Running News Daily

Aspen Olympic skier Noah Hoffman wins Backcountry Marathon

His professional skiing career behind him, Noah Hoffman has dialed back the training, only doing enough to take part in “adventures” in between going to classes at Brown University in Rhode Island.

Yet, the natural athleticism that led him to a pair of Olympic Games doesn’t disappear overnight, nor does the knowledge that comes with years of racing at the highest level.

“I had no idea what my fitness was going to be like,” Hoffman said. “Knowing how to race is a huge thing, and I have so much experience racing that absolutely that’s a huge advantage. I was a little nervous at the start, but once I got out there I was, ‘Oh, I’ve done this hundreds of times.’ I know what racing is like.”

Hoffman traded in the snow for the dirt on Saturday, returning to his home to take part in the ninth annual Aspen Backcountry Marathon for the first time. Looking every bit like a professional athlete, Hoffman won the race in 3 hours, 30 minutes, 2.18 seconds, beating Gunnison’s Joshua Eberly by about eight minutes and third-place finisher Chris Copenhaver of Fort Collins by 15 minutes.

Eberly won the Aspen Backcountry Marathon in 2018 and won the Audi Power of Four 50-kilometer trail race only a month ago in Snowmass, so Hoffman’s victory was certainly earned.

“I’ve always wanted to do this race, but it never quite fit into my training schedule when I was an athlete. So this was the summer to come back and do it, finally check it out,” Hoffman said. “I was a little nervous about the distance, for sure. I’ve never raced anywhere near this far. My longest races in skiing were two hours, plus or minus, and this is three and a half. So it’s a big jump.”

While it’s been some time, Hoffman isn’t exactly new to running. As a senior at Aspen High School, he won the Class 3A state cross country championship in 2006 before embarking on a successful cross-country skiing career that included competing in both the 2014 and 2018 Winter Olympics. Hoffman retired from skiing following the 2017-18 season and the Pyeongchang Games.

“I almost walked away that year before Pyeongchang and I’m so glad I went to one more Olympics and skied that last year,” Hoffman said. “But I really feel I’m at peace with the decision (to retire). I didn’t really miss it that much. I was excited to cheer on my teammates from afar.”

The women’s race unfolded this way. 

Kelsey Persyn’s first significant win as a trail runner came when she torched the field by more than 40 minutes in the 2018 Aspen Backcountry Marathon. Her margin of victory was a mere nine minutes on Saturday, but it’s still a repeat title for the 23-year-old Texas native.

“I felt a little pressure going into it,” Persyn said of being the defending champ. “This is like my third trail race ever and I love them, so I’m hoping to go down that path eventually and see how far I can go.”

Persyn won the women’s marathon in 4:17:52.86, holding off Aspen’s Julia Rowland (4:26) and Boulder’s Anna Widdowson (4:30) for the title.

A former track and cross country runner at Texas A&M, Persyn has spent the past couple of summers working as a park ranger at Rocky Mountain National Park. Her ties to the Aspen area go back a few years, as she also won the 2016 Aspen Valley Marathon road race.

Persyn said she was using the Aspen Backcountry Marathon as training for the upcoming Grand Traverse trail run, which goes from Crested Butte to Aspen.

“It felt really good. I didn’t have hope that I was going to be the winner until a mile ‘til,” she said. “I made sure my focus was just to focus on yourself and have fun with it. Results are going to come if you just have fun. But it was a different course this year. It was more in reverse, so it was kind of cool to see it from a different angle.”

Everything to know about Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games

It's coming. 2020 is an Olympic year, with the Games of the XXXII Olympiad taking place in Tokyo. It's time to brush up on your discus technique, become an expert on pictograms and know your pentathlon from your decathlon. 

I fell in love with the Olympics in 1992, seeing divers tumble off the high board in front of the spectacular backdrop of Barcelona. When the Games came to my city, London, in 2012, it was one of the best times of my entire life. It's a month-long celebration of strength, agility, speed and fortitude, unimaginable feats of human athletic achievement, spirit and commitment. And then it happens all over again with the Paralympics! Except the athletes are even more inspiring. What a time to be alive. 

So start planning your medals parties, order a new national flag and book some vacation for when the diving's on. (Just me? OK.) Here's everything you need to know.

2020 Olympics dates and schedule.. It's less than a year away! The opening ceremony will be on Friday, July 24, and the closing ceremony on Sunday, Aug. 9, 2020. The Paralympics run from Aug. 25 to Sept. 6.

Where are the 2020 Olympics?.- The games will take place in more than 40 venues in and around Tokyo, with some soccer matches taking place farther afield. Japan last hosted the Summer Games in 1964, which was the first in Asia; the Winter Olympics were there in 1972 and 1998.

2020 Olympics tickets.- Tickets, predictably, have sold out, at least for now. New tranches of tickets will be released in spring. 

Watch the Olympics on TV.- The Olympics is back on NBC, with a 24/7 stream online if you verify you're a cable subscriber. NBCSports Gold will have a dedicated Olympics package -- pay an upfront fee and you'll be able to watch anywhere, uninterrupted by ads. 

Tokyo is 16 hours ahead of the West Coast, so watching live should get a good spread of events. (Note the women's soccer final kicks off at 7 p.m. PT on Aug. 6.) It's a little trickier on the East Coast, where you may have to rely on highlights.

The BBC will cover the games on TV, radio and online in the UK, with more on Eurosport, a pay-TV channel. The time difference there is 8 hours, so you'll have to get up very early in the morning to watch live.

In Australia, the Seven Network will spread free-to-air coverage over Channel Seven, 7Mate and 7Two. It's a good year for watching Down Under, with Sydney only an hour ahead of Tokyo.

What events are new?.- Missing in London and Rio, men's baseball and women's softball are back due to their huge popularity in Japan. Five nations will join the hosts in contesting for gold on the diamond. (Just don't ask me to explain how they qualify.) Karate, sport climbing, surfing and skateboarding are also new, in a "How do you do, fellow kids?" move by the IOC. In the same vein, basketball adds a three-on-three tournament for eight nations. Rugby sevens, a variant that features seven players on each side, and golf return after debuting in Rio.

Skyrace apologizes for men-only prizes at the Dolomyths Skyrace in Canazei Italy

There was some controversy at the Dolomyths Skyrace in Canazei, Italy last weekend. The Salomon Golden Trail Series event is a 22K race gaining 1,700 metres in elevation, and course records were broken in both the men and women’s races. Davide Magnini of Italy won in 2:00:28, while Judith Wyder of Switzerland won her first Skyrace in 2:18:51.

When the race organizers highlighted the elite men in the Vertical Kilometre presentation as well as a surprise bonus for breaking the two-hour barrier at the awards ceremony but did not offer a similar bonus for the women, trail running athletes shared their concerns.

Second-place finisher Ruth Croft of New Zealand expressed her disappointment at the unequal representation at the awards ceremony, describing it as “a reoccurring topic in our sport.” The Dolomyths Skyrace claims to treat men and women equally in their races, and apologized after the fact, explaining their decisions. That there was a presentation for the men’s Vertical Kilometre race and not the women’s was due to a limited number of registered runners and availability of athletes, they said.

The Dolomyths organizers also explained the two-hour barrier men’s prizing was a last-minute decision, and one they acknowledge and regret. In response to the controversy, race organizers have decided to have a time barrier for the women’s race in the future. In their apology, the organizers requested that those affected by the decisions investigate further before judging.

Athletes present at the Dolomyths Skyrace were not the only ones sharing concern about the discrepancy.  Trail runner Sandi Nypaver commented on the organizers’ apology, writing, “As a high-level race, they need to set the example and not make last-minute decisions that are poorly thought through.

They could have been very clear beforehand that women were not available for the presentation or delayed the presentation until more women arrived. Of course people will make assumptions when things are not publicly stated. With that said, I greatly applaud the race for admitting mistakes were made and making sure they don’t happen again.”

After initially sharing concerns, Western States 2019 winner Clare Gallagher commented her relief at the formal apology made by Dolomyths Skyrace, writing, “So glad to read this. A great example for other races that might also have made honest mistakes in not having equal prizes, representation, bonuses, or other areas where women haven’t been treated equally. We can have productive discussions and create solutions!”

Alex Petrosky of Edmonton wins ultramarathon race after nearly 13 hours of running

While most of us spent our August long weekend relaxing, other Canadians gathered in the Rocky Mountains to push their bodies to the ultimate test.

The Canadian Death Race is a strenuous 125-kilometer course divided into five legs that starts and finishes on a 4,200-foot plateau, passes over multiple mountain summits and a major river crossing at Hell’s Gate Canyon at the junction of the Smoky and Sulphur rivers.

Alex Petrosky of Edmonton walked away as the race winner on Sunday, finishing with a time of 12 hours and 47 minutes.

“I was trying to be strategic. Picking my point when I’d separate from the field and not push too early. I’ve had an issue with that before. I take the approach that if you’re not running fast, you’re not trying.”

He laughed as he explained that this time he “relaxed for the first 50 kilometers” of this race.

Petrosky hit his stride despite battling the elements of a rain-soaked course.

“This weekend was very painful. You’ve got wet mud, clay sticking to your feet. Some pretty rough bush. You’ve got scrapes cause you’re falling all over the place,” Petrosky said. “It was wet and muddy, but from a temperature standpoint, it was nice and cool. When it’s 25 degrees or higher, it really hurts the body. You can’t push as hard as you’d like to. It adds another variable to the race. I didn’t have that issue on Saturday.”

He acknowledged the event isn’t everyone’s ideal long weekend.

“It doesn’t sound like a lot of fun. I totally understand that. I don’t expect people to always understand where the passion comes from. But, if you’re having a good day out there. It’s pretty awesome.”

He said his last mountain climb put him into a meditative state, where he found his rhythm — despite bad conditions.

“It was like a river flowing down past your feet. It was pouring rain at the time. It was gushing down. The trail was the drainage route for the mountain,” Petrosky said. “I’ve done 30 of these runs, sometimes 16, 17 or 20 hours long… the farther in you get, the closer you are to failure in your body.”

“I didn’t feel ready to be on a start line until two days before the Canadian Death Race, I’ve learned the body has a way and the mind has a way of getting you ready for anything.”

Why Drinking Water All Day Long Is Not the Best Way to Stay Hydrated

Dehydration is a drag on human performance. It can cause fatigue and sap endurance among athletes, according to a 2018 study in the journal Frontiers in Physiology. Even mild dehydration can interfere with a person’s mood or ability to concentrate.

Water is cheap and healthy. And drinking H2O is an effective way for most people to stay hydrated. The National Academy of Medicine recommends that adult women and men drink at least 91 and 125 ounces of water a day, respectively. (For context, one gallon is 128 fluid ounces.) But pounding large quantities of water morning, noon and night may not be the best or most efficient way to meet the body’s hydration requirements.

“If you’re drinking water and then, within two hours, your urine output is really high and [your urine] is clear, that means the water is not staying in well,” says David Nieman, a professor of public health at Appalachian State University and director of the Human Performance Lab at the North Carolina Research Campus. Nieman says plain water has a tendency to slip right through the human digestive system when not accompanied by food or nutrients. This is especially true when people drink large volumes of water on an empty stomach. “There’s no virtue to that kind of consumption,” he says.

In fact, clear urine is a sign of “overhydration,” according to the Cleveland Clinic. And some of the latest research supports Nieman’s claim that guzzling lots of water is not the best way to stay hydrated.

For a 2015 study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, researchers compared the short-term hydration effects of more than a dozen different beverages—everything from plain water and sports drinks to milk, tea, and beer, to a specially formulated “rehydration solution.” Based on urine analyses collected from the study volunteers, the researchers concluded that several drinks—including milk, tea, and orange juice, but not sports drinks—were more hydrating than plain water. (Lager was a little less hydrating than water, but a little better than coffee.)

Of course, no one’s suggesting that people dump water in favor of milk and OJ. Water is still hydrating. So are sports drinks, beer, and even coffee, to some extent. But the authors of the 2015 study wrote that there are several “elements of a beverage” that affect how much H2O the body retains. These include a drink’s nutrient content, as well as the presence of “diuretic agents,” which increase the amount of urine a person produces. Ingesting water along with amino acids, fats and minerals seems to help the body take up and retain more H2O—and therefore maintain better levels of hydration—which is especially important following exercise and periods of heavy perspiration.

