Bob Hodge is one of only a few Americans to ever win a marathon in Japan, earning the lifelong nickname "Hodgie-san." Ahead of this weekend's Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon Hodge wrote, “Japan is a fantastic place for a racer to run a marathon. Most of the top races there invite a smallish contingent of foreign runners, and I considered myself fortunate to be competing in Japan for the second time. Beppu is a beautiful place on the coastline of the southern island of Kyushu. It's known for its thermal hot springs, and bordered by volcanic mountains rising up from the coast it was a dramatic setting for this race.â€
(01/30/2018) ⚡AMP
Jeannie Pardy has been running for 20 years and participating in marathons for ten. She runs 30 miles a week. Now she is preparing for a race that will mark a significant milestone in her career. She is preparing to run the Tokyo Marathon on Feb. 25; when she completes it, she will be the first person in Central Newfoundland Canada to complete all the Abbott World Marathon Majors. One thing is for certain.
“I’ll run till I die – till I drop. I don’t want to give up running,†Pardy said.
It is the satisfaction of running that keeps her moving.
(01/30/2018) ⚡AMP
The Garden of the Gods Ten Mile Run is a unique race with a spectacular setting and a physically
demanding course. The course takes you into the heart
of the Garden and runners will pass the most famous rock in the area—the Balanced Rock. The Garden of the Gods Park lies between Manitou Springs and Colorado Springs, Colorado. The course elevation ranges
from 6,210′ up to 6,530. Registration for the June 10th race opens March 10th at 8am.
(01/30/2018) ⚡AMP
The Chicago Area Runners Association (CARA) today announced Carey Pinkowski Executive Race Director of the BofA Chicago Marathon will receive the 2017 CARA Lifetime Achievement Award on February 3, 2018. The CAAR Award recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to the Chicago running community. Carey came to the helm of the Marathon almost three decades ago. "When I started, Chicago was not a running city. It was a challenge to get people to accept it. Marathon runners back then were thought of as extreme athletes. Now you can't drive down the lakefront without seeing people training."
(01/30/2018) ⚡AMP
Alexi Pappas, a Greek-American who holds dual citizenship, is a 2016 Olympian and the Greek national record holder in the 10,000 meters with a personal best of 31:36 set at the Rio Olympics. The 500 Festival, a nonprofit organization providing life-enriching events and programs that celebrate the legacy of the Indianapolis 500, today announces that professional runner and Olympian Alexi Pappas will run the 2018 OneAmerica 500 Festival Mini-Marathon on May 5, 2018.
(01/30/2018) ⚡AMP
Nobert Kigen and Felix Kandie of Kenya headline a men’s pro field aiming for a sub-60 minute performance at the fifth Napoli City Half Marathon in Naples, Italy. February 4 will mark the fifth edition of the race and the second under the direction of Carlo Capalbo, a native of Napoli who serves as chairman of the IAAF Road Running Commission, and the president of the RunCzech Organization. Capalbo has made it his personal mission to bring a world-class running event to his hometown.
(01/30/2018) ⚡AMP
The Collegiate Running Association has announced the fifth-annual Collegiate Mountain Running National Championships will take place on July 8, 2018, at the Loon Mountain Race (10.62K), in Lincoln, New Hampshire. Additionally, this year’s event will host the 15th annual North American, Central American & Caribbean (NACAC) Mountain Running Championships. Named the "Most Competitive Hillclimb" by Runner's World Magazine, this ridiculously tough race will force participants to climb over 2,000 vertical feet. from Steve Taylor
(01/29/2018) ⚡AMP
World record holder Joyciline Jepkosgei and London Marathon champion Mary Keitany are among the star-studded women’s field named for the RAK Half Marathon on February 9.
Four of the fastest seven women in history will line up for United Arab Emirates half marathon, with another seven sub-68 minute runners alongside them.
Kenya’s Jepkosgei set the world record for the half marathon twice in 2017 after finishing third in RAK last year and lines up alongside fellow Kenyan stars Keitany, Fancy Chemutai and Edith Chelimo.
