the gears so rapidly that the leading group was quickly fractured and by 7km only Belihu was left to challenge him. It initially looked as though Belihu was also going to be dropped as he briefly struggled to stay with his rival –later saying that he had suffered some knee pain which then passed – but he took the lead again with just under two kilometres to go before he pulled away, never to be headed all the way to the line in the Garden City’s Sree Kanteerava Stadium.

Belihu crossed the line in 27:56, just eight seconds outside his personal best and 12 seconds off the course record. Bushendich finished second in 28:03.

“I expected to run a fast time as there were so many good runners in this race, but I also expected to run even faster than this,” said Belihu, who finished 10th in the 10,000m at the IAAF World Championships London 2017 while still an U20 athlete.

Agnes Tirop’s finishing time may have been more than two minutes slower than her 31:19 course record from 12 months ago but the world 10,000m bronze medallist retained her title and became the first woman to win back-to-back crowns in the 12-year history of the race.

Nine women went through the first half of the race in a modest 18:06, more than two minutes down on last year’s split. Tirop put in regular short bursts of pace during the next three kilometres but they did nothing to break up the group apart from dropping Bahrain’s world marathon champion Rose Chelimo.

Eight women were still closely grouped together as they entered the stadium for one final lap of the track. Ethiopia’s Letsenbet Gidey darted into the lead on entering the stadium but, with 50 metres to go, Tirop still had plenty in reserve and emerged victorious in a thrilling five-woman sprint for the line.

Tirop won in 33:55 with just two seconds covering the top five. Senbere Teferi was second and Gidey third, both women also given 33:55.

“I would have liked to have run faster and I did my best but no one else wanted to push hard so I was just content with the win,” said Tirop.

Gichia and Kimining winners of the 40th Göteborgsvarvet Half Marathon

Perfect weather conditions, tailwind on Hisingen island and, as usual, a huge supporter crowd cheering for the runners. Those were the circumstances when Göteborgsvarvet celebrated its 40th year anniversary with another festive half marathon.

In the elite field there were a handful competitive and world-class long-distance runners. All was set for an interesting elite race, and indeed it became something very thrilling also this year.

In the women’s class we witnessed a phenomenal duel between Cynthia Jerop, Kenya, and Tabitha Gichia, Kenya, here Gichia became the first to cross the finish line after an impressive sprint during the last kilometres. Her finish time was 01.08,18.

In the men’s class Shadrack Kimining defended his victory from last year by some very strong last kilometres. His finish time, 1.00,38. Second place came Jirius Birech, Kenya and third place, Moses Kurong, Uganda.

Göteborgsvarvet Half Marathon was also the Swedish Championship in Half Marathon and in that national competition the winners were Charlotta Fougberg and Robel Fsiha.

Arturs Bareikis took the lead at 20 miles and went on to win the Sanford Fargo Marathon

After grabbing the lead at about Mile 20, Arturs Bareikis spent the final six miles in the Sanford Fargo Marathon on Saturday constantly looking over his shoulder. There was noone there.

The 32-year-old from Midlothian, Ill., made his third trip to Fargo winning the 15th annual event in 2 hours, 27 minutes, 14 seconds. He placed second in 2014? He was on a mission not to let that happen again.

“I came here to do one thing,” Bareikis said.

Winning was the only goal. He didn’t wear a watch and therefore wasn’t paying attention to mile splits. It was all about racing with a pack of four from the outset that consisted of defending champion Geofrey Terer, Anthony Kirui of Minneapolis and Garang Madut from Lebanon, Tenn.

Terer and Kirui split from the other two after a few miles. In an oddity, Terer had the solo lead around Mile 9 where he had to stop to tie his shoe. That appeared to solidify the pack again until Bareikis made his break at Mile 20.

“I knew that was going to cost him and he wasn’t going to be able to make that last move,” Bareikis said of Terer having to stop. “I always observe early in the race what people do and I was staying in the back. You only get one real move and I waited for mile 20 to make it. It wasn’t guaranteed but I knew (Friday) I was going to hit it at Mile 20.”

He knew Friday after studying the weather forecast. The race was was run in light rain and wind. Those elements, Bareikis said, played into his favor.

After mile splits in the neighborhood of 5:45 to 6:05, Bariekis ripped off a 5:19 from mile 20 to 21. He was hoping a small cramp that began to develop in his leg didn’t escalate.

“Once you start feeling a cramp, it’s a little bit scary,” he said.  But it did not excalate and he went on to win.

Nike to Change Pregnancy Policy in Athlete Contracts

Nike Inc. said it will change contracts for female athletes that will protect their pay during pregnancy, after coming under fire for cutting compensation for some athletes.

The company said that last year the company standardized its approach across all sports to support its female athletes during pregnancy. Its contracts for female athletes will include written terms that reinforce its policy. Previously, the contracts gave Nike the right to reduce pay if runners failed to meet performance thresholds for any reason, including pregnancy or childbirth.

"Nike has supported thousands of female athletes for decades. We have learned and grown in how to best support our female athletes and have always worked to do our best to play a strong role in championing, celebrating and supporting female athletes and we are committed to continuing to do so," Nike said.

"Last year we standardized our approach across all sports to support our female athletes during pregnancy, but we recognize we can go even further. Moving forward, our contracts for female athletes will include written terms that reinforce our policy," Nike said.

Camron Roehl won the men’s Sanford Fargo Marathon 5K by over one minute 30 seconds clocking 14:40

Former Grand Forks Central runner Camron Roehl won the men’s division of the Sanford Fargo Marathon 5K on Friday, May 17. He previously won it in 2017.

The race drew more than 6,000 participants and started in the Fargodome for the first time in the 15 years of the event.

Roehl finished his college career this spring at North Dakota State University when the Bison won their 10th straight Summit outdoor title.  He finished fifth in the 1,500 and seventh in the 3,000.

“Competing for NDSU is on the greatest honors you can ever have as a collegiate athlete,” Roehl said. “But to come here and win an event that means so much to the city means a lot.”

He was a lone wolf in the race taking off from the start and not looking back finishing in 14:40. His only companions were the motorcycles leading the way.

“I was working pretty hard, having to fight the Fargo wind,” he said. “It was going to be a tough, tough run out there; it wasn’t easy by any means.”

Roehl crossed the finish line, and then had to wait for a while before second place Jesse Prince from Bemidji, Minn., came into the dome at 16:14.

“It’s never over until you cross the finish line,” Roehl said. “I’ve seen races go south pretty quick for some people with huge leads. You can never relax until the job is done.”

With college done, Roehl plans on working in ministry for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. He still plans on running the shorter-distance races saying he still has some goals to attain. The longer races will come later, he said.