“People who are drinking bottles and bottles of water in between meals and with no food, they’re probably just peeing most of that out,” Nieman says. Also, the popular idea that constant and heavy water consumption “flushes” the body of toxins or unwanted material is a half-truth. While urine does transport chemical byproducts and waste out of the body, drinking lots of water on an empty stomach doesn’t improve this cleansing process, he says.

In some rare cases, excessive water consumption can even be harmful. “In athletes or people who are exercising for hours, if they’re only drinking water, they can throw out too much sodium in their urine, which leads to an imbalance in the body’s sodium levels,” explains Nieman, who has spent a chunk of his career investigating exercise-related hydration. Doctors call this imbalance “hyponatremia,” and in some cases it can be deadly. In this scenario, sports drinks and other beverages that contain nutrients and sodium are safer than plain water.

While hyponatremia and excessive water consumption aren’t big concerns for non-athletes, there are better ways to keep the body and brain hydrated than to pound water all day long. Sipping water (or any other beverage) a little bit at a time prevents the kidneys from being “overloaded,” and so helps the body retain more H2O, Nieman says.

Drinking water before or during a meal or snack is another good way to hydrate. “Drinking water with amino acids or fats or vitamins or minerals helps the body take up more of the water, which is why beverages like milk and fruit juice tend to look pretty good in these hydration studies,” he says. Some of his own research has found that eating a banana is better than drinking a sports beverage when it comes to post-exercise recovery. And he says eating almost any piece of fruit along with some water is going to aid the body’s ability to take up that H2O and rehydrate.

Kenya's Bedan Karoki and Stephen Kiprop will skip the World Championships to focus on road races

Kiprop illustrated fine form in 2018, winning three half-marathon races in the Netherlands and Czech Republic, and finishing fifth in Valencia clocking 59:21.

Winning the 2019 Ras Al Khaimah half marathon clocking 58 minutes and 42 seconds, fastest in the world this year, he is joint sixth on the world all-time list in February.

Now the 19-year-old will give the World Championships a bye to compete at the Valencia half marathon on October 27 in Spain.

The other elite runner Karoki, the silver medalist from Tokyo Marathon, told Xinhua from Nyahururu on Friday that he will instead compete at the half marathon in Argentina.

"I have committed myself to run a half marathon in Argentina and I have to honor it," Karoki said.

"I have had my chance with the Kenya team and the World Championships in Doha will not be on my schedule this time round," he said.

Kenya has failed to win a gold medal in the 10,000m race at the World Championships since Charles Kamathi won in Edmonton, Canada back in 2001.

Karoki, a silver medalist at the 2016 World Half Marathon and 2015 World Cross Country, said he is building up for Chicago marathon by running half marathons. He is also eyeing a slot in Kenya's marathon team for next year's Tokyo Olympics.

Tracy Guerrette, will continue her quest for an Olympic Trials berth while pursuing theology degree

Tracy Guerrette, finally recovered from a fractured bone in her foot, continues her quest to qualify for the U.S. Olympic Marathon trials scheduled for Feb. 29, 2020, in Atlanta.

But the St. Agatha native won’t be training in the streets of Bangor much longer.

The former two-year basketball captain at the University of Maine is leaving her job as the director of faith formation at St. Paul the Apostle Parish in Bangor. She plans to pursue a master’s degree in theology at the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.

“It is something I have been thinking about for a real long time, since my early 20s actually, but I never had a chance to do it,” the 38-year-old Guerrette said. “In the past couple of years, I’ve been considering it more seriously. I’d been praying about it and thought it was a good time to apply.”

She said she was accepted to a couple of schools and chose the Pontifical John Paul II Institute. She is enrolled in a two-year program.

“I feel like I needed to take a step back. It’s almost like a professional sabbatical. I want to study to better myself in my faith,” Guerrette said.

She feels it will help her better serve the Lord and the Catholic Church. It will also give her a variety of career options after she completes her degree.

“I could continue to go to school, I could come back and work for a parish or a diocese or I could teach,” Guerrette said.

“My most prized possessions besides my running shoes are my theology books. But I haven’t had time to read them all because of my work, which is also a blessing,” Guerrette said.

Her degree study will focus on society and the current culture, and she said it will help prepare her to make a difference in people’s lives.

Kellyn Taylor will join to Top U.S. Women field at the 2019 TCS New York City Marathon

When Kellyn Taylor was plotting the lead up to the 2020 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials, she had already checked “run a fast marathon time” off her to-do list, by way of the 2:24:28 she clocked at the 2018 Grandma’s Marathon. What else did she want to accomplish before the big show?

“I’ve done New York City once and it was my highest placing [in a major marathon] ever,” Taylor said, during a phone interview with Women’s Running. “It was my favorite marathon to date. For me, it’s more about not feeling stagnant before the Trials—I perform best when I come off a big buildup.”

The tactical nature of the New York City Marathon, combined with the hillier terrain of the course will serve as good practice for the Trials course that she’ll run on February 29, in Atlanta. And the competition she’ll face? On the American side, it will also look familiar, joined by a stellar international presence as well.

New York City Marathon officials announced the full professional field on Tuesday, and it includes Mary Keitany of Kenya, the defending champion who has won the race four times already. It also includes Ruti Aga of Ethiopia with a 2:18:34 personal best, and Worknesh Degefa, also of Ethiopia, who has a 2:17:41 best and won the 2019 Boston Marathon. Joyciline Jepkosgei, the world record holder in the half marathon (1:04:51) from Kenya is also slated to compete.

Taylor will face off with a number of U.S. women who she’ll compete with in February at the Trials, where the top three finishers will earn a place on the 2020 Olympic team. Desiree Linden, the 2018 Boston Marathon champion and two-time Olympian, will race, as well as Sara Hall, who has a 2:26:20 best. Allie Kieffer (2:28:12) is scheduled to return to racing, too, after tending to injuries over the past year, along with Diane Nukuri.

When Taylor ran the 2017 New York City Marathon, she placed eighth in 2:29:56. She came away with a few key lessons she’ll try to remember on November 3.

“Having faith in your abilities is the biggest thing. The last time, I didn’t make the first big move that everybody else made and found myself separated from the pack,” she said. “I ran the fastest mile of anybody in that race when I caught back up to them, so I need to put myself in it. That’s when the magic happens.”

Taylor is coming off a third-place finish in the 10,000 meters at the U.S.A. Track & Field Outdoor Championships, which is her best finish at a national track championships. It leaves her with another notch of confidence heading into 2020.

Tyler Diniz is running the Falmouth Road Race on behalf of Jett Foundation, a nonprofit fighting Duchenne muscular dystrophy

Funds raised by each racer on Jett Foundation’s Go! for Duchenne team support their many programs including Camp Promise, a free week of summer camp at three locations across the country for kids and young adults with select neuromuscular disorders like DMD, SMA, Becker, and more; Jett Giving Fund, a matching gift program to help families impacted by DMD purchase vital accessibility equipment like accessible vans, stairlifts and more.

Ready. Set. Jett. Family Workshops, a national educational workshop series for families to learn about DMD care, resources and treatments from local clinicians, experts and industry partners; and National Community Ambassador program, an opportunity for parents, friends and family members of individuals impacted by Duchenne to share resources and educate within the community. Ambassadors also facilitate local support groups and events for parents and families.

“As someone who has always been passionate about athletics and sports, I am running this August for those who can’t,” said Diniz.

“I am inspired by the many programs Jett Foundation offers, but most especially by their programs that give families access to safe, accessible sporting and physical activities like Camp Promise, Jett Giving Fund, educational workshops and more.”

To support awareness and fundraising efforts, Diniz and his family are hosting a beer tasting and cornhole tournament, with proceeds being donated to Jett Foundation.

Sara Hall will be running the Berlin Marathon, New York Marathon and then the Olympic Trials Marathon

Sara Hall’s road to the 2020 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials will be a bit more unconventional than most hopefuls training for next summer’s team racing in Tokyo. The 36-year-old California native is running the Berlin Marathon on Sept. 29 and then doubling back 35 days later to race the TCS New York City Marathon on Nov. 3. Then, the Olympics trials in Atlanta are only 118 days after that.

“I think I need the confidence from running fast in Berlin and having some more experience competing over a hilly second half like in New York," Hall says. "It’s fun to see how fast I can run and I haven’t been able to do that for a while. I’m also going to get the chance to race a marathon in the U.S. and in one of the greatest stages of our sport."

Hall is no stranger to racing very soon after completing a marathon. In 2017, she won the U.S. Marathon Championships, which were held in conjunction with the California International Marathon, just 35 days after taking fifth at the Frankfurt Marathon.

This year, she raced the Boston Marathon and finished 15th overall (6th American) in 2:35:34 on a six-week build-up, after a peroneal tendons flare-up put her on crutches and then a stress fracture sidelined her from running for seven weeks. But less than three weeks after that, she competed at the U.S. Half Marathon Championships in Pittsburgh and took second overall. Despite some initial fatigue immediately after the race, Hall finds it easier to keep racing after a marathon than during a buildup.

The marathon is harder than anything Hall does while training in Flagstaff but not exponentially as tough.

“I run two and a half hours basically as hard as I can every week when I’m marathon training,” Hall says. “I’ve actually run a 2:31 marathon in trainers while in training. It’s business as usual for my body. It’s maybe not as much of a shock to my body as people think.”

Before finalizing her fall racing plans, she consulted with her husband and coach, Ryan, who many remember for his own unorthodox training that helped him run a 2:04 marathon in Boston in 2011. He says he would have never ran two marathons this close in proximity but he was a different athlete, who mainly stayed at altitude to train for longer periods of time before racing sparingly.

They don’t see it as too much of a risk with the Olympic Trials looming, because a flat marathon may not take as much out of Hall. When she ran her personal best of 2:26:20 at the Ottawa Marathon in 2018, she worked out twice the following week. She did the same after running a personal best of 69:27 at the Gold Coast Half Marathon in July 2018.

“I think recovery is one of my strengths,” Hall says. “I see both of these races as building toward the trials. I don’t see a risk in running a marathon for myself.”

Olympic decathlon champion Ashton Eaton and indoor pentathlon champion Brianne Theisen-Eaton have been named as ambassadors for the IAAF World Athletics Championships Doha 2019

With 50 days to go until the IAAF’s showpiece event gets under way in the Qatari capital, the Eatons are looking forward to 10 days of enthralling athletics action from 27 September until 6 October in what will be their first World Championships as spectators.

For them, the highlight will fall on 2-3 October when – for the first time ever at an IAAF World Championships – the decathlon and heptathlon will be held concurrently, creating two days of excitement for fans of combined events. The 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games schedule will also follow this approach.

The champion pair retired after the 2016 Olympic Games, where Eaton won decathlon gold and Theisen-Eaton took the heptathlon bronze medal. But both have continued to follow the sport in recent years.

Theisen-Eaton, who earned world silver medals in the heptathlon in 2013 and 2015, is looking forward to seeing the revamped schedule in action as it provides a new showcase for the combined events.

"Athletics holds such a special place in my heart and I am truly so excited and honored to be an IAAF Ambassador, and to be a part of the IAAF World Athletics Championships Doha 2019," she said. "This outdoor World Championships will be unique as it will be the first time the multi event athletes are competing together on the same two days.

"Ashton and I had the opportunity to compete side by side at both the 2014 and 2016 World Indoor Championships, and the energy created from sharing that experience together was unlike any other championship. To do this at an outdoor world championship is really special, and I’m looking forward to watching the camaraderie between the heptathletes and decathletes."

Eaton, winner of the 2013 and 2015 world decathlon titles, says the combined events will be one of the highlights of the championships.

"Some of my most memorable and transformable experiences as a person and athlete have been at the IAAF World Championships - from Berlin in 2009, to Daegu in 2011, to Beijing in 2015," said the two-time Olympic champion. "I’m excited and honored to attend Doha as an ambassador of athletics.

"This year there is anticipation for great performances in many of the single events. But in my opinion the combined events will be the marquee competition of the championships because for one, the men and women will be on the field at the same time making for a fun and lively atmosphere of sport, and two, the caliber of the athletes is arguably the best in history, both veteran and novice.

"I believe we’re witnessing the development of the best athletes of all time."

Mexican runner Juan Luis Barrios will be racing the 2019 Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon

Mexico’s great distance runner, Juan Luis Barrios, will race the 2019 Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon on October 20, he and it race director Alan Brookes announced in Mexico City last month.

Barrios has fond memories of Toronto, where he won the gold medal in the 5,000m at the 2015 Pan Am Games.