Keitany, a three-time RAK winner, finished second last year, setting a personal best 65:13.
(01/29/2018) ⚡AMP
Michael Wardian is an American marathoner and ultra-marathon. He is not running the World Marathon Challenge this year but his record he set in 2017 is going to be hard for anyone to beat. He averaged 2:45:57 for each of the seven marathons. Additionally he ran the fastest ever time (2:31:09 average) for all the Abbott World Marathon Majors (Tokyo, Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago, New York). He holds the world record for the fastest marathon on an indoor 200-meter track and so many more records. Michael is one astounding runner...
(01/29/2018) ⚡AMPEpic Running Adventures
The 2018 World Marathon Challenge is due to start on schedule in Antarctica tomorrow, January 30th. A Boeing 757 VIP plane will fly competitors the 4,200km journey south from Cape Town to Novo on the frozen continent. (Present temperature is -2F) The race is scheduled to start at 15:00 Cape Town time. There are 56 people who paid $44,000 each to run the annual World Marathon Challenge and be flown and fed on the marathon route starting in Antarctica and finishing in Miami.
(01/29/2018) ⚡AMP
An estimated 30,000 runners from around the world are expected to enter the inaugural Amazing Thailand Marathon Bangkok on February 4. The event presented by Toyota is part of a five-year agreement between Ironman, the Tourism Authority of Thailand and the Thailand Tri-League. There’ll be a 42.195-kilometre marathon, a 21.1km half marathon, a 10km Bangkok Bank Run and, on February 3, a 4km Family Fun Run. Also planned is a Sports and Lifestyle Expo at the Bangkok Airport.
(01/29/2018) ⚡AMP
Ethiopian teenager Samuel Tefera provided the unexpected highlight of the Meeting Elite en Salle de Leure in Val de Reuil, when he broke the world U20 indoor 1500m record with a world-leading 3:36.05. Tefera, who represented Ethiopia at the IAAF World Championships London 2017 after winning their national trial race, was competing in the first indoor race of his burgeoning career. But his youth and relative inexperience proved no barrier as he comfortably beat 2012 world indoor champion and 2015 world bronze medallist Abdalaati Iguider.
(01/29/2018) ⚡AMP
Mizuki Matsuda caught and passed Honami Maeda with 12 kilometres remaining of the Osaka International Women’s Marathon before going on to win in 2:22:44 on her debut at the distance. The lead pack of two pace makers, three Japanese – Mizuki Matsuda, Honami Maeda, Yuka Ando – and Ethiopian Goytatom Gebreselassie covered the first half of the race in 1:11:59. Gebreselassie fell off the pace just after half way and it soon became clear that there would be a Japanese winner.
(01/29/2018) ⚡AMP
Ethiopia's Mosinet Geremew won the Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon with a course record of 2:04:00 in one of the most thrilling finishes in marathon history.
The 27 year-old, who entered the race just days before, sprinted across the finish line followed by four more runners within eight seconds.
In all, seven runners clocked sub 2:05.00 with six of them no slower than 2:04:15. In near perfect weather conditions, the leading group ran a very consistent pace. After a half marathon split time of 61:36, the world record of 2:02:57 was still in reach at 30k, which was passed in 1:27:35.
However, after the last pacemaker dropped out, the pace fell and the athletes focused on winning the US$200,000 first prize.
(01/28/2018) ⚡AMP
MBR PHOTO OF THE WEEK: The finish of the Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon on Friday looked like the end of a fast 10k. Seven men all finished under 2:05. First four were within six seconds. Never before has there been so many runners run so fast in a Marathon. The group of Ethiopian Runners were on world record pace up to the 35k mark.
(01/28/2018) ⚡AMP
Brigid Kosgei showed her initial preparations are going well ahead of the London Marathon with a commanding victory at the Eldoret Discovery Cross Country on Sunday.
