Running News Daily
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1/4/2020

Luca Naso plans to run the entire coast and perimeter of Italy, the islands of Sicily and Sardinia included starting January 1 because he believes in the value of dreams

As the first rays of sun timidly wash over the eastern Sicilian city of Catania on January 1, Luca Naso will be lacing up his running shoes and heading out the door for an easy 15 kilometer run.

While there is nothing particularly eventful in Luca’s choice to run while the rest of the city (and country) sleeps off the festivities of the night before, it will not be his only run of the day. He will run another 15 kilometers again later in the day, starting from where he left off in the morning, sleeping in Riposto, a seaside village 30 kilometers north of Catania. 

As far as New Year’s resolutions go, Luca’s is an ambitious one: he plans to run the entire coast and perimeter of Italy, the islands of Sicily and Sardinia included, for a total of 8,800 kilometers (5,468 miles), running 15 kilometers twice a day, for a total of 30 kilometers a day, six days a week.

“I’m not sure how the idea of this challenge came about, but since it was born, it has only grown day by day to become a real dream”, said Luca. “I decided to do it because I believe in the value of dreams and I am convinced that knowing your dreams and making efforts to make them come true will make us better people.”

Naso, 38, is a prominent astro-physicist who caught the running bug in 2008 and has since run four marathons, including the Berlin Marathon and Beijing Marathon.  It was while working in China that Naso met his wife, Yan Yan, who will accompany him on bike as far as Messina, approximately 90 kilometers north of Catania.

Luca’s plan is to circle Sicily (counter-clockwise) and then cross over to Calabria where he will start his run along the perimeter of the boot, running counter-clockwise from the southern regions during the winter months. If his calculations go according to plan, he plans to reach Rome by September 2020.

And while Luca is being assisted by a technical team that includes a coach, nutritionist and doctor, the logistical and organizational aspects of Naso’s endeavor are complicated, as his daily needs of lodging, food, transportation of luggage and other equipment will be in different towns and cities every day of the year.

“I hope that all of the passion that I am putting into this challenge can motivate other people to realize their dreams” said Naso. 

Luca can be followed on the following Link:

https://www.facebook.com/correreaiconfini/

(12/30/19) Views: 267
carla Van Kampen reporting from Rome

Camille Herron's secret to ultra distance domination? Low mileage and speedwork

Speedwork for an ultrarunner may a little counter intuitive, but Herron insists that it’s been very important for her huge results. “Speedwork helps train my legs and mind for the long ultras to keep springing and stay light. These also happen to be two of my favourite things to tell myself mid-race.” Just like speed training is important for marathoners, it’s also important for ultrarunners.

Herron’s speed philosophy

Herron says when she first got into ultrarunning she made the mistake of bringing her mileage way higher than it had been before. “I assumed I just needed to be running more than I was as a marathoner. I didn’t really know how ultrarunners trained. I just thought it meant more [than the marathon]. But this really high mileage made me tired and flat.”

When Herron re-dedicated herself to the sport two years later, she knew her training approach needed to be different. “In 2015 I decided to go back to the approach that kept me fast as a marathoner. This meant no long run longer than 22 miles and two-week workout cycles.”

How the workouts fit into her week

Herron likes to add a progression run into her long run or pickups at the end. “I like progression runs during my long run. This means I’ll change the pace during the last 30 minutes, so I’ll do 15 to 30 seconds of hard sprinting at a time. If I’ve been running for three hours and I throw in these pickups, I actually feel like I recover faster.”

For short intervals Herron will also add 90-second repetitions a couple of times a month. “This feels like all-out sprinting for me now, but it’s a good way to remind my body to be springy and light. I don’t do track workouts any more, because as I’ve gotten older I’ve become more protective of my body. So instead of the track, we usually run on a dirt road. She continues, “I’m 37 years old now, so the speedwork is more about effort than pace for me. Speed just helps to raise the ceiling for everything else.”

How she keeps the milage high without doing long, long runs

Herron’s long runs are only 18 to 22 miles, short even by marathon standards, but the runner incorporates a second run into her long days to keep mileage up. “One unique thing about my training approach is the low mileage, but on long run days I run again in the evening. My second run is 35 or 50 minutes, depending on how long the run in the morning was,” she says. “I feel like this helps me recover faster than if I did it all at once.”

Up next

Before the end of 2019, Herron will have begun her longest race to date–a 48-hour race in Arizona. “I have a window to start the race between December 28 and January 1. Right now we’re just watching the weather to see when it’ll be optimal, and I’m hoping to start on the 28th.”

The runner is very excited about her first multi-day event. “I’ve never done a 48-hour race–this is my first time getting into the multi-day stuff. I had to push through so many challenges with the 24-hour race that I’m so excited to see what’ll happen over 48.”

(12/29/19) Views: 188

Rock N Roll has added a 6.15 mile distance to their Nashville program

Hometown area codes have become a cultural point of pride.

Now, Nashville's 615 pride is also a race distance.

The Rock 'n' Roll race series has announced that it's adding another event. A new 6.15-mile event will join the marathon, half-marathon and 5K distances, along with the kids fun run, for a weekend of Rock 'n' Roll running fun in Nashville.

It comes in honor of Nashville's beloved area code.