Barrios was scheduled to represent Mexico at the Pan Am Games in Lima, Peru this month, but an injury prevented him from racing. However he expects to be fully healthy in time for the Toronto event later this fall. He told a Mexican media outlet his doctor advised him to rest for two to three weeks before resuming training.

Like many elites racing STWM this year, he will be trying to qualify for the 2020 Olympic marathon. The men’s Olympic standard is 2:11:30, which should hopefully be attainable for Barrios on the fast, flat STWM course. Barrios ran 2:10:55 at the Tokyo Marathon in 2018, and 2:12:00 (good enough for an enviable third place, but narrowly missing the Olympic standard) at this year’s Los Angeles Marathon.

Mexicans comprise one of the biggest international groups at this marathon, with 700 expected to toe the line this year.

Barrios is sure to benefit from the support. Brookes extended some welcoming words to Barrios and his many compatriots who will be on the course in Toronto: “Bienvenidos a todos nuestros amigos Mexicanos… We love our Mexican runners in Toronto! They bring the city alive with their passion, strong running, and love of a fiesta!”

Stephen Sambu of Kenya and Leonard Korir of the U.S., Sara Hall and Des Linden will return for the 47th running of the New Balance Falmouth Road Race

Stephen Sambu of Kenya and Leonard Korir of the U.S., who together staged an epic battle to the finish line in 2017, and Americans Sara Hall and Des Linden will return for the 47th running of the New Balance Falmouth Road Race, organizers announced today.

The fields for the Wheelchair Division presented by Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital Cape Cod and the Aetna Falmouth Elite Mile will be announced next week.

Sambu won the New Balance Falmouth Road Race every year from 2014-2017, becoming the first four-time winner of the men’s open division in race history. The runner-up in two of those victories was Korir, a 2016 Olympian at 10,000 meters who will represent the U.S. this fall at the IAAF World Championships. In 2017, Korir nearly denied Sambu his place in the history books in a fight to the finish that saw both athletes awarded the same time.

Sambu and Korir will be challenged by a tough international field that includes Thomas Ayeko of Uganda, who finished seventh in the 2019 IAAF World Cross Country Championships; David Bett of Kenya, who won the B.A.A. 10K in June; and Silas Kipruto of Kenya, winner of the 2019 Cooper River Bridge Run. Massachusetts native Colin Bennie, who was the top American at the AJC Peachtree Road Race on July 4, and Scott Fauble, a top contender to make Team USA at the 2020 Olympic Marathon Trials in February and runner-up here last year to Canadian Ben Flanagan, should be in the hunt.

Flanagan’s season has been cut short by injury, but he will return to Falmouth to speak on a Past Champions panel at the Health & Fitness Expo, hand out gift bags at bib pickup and run with a group of local youth.

In the women’s open division, Hall – who finished second here in 2015 – comes in as the reigning USA 10K champion, and in her long career has won U.S. titles at distances ranging from the mile to the marathon. Fellow American Des Linden, a two-time OIympian and the 2018 Boston Marathon champion, will make her Falmouth competitive debut after running with the pack here last year in celebration of her Boston victory.

“It’s beautiful,” said Linden of the course after her 2018 run. “It helps you forget it’s really hard. Some really impressive things have been done on this course. It’s cool to cover it, and it would be really fun to race it.”

They will face a deep women’s field, highlighted by a trio of Kenyans: 2012 New Balance Falmouth Road Race Champion Margaret Wangari, 2018 NCAA 10,000-meter champion Sharon Lokedi and Iveen Chepkemoi, who recently finished second in the Boilermaker 15K in Utica, N.Y.  Also challenging will be two athletes from Great Britain: Lily Partridge, the 2018 national marathon champion, andTish Jones, who will compete in the marathon at the 2019 World Championships. 

Allie Kieffer, who finished fifth in the 2015 TCS New York City Marathon; Melissa Dock, the top American woman here last year who competed for Team USA at the 2019 Bolder Boulder;Molly Seidel, the 2015 NCAA 10,000-meter champion; and Nell Rojas, winner of the 2019 Grandma’s Marathon and daughter of Ric Rojas, who competed for Harvard and at one time held the 15K world record, round out a solid American lineup.

Three-time winner Caroline Chepkoech of Kenya will not return to defend her title.

First prize in the men’s and women’s open division is $10,000, part of a total $126,000 prize purse for Race Week events, which include the Aetna Falmouth Elite Mile the evening before the 7-miler. In addition, the men’s and women’s winners will seek to prevail in “The Countdown.”

A beat-the-clock handicap race, “The Countdown” features a finish-line clock that starts when the first woman breaks the tape, counting down the number of minutes and seconds the winning man has to beat, according to a pre-determined formula. If the clock runs out before he crosses the line, the victorious woman wins a $5,000 bonus; if it doesn’t, the winning man takes home the money. The time to beat this year is 3 minutes and 35 seconds.

Abera and Dibabe Kuma are brothers and sister and both will be going for the win and course records in Toronto

The Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon has announced that the Kuma siblings of Ethiopia, Abera Kuma and his sister Dibabe Kuma, will toe the line this year on October 20. With personal bests of 2:05:50 and 2:23:34, both are in a position to contest not just the titles but the course records–and it would be a notable first for this event if a pair of siblings were to win at STWM.

This will not be the first Canadian marathon for Abera, 28, a former track runner who represented Ethiopia at the 2011 and 2013 World Championships: he finished second on a very humid day at this year’s Scotiabank Ottawa Marathon, in 2:08:14. His PB of 2:05:50 is from the 2018 Rotterdam Marathon, where he finished second.

Dibabe, 22, has always focused on the road since fairly early in her career, setting her marathon PB of 2:23:34 with her third-place finish at the Ljubljana (Slovakia) Marathon last October, and winning this year’s Hamburg Marathon in 2:24:42 (where Magdalyne Masai, who will also line up against Kuma at STWM this year, finished second).

Both siblings are considered to have potential to break the course records, depending of course on the weather. The women’s record of 2:22:29 was set last year by Mimi Belete, while Philemon Ronoholds the men’s course record of 2:06:52 (from 2017). Kuma says she is not daunted by the prospect of cold weather, having triumphed in cold and wet conditions in Hamburg.

It will be the siblings’ first time traveling together to race.

Tyler McCandless says he is in the best shape of his life as he gets set to run the TCS New York City Marathon

I’m excited to announce that I’ll be racing the TCS New York City Marathon on November 3rd!

Not only do I feel that I’m in the best shape of my life beginning this training cycle, I’m fueled with more inspiration and motivation than ever thanks to my incredibly supportive and encouraging wife Kristin McCandless, and our sweet baby Levi.

I’m thankful to the New York Road Runners (NYRR) for the opportunity, my coach and former NYC Marathon champion Steve Jones & our team Boulder Harriers for always pushing me past my limits, my sponsors Altra Running & rabbit and my family and friends for all the support and positive mojo.

Marathon training requires a big commitment. However, unlike most “professional athletes” I balance training with trying to be the best husband and father I can be as well as working full-time as an atmospheric scientist.

Follow my journey to NYC in a few months, filled with 100+ mile weeks, dirty diapers, publishing scientific research and (hopefully) inspiring you on the way to get out and pursue your dreams too. 

Berlin marathon silver medalist Amos Kipruto is optimistic to clinch gold at the World Championships in Doha, Qatar

Kipruto, 27, has made the Kenya's team to the World Marathon Championships after his sensational run in Berlin chasing down Olympic champion Eliud Kipchoge as he went on to set a new world record of 2:01:39 in the German capital.

Though Kipruto finished the race almost four minutes later clocking 2:06:23, it opened a door for him to represent the country at the World Championships and he has promises to help the country maintain a firm grip on the gold medal at the worlds.

"I must laud the head coach for trusting me with the duty to represent Kenya at the World Championships. It will be my first time to represent Kenya at the World Championships and I had been praying over it for some time.

"In Kenya we have many athletes and being selected means that I am living the dream itself. So it is up to me to win gold and wrap it up for the country," Kipruto said on Thursday in Eldoret.

Kipruto says Kenyan athletes have the talent, and need not waste it through short cuts by cheating.

"The short cuts are not good. This vice must be destroyed and athletes need to learn that it pays to win clean. Today, we are the most tested athletes worldwide and anyone winning does it through hard training," Kipruto said.

"If you run and train well, it will help you win clean. I know am capable of running a world record one time, but at the moment the focus is on the gold at the World championships."

Kipruto will link up with defending champion Geoffrey Kirui, two-time Paris marathon champion Paul Lonyangata, Laban Korir, and Ernest Ngeno.

At the same time former Commonwealth Games 5,000m champion Mercy Cherono is back from maternity leave and hopes to make Kenya team to the World Championships.

Cherono last won a silver medal in 5,000m during the 2013 Championships in Moscow, Russia.

"I am back in training and hope to make the World Championship team because I have nothing more to prove. Pressure is off me and all I need to do is run my race," she said.

Defending champions Mary Keitany and Lelisa Desisa will return to the TCS New York City Marathon

Keitany will go for her fifth career title in New York and Desisa will be gunning for a second.

Last year Keitany became the second woman to win in New York in the open division four times, recording the second-fastest time in event history in 2:22:48.

It was her fourth win in five years to become the only woman other than Grete Waitz to win the race four times. Keitany is the women-only marathon world record-holder (2:17:01) and a two-time winner of the Abbott World Marathon Majors, having taken the series titles in 2012 and 2016.

Keitany will be challenged this year by 2019 Boston Marathon champion Worknesh Degefa, 2019 Tokyo Marathon champion Ruti Aga, 2019 NYC Half champion Joyceline Jepkosgei, and 2018 Boston Marathon champion and two-time U.S. Olympian Des Linden.

Joining them at the starting line will also be a strong group of US 2020 Olympic team contenders including Allie Kieffer, Sara Hall, and Kellyn Taylor.

Desisa won his first New York title last year after finishing on the podium three times previously. He held off fellow Ethiopian Shura Kitata by two seconds to finish in 2:05:59, the second-fastest time in event history. Desisa also has two Boston Marathon titles to his name, having won in 2013 and 2015.

Runner-up Kitata will be back again this year to challenge Desisa, as will 2017 winner Geoffrey Kamworor, who finished third last year.

The US contingent will be led by U.S. Olympians Jared Ward and Abdi Abdirahman.

British runner Andy Vernon is set for his debut marathon in New York

Andy Vernon is amongst a top elite field announced this week for the 2019 TCS New York City Marathon.

After having to withdraw from this year’s London Marathon due to a hamstring injury the AFD man will look to lay down his 26.2 credentials on the stress of New York.

Vernon could be well suited to the hard undulating course and there will keen interest amongst British distance fans to see how the popular athlete runs in his debut marathon. We know his pedigree at cross country and at 10,000m where his has won a European silver medal and has a PB of 27:42 but he remains an unknown quantity at the marathon.

With the IAAF standard now set at 2:11:30 for men and 2:29:30 for women the most Brits will have their eyes on courses that offer the best chance for quick times for Tokyo next year.

However the dual qualification system also recognises a top 10 finish in a World Marathon Major event (which includes NYC Marathon). 10th placed finisher Chris Derrick ran 2:13:08 in 2018 and in 2017 the 10th place finisher ran 2:14:57. Despite the profile of the course these times are well within Vernon’s ability but regardless of times the race clearly affords the opportunity to build critical experience before London 2020.

History shows this can be a happy hunting ground for British Athletes. Steve Jones’ winning time of 2:08:20 in 1988 and Paula Radcliffe’s wins in 2004, 2007 and 2008 are testiment to that along with victories for priscilla Welch in 1987 and Liz McColgan in 1991.

In 2018 eight British men went inside 2:30 with Jonny Mellor leading the way in 2:16:09 for 15th place. Three British women ran inside three hours with St Albans Strider Gillian Pease (2:55:14) the fastest.

Amarjeet Singh Chawla lost his eyesight by age 40 but runs marathons to bring awareness about avoidable blindness

Amarjeet Singh, the visually impaired marathoner famously known as “Sporty Sikh”, on Sunday completed a 21-km run in Pune to raise awareness about the issue of “avoidable blindness”.

Singh was diagnosed with macular degeneration, one of the leading causes for vision loss, at the age of 13, and lost his eyesight completely by the age of 40. It was only at 48 that he started his sports career. He had earlier won a gold medal in 50m freestyle at an all-India swimming competition for disabled in Mumbai and is the only blind person to scale the 19,830-ft Dolma Pass in Tibet.