In her first race since demolishing the course record at the Honolulu Marathon in December in 2:22:15 with a big negative split of 1:10:25, Kosgei ran out triumphant by 10 seconds in the senior women’s 8km, crossing the finish-line in 27:31.
Kosgei will return to action next month at the Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon on Feb 9.
(01/28/2018) ⚡AMP
More than 20,000 runners from over 80 countries hit the streets of South Florida Sunday for the Fitbit Miami Marathon.
Runners faced high winds - gusts of up to 15 mph - along the route, slowing down the times of many runners.
Kenyan runner Hillary Too, 38, was the first man (2:23:03).
“I was aiming at 2:15 this time. But the wind was so tough," Too said. "This is why I could not run 2:15. But I'd like to come next year.†Lyubov Denisova, 46, of Gainesville was first woman (2:40:54).
(01/28/2018) ⚡AMP
Roger Bannister was the first runner to run the mile in under four minutes. He ran 3:59.4 on May 6, 1954. Don Bowden (pictured) was the first American to go under four minutes. He ran 3:58.7 on June 1, 1957. According to the website LetsRun "Emmanuel Bor of the U.S. Army WCAP became the 500th American to break 4:00 in the mile, running a time (3:58.77) eerily similar to Bowden’s original mark on a bouncy, banked indoor oval at Boston University on Saturday."
(01/28/2018) ⚡AMP
Manzano has made every U.S. national team for the World Championships or Olympics from 2007 to 2015. What has been some of his challenges of his career?
In 2016, he battled pneumonia and it impacted him for a long time. When you have a career as long as his, there are plenty of highs and a few lows. Could we ever see him race a 5,000m?
How did he target and approach the American record after running 3:30 at age 30?
Manzano’s style has always been to creep up and maneuver his way to the win on the last lap, does he have to change that due to his longevity? Chris Chavez at CITIUS MAG Podcast spoke with Leo recently.
(01/27/2018) ⚡AMP
Georgia Cleland was a major catalyst for the shift in endurance athletes competing for reasons far beyond themselves. her father, Bruce, launched Team in Training in 1988, and utilized the New York City Marathon to raise funds for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS) in honor of his daughter.
Now three decades later, the story comes full circle. Georgia completed the Walt Disney World Marathon on Jan. 7, her first marathon, to honor her father.
(01/27/2018) ⚡AMP
Ice cream or frozen yogurt — which do you pick? Frozen yogurt is creamy and sweet, but healthy enough...keep in mind that fro-yo is more closely related to your favorite frosty treat than advertised — now if we stayed with plain yogurt but who does that? While a cup of soft-serve vanilla ice cream is loaded with 34 grams sugar and 102 calories, frozen yogurt trails closely behind at 36 grams sugar and 94 calories. Sugar isn't yogurt's only potential problem. Some are loaded with artery-clogging saturated fat. Check the label to make sure it has no more than 1.5 grams of saturated fat per six-ounce serving.
(01/27/2018) ⚡AMP
Runner Liang Jing crossed the finish line in 9:28:35 and in first position, but has been disqualified for receiving support outside the checkpoints, which is not permitted by the race rules. Liang Jing explained that he asked for water from a hiker and understood that he had permission to swap his empty bottle with her full one, as he pushed himself to the limits. He expressed regret at this misunderstanding, apologized for his behavior, and stated that there would never be a repeat.
(01/27/2018) ⚡AMP
Former rugby player Phil Calvert has set himself a huge task of running a marathon every week for a year in support of former Scotland international Doddie Weir. The 47-year-old is originally from Ulster and played for Campbell College Belfast, Scottish Colleges Napier University and Watsonians during his own rugby days. Last year Weir announced he has motor neurone disease and since then his focus has been firmly on helping others and raising awareness of MND while also raising funds.
(01/26/2018) ⚡AMP
Vogue UK asked supermodel Karlie Kloss about her new found love, running. “I ran the marathon in New York City last year which was a new challenge... I’ve never been a runner my whole life, so running a marathon is the most insane task that I never thought I’d be able to accomplish. But with training...Running has been something I’ve gotten much more into. Also I love light strength training – high reps using different weights...I love to watch Netflix, I love to read, I now love to go for a run…" Her time in NY was 4:41:49.