Asked how he is preparing for the Kargil Marathon, Singh said: “I have never practiced regularly for any marathon event. I am visually impaired and need a person to help me run. I cannot find a person to help me every single day. So, I practice only on the weekends and try to complete one run, be it 10km or 21km. The Kargil Marathon is on August 25. I will go there three days in advance with Rahul Brahme who has escorted me in 32 half marathons. We have a good tuning. In the three days, we will do 5km runs twice a day to get acclimatised to the weather as there is a risk of elevation in that area.”

Singh has finished 179 runs in all and there will be five more before the Kargil Marathon. “I have done 107 half marathon (21km), 66 10km runs, five ultra marathons and one intercity ultra. I wish to be a part of longer runs. I want to run from Delhi to Amritsar, which is approximately 650 km, to raise awareness against drug abuse,” he said.

Asked about the most difficult run he has completed so far, the Sporty Sikh says: “The Mumbai-Pune 160km run held in June was my first long-distance run and the most difficult so far.

I began my run from Goregaon Sports Club and a few women who had earlier participated in Pinkathon escorted me. Severe summer temperatures made the run difficult. It was 44° Celsius and the most difficult part of the race was the ghat section. This was a three-day run and I am thankful to the people who escorted me and helped me.”

The 63-year-old marathoner says he wanted to do something in life that would help people remember him. “I was approached for a fundraiser for the visually impaired persons and my first marathon was 7km. Cricketing hero Kapil Dev escorted me for 200 metres. This is when I thought that running for a cause will take me places. After that I was escorted by Milind Soman, felicitated by Sachin Tendulkar and have received the mayor’s award in Mumbai. All this appreciation keeps me going. I motivate myself and after completing every event I ask myself: ‘Bol Amarjeet, karega kya?’ (Tell me Amarjeet, will you do it?) and my inner self says yes and I get ready,” he says, adding that he never says no to run: “You can ask me to run at any point in the day; even at 2am. Just a cup up tea and I am ready.”

Why I am running the TCS New York City Marathon by Jared Ward

Next year is a big year, so for qualifiers for the February 2020 trials, there is a heightened sensitivity to fall 2019 marathoning. Some athletes and coaches advocate sitting out a fall marathon to “save up” for the trials. There are certainly exceptions, but elite marathoners typically run 1-2 marathons a year. In contrast, some athletes are looking for the proper tune-up marathon.

Two weeks ago, marathon runners were considering where they were going to chase the standard (2:11:30, top 10 at a World Major Marathon or top 5 at a Gold Label Marathon). Recently, the IAAF granted the U.S. Trial gold label status, meaning a top-3 finish would simultaneously earn an athlete the standard needed and a U.S. selection. I imagine this will have the effect of fewer trials qualifiers racing this fall.

I have chosen to return to the TCS New York City Marathon ahead of the trials for the following reasons.

I have a goal of a top-three finish at a World Major Marathon (NYC, Boston, etc.) and I think this fall presents a great opportunity for me to chase that. I’m coming off my fastest marathon time in Boston last spring, and I am healthy. And I think the New York course is a great course for me.

I love New York. My family and I have had fantastic experiences there and we are giddy to come back. This course also has some amazing energy. I remember last year banking on the crowds coming off the Queensboro Bridge, but feeling carried by the crowds even as early at the 3-mile mark in Brooklyn.

I have a family to feed. The 1-2 marathons/year that I run account for roughly half of my annual income. Coming off a good New York Marathon last fall and a great Boston present unique financial incentives to run.

I think this is going to help my trial race in February. Many athletes consider only the downside of running two marathons in four months, i.e. if you get injured that’s a tough turn-around. But there are upsides too. One is that the Atlanta trials course is hilly. Most major marathons are relatively flat, so experience on hilly courses among elite marathoners is largely in short supply.

Another compelling reason to race is to avoid burnout, which can present problem when training for one huge race so far out. Marathoners especially are known for being fit two months ahead of the trials, and then overcooked by race day. Putting a marathon on my calendar between now and Atlanta offers me a nearer focal point. Then following some forced time off after New York, there will be a healthy amount of time to train for and focus on the trials—not too much, and not too little.

I’ll see you in New York. Then Atlanta.

Geoffrey Kamworor is ready to reclaim his New York City Marathon title

Kamworor, who won in New York City on his second appearance in 2017, said he wants to make his fourth appearance this year memorable.

“New York has always been important to me and I will be targeting victory, having gained enough experience over the distance,” said Kamworor, who finished second in 2 hours, 10 minutes and 48 seconds on his debut in 2015.

Kamworor, who is the two-time World Half Marathon and World Cross Country champion, would claim victory in 2017, romping home in 2:10:53, before settling for third in 2:06:26 last year, losing the battle to Lelisa Desisa, who clocked 2:05:59.

It will be Kamworor’s ninth career marathon, having made his debut at 2011 Berlin Marathon, where he failed to finish, before he was placed third the following year in the same venue in a personal best of 2:06:12.

Kamworor, 26, is the fourth fastest man in the field after Ethiopians- defending champion Lelisa Desisa (2:04:45), Shura Kitata (2:04:49), who finished second last year and Tamirat Tola (2:04:06), who came in third last year.

Other elite Kenyans in the race are Stephen Sambu (2:11:07), who finished fifth in 2016 and 2017 Chicago Marathon and Albert Korir (2:08:03).

Rob Van Engelen says the Tilburg Ten Miler may be his last race as cancer spread throughout his body

Melanoma cancer was discovered six and a half years ago in 54-year-old Rob van Engelen and it was successfully removed.  But three weeks ago he was told that he had metastases throughout his body. His goal now is to participate in the Tilburg Ten Miles in September to raise money for research into melanoma cancer. "I see this as my last run."

In 2012, a birthmark on Rob's back was itching and bleeding so violently that he went to the doctor. He was immediately referred to a dermatologist at the hospital. “You don't immediately think the worst, but the place had to be removed. I had surgery and lymph nodes were immediately removed from my armpit for examination. Then there were no metastases and I had to check every so often.”

It was an exciting time for Rob, his two children Lars (29) and Britt (27) and for his partner Ghislaine. “The first year was very difficult and there was a lot of uncertainty. I lost faith in my body. As time goes by this becomes less and you will start to live an ordinary life again.”

When he was refurbished, Rob returned to work as a monitoring and advising nurse at CZ in Tilburg and started his hobbies. “I could do everything again. I am always busy with sports such as playing football and running.”

Three weeks ago, Rob and his family got the worst news out there. “Two days before we went on holiday to Greece, I was told. We immediately canceled the vacation and I had to undergo investigations. I got the results last week and it doesn't look good.”

The studies showed that Rob has metastases throughout his body. “This news was very intense. My children have been told that their father doesn't have much time left to live. Fortunately they come by every day.”

Rob starts an infusion therapy on Wednesday and this is his only rescue. This treatment works for sixty percent of patients. “I receive a total of four treatments and they take place every three weeks. After twelve weeks the doctors will see if it works. If that is the case, then it is life-prolonging. If this treatment does not work, I have two to six months to live.”

Rob still wants to get everything out of life and that's why he wants to raise money for research into melanoma cancer. He had already registered for the Tilburg Ten Miles, but now sees a new goal in this. “I see this as my last run. I want to link a sponsored run to this participation and in this way raise money for research. "

Whether Rob will be able to run 16 kilometers in September is not certain, but he will continue his fight. “I feel good, but that can change in twelve weeks. My children are walking along and eleven people have already registered for this sponsor run. I think this group will grow in the coming weeks. With this run I want to raise as much money as possible for the Dutch Cancer Society. It is no longer for me, but for the people after me. "

Kenyan´s Mercy Cherono is back from maternity leave and hopes to make Team Kenya from the World Championships

Former Commonwealth Games 5,000m champion Mercy Cherono is back from maternity leave and hopes to make Team Kenya to the World Championships set for September in Doha, Qatar.

The two-time world junior 3,000m champion said she is back to take her rightful position on the track. Cherono last won a silver medal in 5,000m during the 2013 Championships in Moscow, Russia.

“I am back in training and my focus is on the trials. I have no pressure and I am optimistic of making the cut to World Championships,” said Cherono, who won gold in 3,000m at the World Junior Championships in 2008 and 2010. She said she will be seeking a slot in her 5,000m speciality and expects stiff competition.

“All things have changed because I will be running as a mother unlike before and I believe I am stronger than before. After maternity, we always run better because we had enough time to recover.

Any time you train, you are exhausted but after maternity, you run as if you are starting all over again. Just like a kindergarten pupil, you have too much energy to perform,” she added. 

Cherono won 5,000m gold at the 2014 Commonwealth Games but failed to defend her title in 2018 as she was on the maternity leave. “Winning a title will be great for me and the country at large because I have had a good time in training. I have also featured in some local meetings,” added Cherono.

Past all the soggy landmarks of New London and Waterford there was a duo, two runners, two friends keeping pace with one another at Kelley Race debut

Donn Cabral, in the white racing singlet, was on the left and Ari Klau, in the blue, on the right. Sometimes they flipped. Their steady, strong cadence brought them down Great Neck Road in Waterford, by Waterford High School, past Ocean State Job Lot, ALDI, CVS and a sign advertising Powerball tickets outside a convenience store.

They ran through sheets of rain.  And suddenly, with a little over a mile to go in the 56th Ocean Beach John & Jessie Kelley Half-Marathon, it was Cabral, the two-time Olympian from Glastonbury, who took off alone.

Running his first Kelley Race, Cabral, 28, finished first in 1 hour, 9 minutes, 39 seconds, to edge Klau of West Hartford, 21, who crossed the finish line in 1:09:54.

Klau, entering his senior year at the University of Virginia, formerly attended Cabral's running camp when he was a 16-year-old student at Hall High School.

Cabral, a Princeton graduate, was a member of the last two U.S. Olympic teams, in London and Rio de Janeiro, as a competitor in the steeplechase, finishing eighth both times.

“I don't like going into races and not engaging in competitive mode at all,” said Cabral, who described the race as more of a training run for the two. “We had 12 miles side-by-side with camaraderie. To lose to a former camper of mine would have been a shot to the ego; it gave me the impetus to kick his butt.”

“He's always been one of my idols, the local hero,” Klau said, speaking of Cabral.

Cabral, who has the Olympic rings tattooed on his right shoulder, is now enrolled in law school and business school at UConn. He said he still has his eye on an Olympic bid for the 2020 Games in Tokyo, but it's going to take a great deal of effort over the next couple years.

“If this was an Olympic year, I wouldn't have made the team,” he said. “… My goal is still to run fast in the steeplechase.”

Nicholas Lemon of Brighton, Mass., was third in 1:15:27, followed by Russell Stevens of Colchester in 1:16:12 and Kyle Englander of Suffield in 1:16:28.

The women's division was an all-Eastern Connecticut Conference showing, led by former Fitch High School and Central Connecticut State University runner Brandy LeClair in 1:25:42, good for 14th place overall and a personal best in the half-marathon.

She was followed by a pair of current Central runners in former Ledyard star Megan Brawner (33rd overall, 1:31:14) and Killingly's Angie Rafter (34th, 1:31:15).

LeClair, 23, is a 2017 graduate of Central. She is working at the Inn at Stonington and training for this year's New York Marathon, which will be her first.

“I'm a little nervous about it (the marathon),” LeClair said. “I feel like I just started my training and I have so much more to go. … I'm just as fast now as I was in high school. I fell out of love with running in college. A year ago, I regained my passion back for it. Sometimes, it's just what you're going through. Being a college athlete is really, really tough, the mental part of it.”

LeClair said the finish line, with the parking lot at Ocean Beach beginning to resemble a lake due to the torrents of rain, reminded her of the time in high school she ran in the steeplechase, having to navigate the water pits.

“That was not fun,” she said with a laugh.

It was Brawner's first half-marathon. She is a redshirt sophomore on the Central cross country team and last year was named Northeast Conference Rookie of the Year. Brawner said Rafter turned into “Dr. Phil” around mile 10, convincing her friend and teammate to finish. She also appreciated the locals who took the time to cheer on the runners despite the teeming rain.

“Seriously such a great experience,” Brawner said. “They just stood in the rain and yelled for you to go faster. They force you to smile.”

The race, named to honor the late John Kelley of Mystic — the 1957 Boston Marathon champion — and his beloved wife Jessie, was formerly contested over 11.6 miles, but was changed last year to the half-marathon distance of 13.1 miles.

Ashprihanal Aalto Wins the 23rd Sri Chinmoy 3100 Mile Race

Ashprihanal Aalto is ready to go to sleep.