(01/26/2018) ⚡AMP
As reported by Japan Running News, “Dubai Marathon runner-up Leul Gebresilase is a former Tokyo Kokusai Univ runner. I believe his 2:04:02 is the fastest-ever by an African with experience in Japan as a High School, University or Corporate runner.†Only ten men have run a Marathon Faster than 24-year-old Leule Gebrselassie. On October 22 2017 he ran a 58:18 half marathon in Valencia Spain. His 2:04:02 is the fifth best time over the last 12-months.
(01/26/2018) ⚡AMP
Yuko Ando leads the field for the 37th Osaka Women’s Marathon, The race serves as the 102nd women’s marathon national championships and one of the Japanese marathon team’s qualifying races for the 2018 Asian Games. It’s also part of Japan’s Marathon Grand Championship series, a group of qualifying races for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic marathon team trial race. In order to qualify for those trials, runners must finish in the top three with times under 2:28.
(01/26/2018) ⚡AMP
In a move that will further expand the Great North Run weekend, organisers have confirmed the addition of a Great Tees 10K. Scheduled for Saturday 8 September, the 10k looks like it will be a cracker and has been designed to hug the banks of the Tees and will take in iconic landmarks such as the Infinity Bridge and Newport Bridge. The event will be joined by the Great North City Games Elite Mile race, which is relocating from Gateshead for the first time.
(01/26/2018) ⚡AMP
Allie Kieffer (USA) has confirmed she will be running the London Marathon in April. She placed 5th 2:29:39 at the 2017 New York City Marathon. She is currently training in Iten Kenya (Elevation 7,700 feet). She is posting her workouts on Strava. Her goal for this week is 100 miles. On Monday she ran 10.6 miles at 6:11 pace with a elevation gain of 878 feet. She ran another 7.5 miles on Monday. The Kenyans run two or three times per day and it looks like she is following their style.
(01/26/2018) ⚡AMP
The ways in which running helps you age successfully are legion—stronger heart and lungs, cleaner arteries, denser bones, improved mental health, less frailty, perhaps even better eyesight. To the list can now be added the seemingly obscure but important matter of spinal marrow tissue. Every 6 miles per week you run takes a year off the age of this crucial tissue, with implications for many facets of your health, according to a new research, Published in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research.
(01/26/2018) ⚡AMP
Ethiopia's Mosinet Geremew set a new Dubai Marathon record when he sprinted clear from a large group of his compatriots to claim victory in the 10th fastest marathon time ever on Friday.
The 25-year-old crossed the line in 2:04:00, two seconds ahead of Leul Gebresilase with last year's winner Tamirat Tola four seconds back. Ethiopians filled the first 10 places.
Roza Dereje won the women's race in 2:19:17, also a new record and personal best for the Ethiopian, ahead of compatriots Feyse Tadese, Yebrgual Melese and last year's winner Worknesh Degefa.
(01/25/2018) ⚡AMP
Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon start time is in a few hours from now (6am Friday in Dubai). The elite athletes (including defending champion Tamirat Tola 2:04:11) may have record-breaking ambitions following some slight changes to the route for the 19th staging of the Middle East’s biggest mass participation event on Friday. The winners will walk away with $200,000 plus another $250,000 each if they set a world record. In 2017 there were nearly 2,500 marathon and 15,000 10k finishers.
(01/25/2018) ⚡AMP
MBR FAST FACT: According to the NYRR: "1,176,549 people have crossed the New York City Marathon finish line throughout the race’s nearly 50-year history. In 2017 there were 50,773 finishers and the average time was 4:39:07. On November 4, 2018, you could add to that number!" Get in your application. The deadline is Feb 15.
(01/25/2018) ⚡AMP
Before Ottawa’s Alan Forster was even 10 years-old, he was an experienced marathoner. In 1979, Forster completed the National Capital Marathon when he was just nine. Then, he completed the marathon again the following year. “At the time, people couldn’t believe it,†Foster recalls almost 40 years later. “It was a big deal and I got in the newspaper. People still ask me now, ‘Are you still running?’ I am. I hope to run a marathon in every decade of my life."
(01/25/2018) ⚡AMP
The Global Sports Communication (athlete management) camp in Kaptagat, Kenya is the primary training camp for some of the world’s best distance runners. The housing, located about 30K outside of Eldoret, a world-famous hot bed for distance runners, is home to the NN Running Team, which includes Olympic marathon champion Eliud Kipchoge, Geoffrey Kamworor, world champion Abel Kirui, Toronto Waterfront Marathon champion Philemon Rono and former half-marathon record holder Florence Kiplagat.
(01/25/2018) ⚡AMP
One common injury runners experience is knee related. How bad is running on your knees? Matthew Laye (A teacher, scientist, writer, coach and Ultra runner) posted this recently on twitter, "A study done at Thomas Jefferson University found that runners have half the knee arthritis as the general population. Running duration, intensity, mileage or number of marathons do not change risk (age & surgical history do). Inactivity, not running is bad for your knees."
(01/25/2018) ⚡AMP
Just as Radcliffe did when she set the world record at the 2003 London Marathon, Keitany will be running with male pacemakers in her bid to run inside the Briton’s iconic mark of 2:15:25. The 36-year-old Kenyan is already the holder of the women-only marathon world record which she set by winning last year’s Virgin Money London Marathon in 2:17:01. In doing so, Keitany beat Radcliffe’s women-only world best of 2:17:42 and now the Kenyan wants to rewrite the record book again.
(01/25/2018) ⚡AMP
Motiv Sports officially announced several new activities to celebrate the Surf City Marathon and big game weekend with something for everyone. On Saturday, the new Cowabunga Beach Challenge for Kids obstacle course will take place and the local favorite 5K Run and Walk returns after a brief hiatus. On Sunday, the “Sand Bar,†sponsored by Sam Adams and serving its newest beer, Sam ’76, and Truly Spiked & Sparkling hard sparkling water, will be open for adults 21 and over to enjoy a cold beverage.
(01/25/2018) ⚡AMP
"The 2024 Olympic Games in Paris would be a fitting time to see the return of cross country to the Olympic programme,” said IAAF President Sebastian Coe, who attended and participated in Sunday’s Cross de Italica in Seville.
Organisers of the IAAF World Cross Country Championships 2019 to be held in Aarhus, Denmark scheduled for 30 March 2019, says they have already promised initiatives to help guide the Championships into new territory. More news about the course will be announced soon.
(01/24/2018) ⚡AMP
Defending Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon champions Tamirat Tola and Worknesh Degefa will face a powerful elite field of Olympians and major city marathon winners when they line up for the IAAF Gold Label road race on Friday (26).
Last year, the Ethiopian pair dominated in Dubai with Tola setting a course record of 2:04:11 – currently the 10th-fastest marathon time in history – and Degefa recording one of the fastest debuts in history with her winning time of 2:22:36.
(01/24/2018) ⚡AMP
DID YOU KNOW: Peanut butter offers a great deal of health benefits. It may be calorie dense—200 calories per 2 tablespoons—but it’s much needed for runners. Plus, indulging in this spread can help control hunger without leading to weight gain. Peanut butter is full of fat, protein, and fiber, and it gives you a slow, sustained release of energy. It does contain fat, but it is overwhelmingly the preferred unsaturated fat, which makes peanut butter good for your heart too.
(01/24/2018) ⚡AMP
WISDOM FROM HIGDON: In the aftermath of a marathon, there usually is a period of well-deserved euphoria following a peak performance. Then…reality sets back in, and we need to get back to the Real World... Training for the marathon, or any other running race, is not easy. It's hard work. It takes discipline. But it's also a lot of fun. It takes training to reach a peak performance. from Hal Higdon (Lifetime runner, coach and writer)
(01/24/2018) ⚡AMP
Robert Owens at 66, has completed a dozen Ironman races, along with other grueling physical competitions such as SEALFIT (a 50-hour Navy SEAL hell week for civilians) and a recent endurance event in Greece that involved running 238 miles in eight days. In a few days he will embark on perhaps the most insane trial yet: the World Marathon Challenge, where he will run seven marathons on seven continents in seven days.