The 48-year-old Finn just won this year’s Self-Transcendence 3100 Mile Race. He crossed a duct-tape ribbon Friday after running more than 60 miles on each of 48 consecutive days around the same half-mile course in the Jamaica Hills neighborhood of Queens, N.Y.

This is Mr. Aalto’s 15th time completing one of the hardest footraces in the world, which requires runners to cover 3,100 miles over 52 days. It is often compared with ultra-endeavors like the 6633 Arctic Ultra that crosses the Arctic Circle and the Badwater Ultramarathon in Death Valley. The concrete sidewalk course wraps around one block that is home to Thomas A. Edison Career and Technical High School and its baseball field, with a view of Grand Central Parkway.

Guru Sri Chinmoy, an Indian athlete and philosopher who died in New York City in 2007, started the run in its current form in 1997.

His goal: to achieve the seemingly impossible—and in the process, transcend the limitations of the mind through meditation and persistence.

Not to mention, New York City’s summer heat, exhaust from nearby traffic and crowds of children walking to school.

Mr. Aalto isn’t the only one ready for a nap. The race relies on dozens of helpers and volunteers who work around the clock.

Hometown friends, co-workers and fellow disciples of Mr. Chinmoy, sleep very little for the month and a half. They spend all day on chores, including fixing the runners’ shoes and making tea and food for the eight runners participating this year who consume up to 110,000 calories a day total.

“You don’t want to have to come through here wondering what to eat,” said race director Rupantar LaRusso.

“I’m very happy,” Mr. Aalto said, who has won the race eight times now. “I can go do other things, rather than run, run, run.”

Junko Kazukawa is the first person to finish the Leadville Race Series and the Grand Slam of Ultrarunning in a single season, she is now training for the Leadville Trail 100 MTB

Kazukawa was in the best shape of her life in 2005 when she learned she had cancer. She was 42, training for the Leadville Trail 100 MTB race, and found a lump on her left breast. First, there was denial, then anger: She was an athlete. A professional trainer. She was healthy. “Why me? I was shocked,” Kazukawa says. But she was also lucky. Doctors were able to remove the lump surgically, and Kazukawa continued training, even completing the mountain bike race that same year.

While she felt like the event was hard, she figured the Leadville Trail 100 ultramarathon would be more challenging for her. Immediately after the Leadville Trail 100 MTB, she made a commitment to compete. “I felt that life is short,” Kazukawa says. “I don’t know what will happen tomorrow, so if there’s something I want to do, I need to do it.” 

That sense of mortality served Kazukawa well as she rebounded from her first bout of cancer to become an accomplished ultrarunner, only to discover another lump four years later. This time, the cancer was more serious, requiring a mastectomy and chemotherapy. But she never gave up running. A month after finishing chemo, she completed the New York City Marathon. “I thought it was a good way to give closure to that terrible disease,” Kazukawa says. “And with the New York City Marathon, if I got tired, I could just take the subway to the finish.” 

Kazukawa continued to grow as a trail runner. In 2015, she became the first person to finish the entire Leadville Series and the Grand Slam of Ultrarunning in a single season. The Leadville Race Series involves running the Leadville Marathon in June, the Leadville 50 in July, and completing the Leadville 100 MTB, Leadville 10K, and Leadville 100 in August. To complete the Grand Slam of Ultrarunning, she had to finish Western States, the Vermont 100, and the Leadville 100 in just three months. Accomplishing either of these series is a career-worthy triumph.

Doing both in a single season is next level. Kazukawa doesn’t know of any other person who has completed the same feat, although Australian ultrarunner Dion Leonard is attempting to do so this year. 

“It sounds hard, but if you plan ahead and have a good base and pay attention to strength training, it’s not that bad,” Kazukawa says. “By the time I hit Western States, I had built up my fitness, so I just raced and recovered.”

Kazukawa, now 56, didn’t take up running until she moved from her childhood home in Japan to the United States for college. Even then, it was just short distances to stay in shape. She began teaching group fitness classes in 1989 as an undergraduate, continuing to do so while working toward a masters in exercise physiology. After that, she started running marathons, then trail marathons, then ultras. “I love the challenge of an ultra, because you’re right on that edge of what you can do and what you can’t do,” Kazukawa says. “Once you finish, you know you’re alive. It’s a confidence builder.” 

Kazukawa completed a 100-mile race in Wyoming in June and will run the Leadville 100 in August for the seventh time. In September, she is hoping to take her running to the next level and tackle a new distance, 200 miles, in the Italian Alps.

Two defending champions Rachid El Mourabity and Magdalena Boulet, will be back in Dubai to defend their Al Marmoom Ultramarathon title

El Mourabity of Morocco and American Boulet took the men's and women's crown in the inaugural edition of the Al Marmoom Ultramarathon last December with El Mourabity clocking 31 hours, 17 minutes and 29 seconds across the four-day and 270-km race, and Boulet finishing with a time of 37:27:59.

Both have now confirmed, along with a number of other elite ultra-runners, for the second edition of the Al Marmoom Ultramarathon, which will be a longer 300-km race and spread across five days with a prize purse of $100,000.

"Some of the world's best endurance and ultramarathon runners, including the defending champions Rachid El Mourabity and Magdalena Boulet, will be back in Dubai to take part in the second edition of the Al Marmoom Ultramarathon," said Nasser Aman Al Rahma, Assistant Secretary General of the Dubai Sports Council.

"The first edition of the Al Marmoom Ultramarathon was a huge success with elite ultra-runners from 48 countries taking part in the 270km race. Media from around the globe covered the event, while CNN International flew down a team to Dubai to cover the race and the Al Marmoom Desert Conservation.

"This year, the Al Marmoom Ultramarathon is going to be even bigger and better. The distance has been increased to 300-km, and so the competition is going to be stiffer. We have developed a special GPS system to track participants this year and there will be drones covering the full race. We will have a much bigger race headquarters as well and a lot more tents for athletes to relax in.

"The Al Marmoom Ultramarathon is a translation of the guidance of our wise leadership to take advantage of the many opportunities that the Al Marmoom Desert Conservation offers and to encourage all segments of our society to use the Al Marmoom for their sports and outdoor activities. The Reserve is the perfect place to host this challenging event and provides participants with a unique opportunity to experience the beauty and tranquillity of our deserts."

Alongside the main event, the gruelling 300-km Ultramarathon, the race also offers lesser distances of 110-km and 50-km to encourage endurance runners from the UAE and region to participate. The 300-km race will be completed in five days and over four separate routes starting from the base camp situated in Al Qudra. The 110-km race will be a non-stop 24 hour run, while the 50-km race will be completed in one day.

All three races are self-sufficient with water and tents supplied, as well as medical and safety support given. Top rankings and special recognition winners in all three races will receive prize money, and all finishers will receive medals and t shirts.

The organisers are encouraging runners who wish to sign up and prepare for the event to join the weekly 'build up runs' training programme, which will start Friday, August 30, and run for 12 weeks leading up to the main event.

Desiree Linden is going to be running the New York City Marathon before Boston

Des Linden says she’s running every marathon as if it’s her last. She could have said goodbye on April 15, finishing fifth in defense of her Boston Marathon title, blowing kisses to the crowd after denying regurgitation.

Instead, Linden plans to race the New York City Marathon for the third time and second year in a row on Nov. 3.

The two-time U.S. Olympian placed fifth in 2014 and sixth in 2018 at the five-borough event. She decided to sign up again after a post-Boston break and a weeklong Hong Kong vacation.

“Just been logging a lot of miles deciding what would be next and got the itch to start doing workouts and getting the longer stuff,” Linden said. “It’s the biggest stage in the world, so it’s hard to pass up on that opportunity. It’s a no-brainer. I like tough, technical courses.”

Linden, 36, could become the oldest female U.S. Olympic marathoner since 2004 next year. But, taking the one-at-a-time mantra that Shalane Flanagan adopted late in her career, she’s not (yet) committing to the Olympic trials on Feb. 29.

Neither of Linden’s previous Olympic experiences was especially memorable. She dropped out of her first Olympic marathon in 2012 with a stress fracture in her femur. She was seventh in Rio, missing a medal by less than two minutes. The Kenyan-born gold and silver medalists were later busted for EPO and are serving lengthy doping bans.

“I don’t feel like I have anything to prove and anything unfinished,” at the Olympics, Linden said. “Quite frankly, the last experience is a hard sell to get back out there to try to compete for medals when you’re not even really sure what the field is all about. It’s a little bit difficult to be excited about that with the way we are about the [World Marathon] Majors. People investing in anti-doping have really been solving that problem [at the majors]. It’s a little tricky [at the Olympics], but certainly representing your country is special.”

Linden did acknowledge that a technical, undulating course like New York could provide ideal preparation for the Olympic trials course in Atlanta that, like New York, is not expected to produce fast times. Linden also dismissed it being too tight of a turnaround from the latest of the fall major marathons to a trials in the winter.

Linden did not race fall marathons in 2011 or 2015 ahead of Olympic trials, though the trials race was earlier each of those years. If she does race at next year’s trials, it would mark her shortest break between marathons of what would be her 20 times contesting the distance.

“There’s ample time to recover and get back at it,” she said. “I don’t need to go and run a fast time or get a qualifier or anything. It was just about picking the race that was going to get me excited.”

Rachel Walny signs a pro contract with Elite Runner Managment and her next race will be the Crim 10-miler

Chris Mengel is the name behind Elite Runner Management (ERM), which represents a small group of talented athletes in the sport of track and field. Its runners have achieved success in long-distance races on the roads and track.

Rachel Walny is certainly a talented distance runner. After an all-state career in high school, she competed in both cross country and track at Bowling Green where she also enjoyed success.

She will return to Bowling Green to pursue a master degree in kinesiology and nutrition later this month.

Walny was doing a track workout at Chippewa Valley Friday morning.

Mengel is an attorney. He is also a sports agent whose sole focus is on distance runners. A self-avowed “jogger,” he first began rubbing elbows with the sport by going into one of the Hansons Running Shops to purchase shoes.

Keith and Kevin Hanson are the architects of the Hansons-Brooks Distance Project. The brothers started the innovative program in 1999. They house and train post-collegiate athletes who pursue excellence on a national and international level.Their distance runners have included Olympians Brian Sell,  Desiree Davila and Dathan Ritzenheim. Davila won the Boston Marathon.

Mengel has signed nine athletes to ERM. Among them is Kenyan Weldon Kirui, a two-time winner of the Los Angeles Marathon. Weldon also has an endorsement deal with Skechers.

“Weldon has been able to start a tea farm back home in Kenya due to his running,”  said Mengel. “He is also building a church.

No offense, but it takes more than prayer to make it as a professional distance runner. Hard work, talent, dedication and passion are a just few of the necessary ingredients.

Rachel Walny next race will be the Crim 10-miler later this month in Flint Michigan. Walny also has races in Indianapolis and San Diego scheduled.

“I never felt like I really met my full potential in college,” said Walny. “I do not want to stop until I have done that. I just love running and I cannot imagine not competing. I want to be the best I can possibly be.”

Kevin Mayer, Pierre-Ambroise Bosse and Yohann Diniz are part of the first wave of athletes selected by the French Athletics Federation for the IAAF World Athletics Championships Doha 2019

Mayer tallied 8768 points to secure the world title in the decathlon in London two years ago before going on the break the world record before a home crowd in Talence last September, scoring 9126 points.

Mayer hasn't completed a decathlon yet this season but has shown strong form in several events, especially the 110m hurdles where he's improved his career best to 13.60.

Diniz, the world record holder in the 50km race walk since 2014, captured his first world title in his specialty in London at 39, in his sixth world championships appearance over the distance.

In a command performance, he led from gun to tape. At the moment, Diniz is the world leader after racing to victory at the European Cup in Alytus, Lithuania, on 19 May, clocking 3:37.43

Bosse, 27, pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the 2017 World Championships edition when taking the 800m title after blasting to the lead with exactly 200 metres to go. This season, Bosse took the French title on 27 July in just his second competition of the year.

Other athletes announced today by the FFA include European 10,000m champion Morhad Amdouni who was selected for the marathon, Gabriel Bordier and Kevin Campion in the 20km race walk and Basile Rolnin in the decathlon.

Britain’s Basil Heatley, the 1964 Olympic marathon silver medallist and former world record-holder for the distance, died on Saturday at the age of 85

Born on Christmas Day in 1933, Heatley was a promising youngster and earned podium finishes at the national level as a youth and junior at cross country.

He made his marathon debut in 1956 and reduced his PB to 2:23:01 one year later, but didn’t run the distance again for six years.

Between 1957 and 1964 he made seven appearances at the International Cross Country Championships, the forerunner to the IAAF World Cross Country Championships. He won the individual senior men’s title in 1961, improving on his silver medal from four years prior.

Later in 1961 he clocked 47:47 for 10 miles, setting what was the 100th ratified world record by a British athlete. After returning to the marathon in 1963, he set a world best of 2:13:55 in June 1964, marking him as a medal favorite ahead of the Olympic Games in Tokyo later that year.

There was no stopping defending champion Abebe Bikila in Tokyo, though. Just weeks after having his appendix removed, the Ethiopian retained his title and set a world record of 2:12:11. In the race for the silver medal, Heatley passed Japan’s Kokichi Tsuburaya with just 110 meters to go inside the Olympic stadium and took the silver medal in 2:16:19.

Heatley retired at the end of 1964 but went on to work as a team manager for the national athletics team.

Raymond Magut sets a course record at the Debbie Green 5k clocking 13:41 to claim the overall title

Earlier this week, Ron Green stated that this year’s field in the 22nd annual Debbie Green 5K Run/Walk for Leukemia could be the best Wheeling has seen.

And it sure was a race for the history books. In the end, three runners broke the 14-minute barrier while nine of which ran faster than 15 minutes. The female competition was just as impressive as two were able to clock in under 16 minutes.

Raymond Magut, broke from the pack after the second mile and broke the tape with a record-setting 13:41 on Saturday to claim the overall and male title. “The race was fantastic and the course was good,” Magut said. “The race was really competitive. The course was good and flat.”

After winning the race last year, Vicoty Chepngeno was back for another victory. And she was able to defend her title as she crossed the finish line 15:38, breaking her mark from last year by one second.

“I ran my best time (Saturday) and I’m very happy for that,” Chepngeno said.

Pamela Cherotich was the second female to cross the finish line in a time of 15:57.

At the mile mark, it looked like it could be anybody’s race. Eight runners were in the lead pack and clocked in under 4:30, with Magut in the middle of it.

“For three men to go under 14 (minutes) and for two women to go under 15 and for them to be so close is phenomenal,” Green said. “That’s all world-class speed down here in Wheeling. It’s just fabulous. It’s just fabulous.”

Edwin Kibichiy came in second overall as he finished in 13:52 while James Ngandu crossed the finish line in an impressive 13:57.

Silas Kipruto cracked the 15-minute barrier (fourth place, 14:08) along with Simion Chirchir (fifth, 14:09), Mourad Marofit (sixth, 14:17), Cyrus Korir (seventh, 14:34), Benson Kiema (eighth, 14:52) and Matthew Cheboi (ninth, 14:54). Peterson Muthoni rounded out the top 10 with a 15:06.

“They were out and setting the pace,” Green said about the lead pack. “There were about eight or nine with three or four behind them. Then they got to Mile 2 in about 8:30, 8:35, which they were speeding it up a little bit. So the second mile was about 4:15 or 4:10. Once they got on their way back to Main Street, right around the (Imperial) Teacher’s Store, that’s where (Magut) made his break and you could see him separating right there and everybody knew it. The other guys couldn’t catch him. He got a good 100 yard lead at that point and that’s what he won by, about 10 seconds. He had a pretty good lead and that’s when he took it.”

Rounding out the top 10 for the females were Iveen Chepkemoi (third, 16:22), Judy Cherotich (fourth, 16:50), Meseret Merine (fifth, 16:53), Esther Wanjiru (sixth, 17:19), Ann Mazur Robb (seventh, 18:16), Wheeling’s Kelsey Chambers (eighth, 19:11), Kirsten McMichael (ninth, 19:22) and Bellaire’s Aimee Vavrek (10th, 19:40).

“What a great turnout. What a fast turnout,” Green said. “What a great field with elite athletes from top to bottom. There’s so many great athletes in this race. All the locals, they do great and all the age group awards are going to be talented runners and walkers from all over the Valley. You can’t ask for anything better. The conditions and weather were beautiful. It’s a beautiful race to put on down here on the waterfront. I’m just ecstatic with everything.”

Norwegian Runner Dies After Being Struck by Lightning During Italian Ultramarathon

Extreme weather this past weekend in Italy claimed the life of a 44-year-old woman from Norway who was participating in an ultramarathon after she was struck by lightning on Saturday.

According to a release on the Südtirol Ultra Skyrace's Facebook page, the incident occurred around 7:15 p.m. near a lake called Lago di San Pancrazio. The dangerous weather issues prompted race officials to suspend the race 30 minutes prior, but many runners — like the woman — were between aid stations with no way of receiving the news.

Nearby runners that witnessed the strike called emergency personnel, who transported her by helicopter to Bolzano Hospital where she succumbed to her injuries.

"We are shocked and deeply shaken by this tragic accident," said Josef Günther Mair, chair of the race's organizing committee. "We express our deepest condolences to the family of the athlete."

The victim's name has yet to be made public.

Südtirol Ultra Skyrace race dubs itself "the most extreme experience in the Alps" along a trail called "Hufeisentour" in the Sarntaler Alps. Runners travel 121 kilometers (more than 75 miles) over three days and climb almost five miles in altitude.

Fears grow over Tokyo 2020 heat threat after 11 die and more than 5,000 taken to hospital

A total of 11 people died and 5,664 people were taken to hospitals in Japan due to heat-related medical issues last week when temperatures rose sharply following the end of the rainy season in most areas, the Japanese Government revealed.

The latest figures have been released at a time when Tokyo 2020 organisers and the Government’s Bureau of Environment are working on measures that can be taken to safeguard athletes, spectators and volunteers during next year’s Olympic and Paralympic Games.

At last week’s beach volleyball test event in Tokyo misting sprays and air-conditioned tents were among the features trialled in order to combat the effects of rising temperatures in the capital.

As temperatures rose to 38 centigrade, the 11 deaths were reported in 11 different areas among Japan's 47 prefectures, Japanese agency Kyodo News reported.

Aichi Prefecture had the most people rushed to hospitals at 392, followed by Osaka Prefecture at 388 and Tokyo at 299.

The number of people sent to hospitals nearly tripled from 1,948 in the preceding week as the rainy season came to an end.

Those aged 65 and older accounted for 52.6 percent of the total in the week to last Sunday (July 28), according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency.

Of the 5,664 people, 119 displayed severe symptoms that would normally require at least three weeks of treatment as an inpatient, while 1,792 suffered less serious issues, necessitating shorter stays.

As temperatures are likely to remain above the average in Japan in the upcoming week, the Agency urged people to stay hydrated and to take rest occasionally.

While the capital hosted its first Summer Games in the much-cooler month of October in 1964, next year's competition featuring 33 sports and 339 events is due to take place between July 24 and Aug. 9.

Weather-related concerns have mounted since Tokyo was awarded the Games in 2013, especially after a historic heatwave affected Japan's capital last summer, with an area near Tokyo seeing a record temperature of 41.1C.

Tokyo 2020 has admitted the threat posed by the extreme heat and typhoons is considered a "major issue" resulting in the shifting of start times of several events.

The men's and women's marathons were pushed back one hour to 6am and the men's 50 kilometres race walk will commence at 5:30am.

The organisers are set to provide information about weather conditions and safety precautions through the official mobile app.

They are also considering allowing spectators to bring their own bottled drinks into event venues, a departure from previous Games at which sponsor and security considerations have made such a possibility a no-go.

"This is all aimed at making spectators feel as comfortable as possible, given they have come to see events in a very hot and humid environment," Tokyo 2020 delivery officer Hidemasa Nakamura said last month.

He added that the measures taken would include a "specific focus on the elderly, children and international visitors".

The Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon announced today its registration date and new features for the 43rd running event

The Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon announced today its registration date and new features for the 43rd running of Cleveland’s premier race, which will take place May 16-17, 2020, in downtown Cleveland. More than 50,000 runners, volunteers and spectators are expected to participate in activities throughout race weekend.

The 43rd Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon will feature a more streamlined race schedule, with the 10K being moved to Saturday of race weekend, and the 1-Mile and 8K races being eliminated.

New Features.- The Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon is pleased to offer four new Challenge Series levels in 2020, providing new options for runners and walkers who wish to challenge themselves with two events over a two-day period. The Challenge Series offers four event combinations and levels of difficulty:• 10K and Full Marathon • 10K and Half Marathon • 5K and Full Marathon• 5K and Half Marathon*Please note, as mentioned above, the 10K has been moved to Saturday, May 16. There is no longer an 8K as part of the series.To be included in the Challenge Series and receive its benefits, participants must register under one of the four Challenge Series 2-Day Distance Combos. If they register twice for two individual events, they will not be included in the Challenge Series. 

Additionally, participants will now have the opportunity to choose from one of four Challenge Series levels and, for the first time, be eligible for the Abbott World Marathon Majors Wanda Age Group World Championships in 2021.

Additionally, the Cleveland Marathon has been chosen as a qualifying event partner of the Abbott World Marathon Majors (AbbottWMM) Wanda Age Group World Rankings.

The AbbottWMM is a series of six of the largest and most renowned marathons in the world - Tokyo Marathon, B.A.A. Boston Marathon, Virgin Money London Marathon, BMW BERLIN-MARATHON, Bank of America Chicago Marathon and TCS New York City Marathon. 

Carbon monoxide as altitude simulator? Seriously?

A new study by authors in China, Finland, Sweden and the US and published in Frontiers in Physiology has considered whether breathing carbon monoxide periodically could be a reasonable substitute for altitude training in runners. (Yes, they’re serious.)

Altitude training works by improving the body’s ability to use oxygen, since the thinner air at altitude stimulates the release of natural EPO as well as boosting hemoglobin. Apparently, small, controlled doses of carbon monoxide can have a similar effect.

The study was done on 12 college-level male soccer players who trained on treadmills five times a week. Hemoglobin, VO2 max and running economy were measured before and after the four-week program. The experimental group inhaled 1 mL per kilogram of body weight in 4L of oxygen for two minutes before each training session, and the control group breathed regular air. Carbon monoxide levels and EPO in the blood were measured five times after inhaling the CO at intervals of 1 or two hours.

(EPO is short for erythropoietin, a hormone produced naturally in the body. A synthetic version of the hormone, which is banned in athletics, is used to artificially boost the body’s red blood cell production and therefore its oxygen-carrying capacity.)

The results showed that athletes’ EPO production increased significantly after inhaling carbon monoxide, peaking about four hours later. Their hemoglobin, VO2 max and running economy improved significantly over four weeks of training using this method, indicating that controlled, moderate inhalation could reasonably be used as a substitute for altitude training.

Carbon monoxide is also highly toxic, has no taste, smell or colour, and at concentrations of 150 parts per million or higher, inhalation can lead to death.

The study added that “excessive CO breathing can be detrimental and can even lead to death, CO breathing interventions such as presented here should only be done in well-controlled laboratory setting, where both exhaled and blood CO values are always closely monitored and appropriate first aid facilities are readily accessible if needed.”

It added the following “Ethics Statement”:

“This study was carried out in accordance with the recommendations of sport science ethics review of Beijing Sport University, Beijing Sport University Institutional Review Board (BSU IRB), with written informed consent from all subjects. All subjects gave written informed consent in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki. The protocol was approved by the BSU IRB.”

Kenyans Joyciline Jepkosgei and Alex Korio, won the 2019 TD Beach to Beacon 10K Road Race in Cape Elizabeth

Jepkosgei clocked 31:05 at Beach to Beach, the fastest since Mary Keitany's 30:41 course record in 2017. Korio, a late entrant, ran an unofficial 27:35, seconds away from Gilbert Okari's 16-year-old course record of 27:28

Jepkosgei's personal bests at the distance include 29:43 on the road and 31:28 on the track. She currently holds non-IAAF considered world records in both the half-marathon and 10,000-meter, set in the same race in 2017.

Korio's time beat his previous road course PB of 27:48.

Ellsworth's Dan Curts, a recent Iowa State University graduate, was the top Maine men's finisher. His time was one of the best the division's seen. Curts was the 2019 Big 12 outdoor champ at 5,000 meters.

Falmouth High School student Sofie Matson, 16, was the top Maine women's finisher, while 2016 Olympian Emily Infeld was the top American.