(01/24/2018) ⚡AMP
A WORD OF ADVICE: Treadmills generally provide a more cushioned running surface than the roads outside and many runners continue on them even through summer. Treadmill running can help prevent impact injuries, and can be useful when bad weather or darkness prevents comfortable running outdoors. from Hal Higdon (Hal has contributed to Runner's World for longer than any other writer, an article by him having appeared in that publication's second issue in 1966.)
(01/24/2018) ⚡AMP
Cross country running should move towards a more extreme, edgier style to attract new audiences as well as a new breed of cross country runner to the discipline.
That was one of the main recommendations made by the IAAF Cross Country Committee at its meeting on Saturday (20) in Seville.
Meeting on the eve of the Cross de Italica in Seville, one of the world’s premiere cross country races, attendees also discussed the formation of a competitive but more compact international series.
(01/24/2018) ⚡AMP
Allie Kieffer is one of the most-adored runners of 2018. The American distance runner from Buffalo, New York opened the year on an even higher note than what she finished it on. After placing 5th towards the end of 2017 at the New York City Marathon, she got herself published in SELF magazine addressing body image issues in the sport. Soon after that, Kieffer landed a sponsorship with women’s athletic-wear brand Oiselle. She recently won the Doha Half-Marathon. She is now in Iten Kenya training.
(01/24/2018) ⚡AMP
Alex Nichols is in Hong Kong! He’s starting his 2018 racing season off early with the Vibram Hong Kong 100k. Alex Nichols of Colorado Springs was second (and top American) at Western States and third at the highly competitive Grand Trail des Templiers in France. He also won the Black Canyon 100K. "The guy puts his head down and puts in one solid performance after the next, all without any hype," says Meghan Hicks (I Run Far website)
(01/24/2018) ⚡AMP
Organisers of the 2018 Virgin Money London Marathon have confirmed that Tirunesh Dibaba and defending champion Daniel Wanjiru will return to the race on 22 April. Dibaba has twice appeared in London before and has improved with each performance. She made her marathon debut in London in 2014, finishing third in 2:20:35 before returning last year and coming second behind Mary Keitany in an Ethiopian record of 2:17:56, putting her third on the world all-time list behind Paula Radcliffe and Keitany.
(01/24/2018) ⚡AMP
Dave McGillivray, Boston Marathon director, has been running in a lot of road races lately in preparation for the World Marathon Challenge. “I haven’t participated in this many races in such a short period of time in 20 years,†says Dave. McGillivray and 54 other participants will fly by charter to run marathons in Novo, Antarctica; Cape Town, South Africa; Perth, Australia; Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Madrid; Barranquilla, Colombia; and Miami beginning Jan. 30 and ending Feb. 5
(01/23/2018) ⚡AMPRace Directors
Mary Unsworth lowered the masters Canadian indoor 5000m record for the 40-44 age group by more than two minutes at the Toronto Track and Field Centre on Sunday. She completed the 25-lap event at York University in 17:07:11, crushing the previous mark of 19:23:64, set by Michelle Clark in 2016. Mary ran her final 1000m in 3:15:04 which is 16:15 5K pace.
(01/23/2018) ⚡AMP
Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler will allow the Portland Marathon to hold a race in 2018, his office just confirmed. "We are proceeding in 2018 according to the status quo," he said. In 2017, the Oregon Dept of Justice opened an investigation into the nonprofit's corporate structure and financial relationships with other businesses owned by two Portland Marathon's two board members. In 2017, fights with the city over course layout and policing led to a delay in the marathon getting a permit to operate.
(01/23/2018) ⚡AMP