Singapore Marathon Launches Improved Route Aimed At Improving Athlete Experience and all the participants

Today, organisers of the 2019 Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon (SCSM) unveiled Singapore’s first evening race routes. The improved routes are built on runner feedback and are intended to deliver a balance of race difficulty set against Singapore’s iconic skyline. The three-day event from 29 November - 1 December will feature a Kids Dash on Friday evening, Marathon and Half Marathon on Saturday evening and conclude with 5km and 10km categories on Sunday morning.

In creation of the route, race organisers consulted with crowd management experts from the Manchester Metropolitan University to design and coordinate the best possible race route experience, employing their experience from working with Abbott World Marathon Major races – a series of the best Marathon races in the world.

Building on the strong positive reception from runners in 2018, organisers have made key strategic improvements while keeping the main core elements of the previously acclaimed course. The first alteration will see runners turning right on Bras Basah Rd, a longer and wider straight along Nicoll Highway, before passing by the War Memorial Park. At the 22-kilometre mark, runners will flank the scenic Marina Grove as they take in the stunning waterfront sunset.

With the event moving to the evening hours, lighting on the Marathon route will be increased providing athletes with optimal visibility while being surrounded by the shimmering Singapore skyline. Volunteer participation will also be doubled from 2018, ensuring a smooth dispensation of sports drink 100plus, water, and other products. Moreover, for the first time in the event’s 18-year history, runners from all categories will begin their race from the same start point across three different days - in front of the Formula 1 (F1) Pit Building.

"This year’s race will be the best yet - the changes we are making are the first for any race in Singapore and the region. A lot of planning and effort has gone into this year’s race to make this an event that is for everyone - participants, family, friends, and the public," said Geoff Meyer, Managing Director for The IRONMAN Group in Asia. "With the all-new spectator zones, we sincerely hope that everyone will come and join us in the festivities as we continue our ascent towards meeting the Abbott World Marathon Majors standards."

This year’s routes aim to provide a memorable experience for runners while ensuring minimal inconvenience to the wider public. Communities affected by road closures have been engaged early and wayfinding signs will be put up in advance to inform the public of impending road closures so that they can make plans to use alternative travel routes. Routes to emergency and essential services such as hospitals shall remain directly accessible throughout the duration of the event. The public is expected to experience some inconvenience in their commute to and from the area. Those travelling to these affected areas are strongly advised to use public transport.

Sport Singapore Chief Executive Officer Lim Teck Yin said, "Organising Singapore’s first Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon in the evening requires all stakeholders to work together to ensure a world-class event that lives up to the aspiration to be part of the Abbott World Marathon Majors."

"Every year, the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon is brought to life by people and their spirit. As the event seeks to make its mark on the global stage, I encourage everyone - from the runners, to the families and everyone that we will pass along the route, to join hands and make history together," Lim added.

Allyson Felix has signed a multi-year contract with athletic apparel brand Athleta

Felix, who’s one of the most decorated athletes in American history, has upwards of 10 Olympic and World Championship medals.

Felix ran for Nike starting in 2010, a contract which ended in December of 2017. She was in negotiations with the company when she openly criticized her sponsor for not supporting women athletes who choose to start a family.

She followed that up with testifying before the US House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee on the maternal mortality crisis.

Though she had excellent healthcare and was in top physical condition, Felix suffered serious complications during her pregnancy and underwent an emergency C-section at 32 weeks. She spent the next few months with her baby in the NICU before going public with her story in December 2018.

Felix raced in an unbranded black kit at this past weekend’s USATF National Championships, where she placed sixth in the 400m final and made her 13th World Championship team in the relay pool for the 4x400m. She gave birth last November to her daughter Camryn.

Felix’s contract with Athleta includes full pregnancy protections. Nike has since changed their pregnancy policy to better accommodate their female athletes.

Director of the Debbie Green Memorial 5K Ron Green is Working Hard in Preparation for this year race event

As director of the Debbie Green Memorial 5K Run/Walk for Leukemia, Green has been touch with runners and walkers near and far as race days — Aug. 2 and 3 — approaches.

But while the event, in its 22nd year, continues to have a more national and international flavor, the fact isn’t lost on the Benwood native that the race is a local one benefiting local people.

“It’s nice to have runners from all around the world,” he said, “but, ultimately, I want to treat them all the same.

“Whether you’re from Kenya and are one of the top runners in the world or you’re from down the street from where I live, I want to treat everyone the same.”

Registrations will be accepted through race day for events that begin on Friday night with the Green Mile Run/Walk at 7 p.m. Saturday features the Debbie’s Dash Kids’ race at 6 p.m., followed by the main event at 7.

“We’re pretty excited,” Green said about the events, sponsored by Kalkreuth. “We have a pretty fast field coming in, and some of the past winners are coming in.”

That list includes Mourad Mafout, the 2013 winner. Green is also excited about the arrival of Lawrence Kipkoech, an all-American runner from Campbell.

“It’s been amazing,” he said. “I’ve been getting calls from all over the place.”

American Garrett Kenyon is another runner Green is eager to see run the downtown Wheeling course, along with female standout Esther Wanjiru.

“And you just never know who’ll come in at the last minute,” he said.

“The Race for a Reason” began to honor Green’s sister, Debbie, who lost her battle against leukemia at age 7 in 1972.

Debbie’s death provided the inspiration for the race, selected as the Road Runners Club of America 5K National Championship race three times.

“We started this race to help local kids with cancer,” Green stressed, noting two youths from Belmont County will be aided this year. “Having these people from throughout the world come here and having your sister’s name out there everywhere is amazing.

“When I started this, I never thought we’d have runners from Kenya or Ethiopia or Mexico. We’ve had women that went 1-2 in the Olympics.”

Green has also had a wide-range of local runners cross his finish line. Now, a second generation of runners are making the trek through the course, which is now in Wheeling after starting in Benwood.

Canadians Reid Coolsaet, Dylan Wykes & Rob Watson will return to the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon

Three very familiar faces will be among the outstanding Canadian entries for the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon October 20th, all lured by the Athletics Canada National Championship which runs concurrently in this IAAF Gold Label race.

Moreover, this year’s event also serves as Canada’s Olympic trials with the ‘first past the post' earning an automatic spot on the team bound for Tokyo provided he or she has achieved the Olympic standard (2:11:30/2:29:30).

Two-time Olympian Reid Coolsaet will seek a third berth, Dylan Wykes a second and Rob Watson, a three-time World Championships performer, relishes the challenge of earning another podium finish. The ‘three amigos’ between them have won twenty-one national titles.

Coolsaet turned 40 on July 29th and acknowledges his best days are behind him - he is Canada’s third fastest marathoner of all time with a 2:10:28 personal record - but believes he has the experience to make the team for Tokyo. "Yeah, it is my goal, I am totally focused on making the Olympics," said Coolsaet, who has run under 2:11:30 six times in his career. "It’s definitely my main motivation for training as hard as I do in the marathon.

"If it wasn’t for the 2020 Olympics, knowing I am not really looking for a PB anymore, I think I would have moved to the trails last year. I am happy to train this hard knowing the reward would mean a lot to me."

With Cam Levins (2:09:25) also returning to the site of his dramatic Canadian record-breaking performance, Coolsaet realises that something would have to go seriously wrong for Levins to miss the automatic place. Still, he remains optimistic he has a chance.

"I know what it takes to run the level I need to run to potentially qualify for the Olympics," Coolsaet says believing a 2:12:30 might be good enough to earn a place through the IAAF ranking system.

"Although I don’t want to get hurt, I don’t want to sell myself short and think ‘what if?’ I am going to be smart about my training and listen to my body. "I am not going to run quite as much mileage as in the past. But I know I can’t let being 40 be an excuse to back off my training because I can't handle it or something like that. Although there will be some slight changes, they are going to be very slight."

Wykes who was Canada’s top finisher in the 2012 Olympic marathon (20th in 2:15:26) has a personal best of 2:10:47 making him the fourth fastest Canadian of all time. Many were surprised by his return. After failing to make the Rio Olympic team he effectively retired to focus on his family - he and his wife Francine have two young children - and his coaching business ‘Mile2Marathon’.

Coach Richard Lee had once declared that he doubted Wykes would ever want to put himself through the disruption which ultimately led to his place on the 2012 London Olympic team. He made three attempts to achieve the standard sacrificing much in the process. His 2:10:47 came at the 2016 Rotterdam Marathon. Reminded of this the now 36-year old laughs.

"It’s certainly taken a few years to wrap my head around things and realize I am probably not going to do it again if it’s like the buildup was to London," he admits. "I would be lying if I said Tokyo wasn’t in the back of my mind. But I think I am trying to see things less ‘big picture’ and trying to focus on staying healthy and getting to the finish line in Toronto.

"If Cam Levins is on his game he’s in a different stratosphere. But I guess guys like Tristan Woodfine, Reid, Trevor Hofbauer, these kind of guys, if I am going well, I will mix it up with them.That is kind of what I am most excited about."

Following the 2012 Olympics, Wykes’ motivation was at a peak. The London experience had left him excited with endless possibilities to set about achieving. But there were obstacles that cropped up along the way. "I was as focused or more focused after London as any time in my career and the years between London and Rio were going to be my best," he reveals. "But a lot of that was injuries and kind of biting off more than I could chew.

"Some of that had to with the buildup to London and having to run so many marathons. And I made the silly mistake of trying to chase down (Jerome Drayton’s Canadian record). After London that became my focus. And, when I didn’t make Rio, I was kind of done."

A year ago Wykes and his family moved east from Vancouver after Francine received a post-doctoral position at Carleton University. Together with Rob Watson he coaches runners of all abilities through their company ‘Mile2Marathon’. With over 200 clients and ten coaches it is a thriving business. Somewhere along the way he rediscovered his own love for disciplined training. At his peak Watson achieved a personal best of 2:13:29 at the 2013 Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon.

Kenya's Stephen Kiprop and Ethiopians Jemal Yimer and Sembere Teferi are among the first star names announced for the Valencia Trinidad Alfonso EDP Half Marathon

Kiprop illustrated fine form in 2018, winning three half-marathon races in the Netherlands and Czech Republic, and finishing fifth in Valencia clocking 59:21.

But it was in 2019 that the 20-year-old leapt to stardom by winning at Ras Al Khaimah with a sizzling time of 58:42, the fastest in the world this year.

Yimer, 22, finished second in Valencia last year in 58:33, an Ethiopian national record that elevated him the equal-third on the all-time list. Yimer has also illustrated solid form this season, clocking 26:54.39 at 10,000m in Hengelo last month. Last year he won the African title over the distance.

Teferi, 24, the first major announcement for the women's race, has followed a similar trajectory. She too set her career best in Ras Al Khaimah earlier this year, clocking 1:05:45. She clocked 30:45.14 on the track in Hengelo, finishing third, to reserve a spot on the Ethiopian squad for the IAAF World Athletics Championships Doha 2019.

Organizers are offering a €70,000 (US$77,700) world record bonus, as well as an additional €30,000 (US$33,300) bonus if the men's winner breaks the 58-minute barrier or if the women's winner dips under 1:04:30.

Both the current world records, 58:18 for men and 1:04:51 for women, have been set in Valencia.

South Pacific Games Gold Medalist and Chill Suva Marathon winner Avikash Lal is going to run the Boston Marathon

South Pacific Gold Medalist Avikash Lal will participate in the next Year´s Boston Marathon in the United States.

Lal recently won The Island Chill Suva Marathon in a time of 2:47:57.

He will participate in The Boston Marathon for the first time and he is very proud and excited about the opportunity.

The Boston Marathon was originally a local event, but its fame and status have attracted runners from all over the world. For most of its history, the Boston Marathon was a free event, and the only prize awarded for winning the race was a wreath woven from olive branches. 

However, corporate-sponsored cash prizes began to be awarded in the 1980s, when professional athletes refused to run the race unless they received a cash award. The first cash prize for winning the marathon was awarded in 1986.

The event attracts 500,000 spectators each year, making it New England's most widely viewed sporting event. Though starting with 15 participants in 1897, the event now attracts an average of about 30,000 registered participants each year, with 30,251 people entering in 2015.

The Centennial Boston Marathon in 1996 established a record as the world's largest marathon with 38,708 entrants, 36,748 starters, and 35,868 finishers.

DJ Bishop and his friend Ryan Feeney are ready to compete at the Falmouth Road Race

DJ Bishop, who is paralyzed, will sit in a wheel chair while his friend, Ryan Feeney, pushes.

They started out as baseball competitors in high school but then three years ago Bishop was injured and paralyzed from the chest down from a diving accident.

They are now teaming up as a duo to compete in the Falmouth Road Race on August 18.  

"It was kind of a last ditch effort as an opportunity to compete together," said Feeney, who approached Bishop about the race. "It was a way for us to be teammates again."

They are racing as Team Bish Strong and raising money for Journey Forward, a paralysis rehabilitation center in Canton that Bishop has attended since 2016.

The Falmouth Road Race is also an opportunity for them to raise awareness about neck and spinal injuries, which Bishop has sustained.

"I'm very excited to be part of a team again and compete," he said. "I've always been a competitive athlete and competitor."

The pair has been training since June. Bishop directs Feeney where to go and they work together during turns. In addition, Bishop motivates him throughout the runs.

Feeney is 25 and graduated from Bridgewater State in 2017. Bishop, also 25, hasn't graduated yet.

Before the start of his final year, Bishop broke his neck and injured his spinal chord while diving into shallow water in a lake. He needed emergency surgery and a spinal fusion.

Feeney reached out to him after the injury and they have kept in touch since.

At first, doctors thought that Bishop wouldn't be able to breathe or eat regular food on his own again, but he was later able to.

After nearly four months in the hospital, Bishop began physical therapy at Journey Forward, where he has been able to regain strength and balance. Going there has also given him hope.

Before, he was only able to shrug his shoulders, but now Bishop can curl his arms and has a lot more function.

"I'm still not where I want to be and I have a lot to go, but I keep pushing every single day," he said.

Although doctors have also told him that he would never walk again, Bishop doesn't rule out the possibility.

"In my mind, I don't listen to that and I block it out," he said. "I do what I got to do to maintain and get stronger every day. And never say never."

The Travis Roy Foundation is the newest gold-level sponsor of the New Balance Falmouth Road Race

The Travis Roy Foundation (TRF), founded in 1997 to enhance the lives of spinal cord injury survivors and families by providing grants and funding research, is the newest gold-level sponsor of the New Balance Falmouth Road Race, race officials announced.

“We love the fact that Falmouth, one of New England’s most-iconic road races, has taken up the cause of making it clear that participation is for everyone,” said Roy, who in 1995 was paralyzed after hitting the boards just 11 seconds into his first hockey game for Boston University.

“Runners, wheelchair racers and adaptive athletes of all types are welcome here, and its history as one of the first non-marathons to establish a wheelchair division proves that it has long been intent on helping others move forward.”

The New Balance Falmouth Road Race this year is celebrating the 45thrunning of its wheelchair division, now sponsored by Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital Cape Cod.

While the Boston-based TRF has just launched its sponsorship, it is not new to the race: It returns with a 2019 team of runners in the event’s Numbers for Nonprofits Program, in which it raises funds to further its mission.

Indeed, most of its fundraising comes from participatory sporting events, which also include a three-city Charity Hockey Challenge and its 18th-annual WIFFLE Ball Tournament in 2019. As part of its sponsorship, TRF will partner with the race to provide runners with a special cooling towel at the finish line.

Since it began, TRF has awarded more than 1,900 Quality of Life grants to individuals across the United States who have experienced a spinal cord injury, helping them lead more independent lives, as well medical research focused on improving the arm and hand function that can ease everyday tasks such as brushing their own teeth or feeding themselves.

“We couldn’t be more pleased to welcome the Travis Roy Foundation into the Falmouth family,” said Geoff Nickerson, president of the board of directors. “Travis Roy is as New England as the New Balance Falmouth Road Race and TRF perfectly embodies our mission of health, wellness and helping everyone in the community to lead better lives.”

Botswana´s Ditiro Nzamani has Doha in his eyes after reaching the qualifying standard at the CAA Yaounde International Grand Prix in Cameroon

Ditiro Nzamani can hardly wait for September.

The 19-year-old 400m sprinter from Botswana could be heading to the IAAF World Athletics Championships Doha 2019, after reaching the qualifying standard at the CAA Yaounde International Grand Prix in Cameroon on 20 July.

In what was his first race outside of Botswana, Nzamani won the 400m at Yaounde’s Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium in 45.07, taking more than a second off his previous PB of 46.10 and beating Cameroon’s Sangou Tetndap and Martial Etoa.

“I am very happy,” said an ecstatic Nzamani, who had been trying without success all year to cover one lap of the track within 46 seconds.

“I was under pressure back home because all the good athletes are running 45 seconds, except me,” added Nzamani, who is now Botswana’s third fastest 400m runner in 2019.

Nzamani has improved with every race in 2019. He started his season back in February with 47.33 in Gaborone, then improved to 47.22 in April. At the Botswana Championships in May, he clocked 46.55 in the heats and 46.10 to win the ‘B’ final.

After a brief break from racing, he returned to competition last weekend in Yaounde where he achieved the World Championships qualifying mark.

Nzamani’s coach, Ipolokeng Ramatshaba, was bursting with pride.

“We are in the presence of a very talented young man,” said Ramatshaba. “It is easy to work with someone like Ditiro who has the desire to outdo himself. When you give him a programme, he follows it wholeheartedly and this is the result.

“He will be in Rabat in Morocco for the Africa Games in August and who knows, he may produce another personal best.

“Not many athletes from Botswana have qualified for the World Championships in Doha, so Ditiro may be entered into the books. There is still a lot of space for him at this point.”

Member federations will confirm their team selections nearer the time of the World Championships. In the meantime, Nzamani – whose role model is Bahamian Steven Gardiner – is already thinking about his other career goals.

“I want to be good enough to get into the Diamond League, just like other Botswanans before me,” he says. “If I get to run in the World Championships in Doha, my aim will be to achieve the Olympic qualifying standard.”

The winner of the 300km Al Marmoom Ultramarathon is going to win $100,000 at this year ultra event

If you thought a 270km race through the desert wasn’t long enough, well your wish has just come true, as this year’s longest desert race in the world has added an extra 30km to it.

The Al Marmoom Ultramarathon 2019 is upping its length this year to 300km.  And is offering $100,000 (more than Dhs360,000) for the winner.

The race will place over five days from Monday December 9 until Friday 13, the world’s longest desert race will see some of the world’s most famous ultra-runners come to Dubai to battle it out over tough desert terrain.

This year will see three distances, including the incredible 300km race set to be completed in five days and over four separate routes starting from the base camp situated in Al Qudra. Just a casual 60km per day, through the desert.The 110km race will be a non-stop 24-hour run through day and night, while the 50km race is to be completed in one day.Tents will be pitched throughout the course and there will be water rations on the route and in the camp.

A medical team of doctors and paramedics will also be supervising the race, in case of injury or exhaustion.“The UAE is home to some of the world’s most-seasoned and experienced desert ultra-runners and we are encouraging UAE based ultra-runners to enter all three distances as well as team entries for the 50km distance,” said event director Ruth Dickinson.

In it for the experience and not the cash? Those who finish the incredible race will get a medal and a t-shirt so you can show off to everyone you completed it. Well earned.The first edition saw elite runners from 48 countries race over 270km in four days.

With Her Family Behind Her, 48-Year-Old Virginia Mom Qualifies for Olympic Trials

Sarah Bishop’s running career began just a few year ago when she set a goal to run for 30 minutes a few times a week. Now, she’s preparing for the Olympic trials marathon.  

The Fairfax, Virginia, resident won the Marine Corps Marathon in October, and then qualified for the Olympic trials at CIM in December.   But it all started a few years ago with short runs squeezed in between work and taking care of her four young daughters, all of whom are currently under the age of 8.

“When I started running just three years ago, there was no goal to even run a marathon,” she said.

Bishop, 35, ran track at Auburn University and during her time in the Air Force, but found herself in a situation where she “literally didn’t run for 10 years.”

She reintroduced running to make time for herself in her hectic life with a full-time job and growing family. She aimed to start with a 30-minute jog a few times a week; it evolved into running an hour, and then doing that more frequently. Eventually running “snowballed into more than a hobby,” she said.

And the hobby gave way to purpose, too.

“When you’re so absorbed your family and working full time and raising kids, you kind of lose a little bit of your identity. I needed to find something for myself that could make me feel like me again, which would help make me a better wife and a better mother.”

James McKirdy, Bishop’s coach, said while she is a world-class athlete, motherhood is an achievement she is most proud of.

“Her pictures are not about her running — most of her pictures are of her family,” he said. ” … Yeah she runs fast, and that’s great, but she’s a mom and a wife first.”

Qualifying for the Olympic trials has long been a dream for Bishop.

Bishop didn’t commit to running Marine Corps Marathon until nine days before the October race, reasoning she’d use the experience as a training run for the December California International Marathon. But on race day, she knew she was gearing up for a great run.

“I was standing on the start line and I was feeling like a million dollars and it was one of those days where I knew I was going to have the race of my life,” she said of the race where she went on to place as the first female finisher.

While Marine Corps win was wonderful, Bishop was just shy of making the 2:45 cutoff for the Olympic trials. She went to the California International Marathon with fierce focus on her goal to qualify for the trials, she said.

“I knew coming in to this race I was in shape to do it. I knew it was my shot.”

Bishop went on to finish the race in 2:42:46, snatching up one of the about 200 Olympic trial qualification spots — the cherry on top of what she calls a “fairy tale season.”

How Mo Farah will be able to run both World Championships and Chicago!

Mo Farah released an Instagram post two days ago that has running fans confused. The multi-Olympic and World champion is scheduled to race the Chicago Marathon on October 13, but his second-most recent post references the Doha World Championship 10,000m.

The 10,000m final in Doha is scheduled for October 6, exactly one week before the Chicago Marathon. As Jonathan Gault pointed out several months ago, it wouldn’t be the first time someone has performed well in both the 10,000m and the marathon within a week–Galen Rupp did exactly that at the 2016 Olympics, winning the bronze medal in the marathon one week after finishing fifth in the 10,000m final (which was won by Farah).

This spring, Emily Sisson ran her first marathon at London in the quickest debut since Jordan Hasay’s at Boston in 2017, one week after winning the 10,000m at the Stanford Invitational in the third-fastest American performance of all time.

Farah told several media outlets in the spring when he announced Chicago, that his focus for 2019 was the roads, but his most recent posts suggests he could be planning on doing the double.

Could he logistically do it? Probably.

His final goes at 8 p.m. local time in Doha on October 6. The next morning there’s a direct Qatar Airways flight from Doha to Chicago. The flight leaves at 7:40 a.m. and arrives at 2 p.m. Chicago time, which would feel like 10 p.m. for Farah.

Qatar is eight hours ahead of Chicago, and the rule of thumb is that you should allow a day’s recovery for each time zone crossed, and Farah could be in Chicago six days out from the marathon. That’s not ideal, but it is manageable. If there was any runner who would try and pull off something this audacious, it’s Farah.

Irish Stephen Scullion is targeting for marathon in Doha after Santry success

It wasn’t unbearably humid, or midnight for that matter, but winning the National 10,000 metres title has further convinced Stephen Scullion to run the marathon at the World Athletics Championships in Doha, Qatar.

After safely defending his title – in the pleasant Santry sunshine and temperature of 20 degrees – Scullion promptly outlined why he was willing to tackle the 26.2-mile distance in Doha, when many other runners have already decided against it.

The championships take place from September 27th to October 6th, the men’s marathon set for the final day, starting at midnight to offer some relief from the typically searing heat and crippling humidity. It averages 35 degrees in Doha in October, with 85 per cent humidity.

“It was actually a little warmer out there than I thought,” said Scullion, who took the win in 29:36.33, the south Belfast native now running with Dublin club Clonliffe Harriers.

“Obviously it will be a lot warmer in Doha, and it was tough to decide between the World Championships and a fast marathon like Berlin. I could have looked at Dublin in October as well. But I keep talking to my coach, and really believe I can come top-10 in Doha, if I prepare well. I’ve been back and forward on it, but it’s the World Championships, and you’re selected to run for your country, how can you turn that down?

“I’ve trained in humidity, and it is unpredictable, if a thunderstorm rolls in, it can bounce around. It being midnight there won’t be any sun either. I know as well if you break 2:25 in Doha, it mightn’t be a bad day. It mightn’t be a great day, but because it will be tough.

“I just have a feeling, in Doha, if you f-it up, there’s no going back, and a lot of people will think it’s easy, and start going backwards. You will have to train differently, in the heat, and not super fast. It’s about running fast in the heat and humidity.”

Scullion, now 30, ran a personal best of 2:14.34 in Houston in January, the fastest marathon by any Irish man since 2011, and Doha also offers the chance to qualify for next summer’s Tokyo Olympics, the top 10 assured of selection.