The 6.15-mile race will take place alongside the 5K on April 25 at 6:45 a.m. They will be followed by the marathon and half-marathon at 7:15 a.m.

(12/29/19) Views: 154

Algeria readies for 2020 African Championships

Next June the best of Africa’s athletes will converge on the Algerian capital Algiers for the 22nd African Championships in Athletics.

The stakes of the competition are quite high, as it will be one of the last opportunities for the continent’s athletes to achieve qualifying standards for the 2020 Olympic Games.

Meanwhile, the Confederation of African Athletics (CAA) has been working in collaboration with the Algerian Athletics Federation (FAA) to organise a successful championships on and off the field.

“We are satisfied, but it is not a surprise for us,” said CAA Director General Lamine Faty, after a recent inspection visit to Algiers. “Each time Algeria commits to organise an African competition, we know that everything will be perfect thanks to the human resources and other capacities at its disposal. To keep it short, we have always found what we are looking for in Algeria.''

The competition, scheduled for 24-28 June, will take place at the 5 July Stadium. The site is undergoing renovations and will have a capacity of 80,000 once repair works are over.

Opened in 1972 by Algerian President Houari Boumediene, the stadium has hosted several major sports events since. It was the main venue for athletics during the 1975 Mediterranean Games, the 1978 and 2007 All Africa Games as well as the 2000 African Championships.

Faty told Algerian media in November that even with the repair work going on at the stadium and its annex, the CAA delegation was “more than satisfied with the progress of the work and also optimistic for the future.”

FAA and CAA officials are keen on ironing out several logistical aspects central to the success of the championships, such as visas and transportation for athletes, officials and journalists, as well as accreditation and protocol procedures.

The organisers want a quality broadcast of the event, to allow a large TV audience to follow the competition in as many African countries as possible.

Another matter of prime importance to the organisers is ensuring that strict anti-doping measures are in place before and during the competition.

Algeria will be hosting the championships for the third time, after Annaba in 1988 and Algiers in 2000.

In 1988, Algeria finished second on the medal table, with just one gold medal less than first place Nigeria with 11 gold. The hosts fared better 12 years later, topping the medal table with 12 gold at the 2000 edition, six more than runners-up Tunisia.

After a lackluster performance during the 2018 championships, however, the race is on for the country’s athletes to improve on the two gold and one bronze won in Asaba, Nigeria, in 2018.

One of those helping to train home athletes for the forthcoming event is former middle-distance runner and now coach Abderrahmane Morceli.

“Our athletes are in very good condition,” says Morceli. “We are preparing very well and they are in very good shape.”

Morceli and his brother Noureddine, the three-time world 1500m champion, are among those coaching Algeria’s athletes, not only for the African championships, but for other competitions planned for 2020 including the African Cross Country Championships in Lome, Togo, and the Tokyo Olympic Games.

These athletes include Taoufik Makhloufi, the 31-year-old middle-distance runner who brought home Algeria’s lone medal – a silver in the men’s 1500m – from the World Championships in Doha earlier this year. There is also Adbelmalik Lahoulou, the reigning African 400m hurdles champion and Yasser Triki, the 22-year-old African Games gold medallist in the long jump.

Morceli says he tries to teach them dedication to hard work and instill in them a thirsty for glory.

“After the junior level, if you want to become an Olympic or world champion you need more conviction and more training camps. We have many, many talented young athletes in Africa that never keep going because they don’t have enough training and enough conviction.”

Morceli is confident in Algeria’s pool of talent however, and says the extra incentive provided by the country’s sports official will spur them to give the best of themselves.

“They have good prize money from the minster (of sports) and the Olympic committee and they have big motivation now.”

(12/28/19) Views: 141
World Athletics

Ugandan Mande Bushendich and Kenyan Ruth Chepngetich will be the main favorites at the Nationale-Nederlanden San Silvestre Vallecana

The Ugandan Mande Bushendich and the Kenyan Ruth Chepngetich are the main favorites in the Nationale-Nederlanden San Silvestre Vallecana, which takes place on December 31 through the streets of the center of Madrid and that this Monday presents its favorites of the international elite test .

Ugandan Mande Bushendich returns to Vallecas after his third place last year wanting to climb to the top of the podium. In the record race last year he registered 27:24, and this year he has already dropped 28 minutes in Holland, although in the spring, which makes him run as one of the favorites.

Another candidate for the victory will be the Belgian-Somali Bashir Abdi, silver in the Berlin Europeans in 10,000 meters and that 'shattered' the Belgian marathon record a few months ago, with 2h06: 14 in Chicago. Also, Ugandan Moses Kurong, fourth in the Gothenburg Half Marathon 2019 and third in Barcelona in 2018.

The San Silvestre Vallecana women's will feature the Kenyan Ruth Chepngetich, current marathon world champion in Doha 2019, and victories in the Dubai Marathon and the Istanbul Half Marathon this year. Second in 2018 at the Paris Marathon, Chepngetich will seek to follow the path of his compatriot Brigid Kosgei, who flew last year to set the new test record, with 29:54.

The Ethiopian Helen Bekele Tola is postulated as one of her rivals for victory. Second in the Tokyo Marathon and fourth in Berlin in this 2019, in Spain it has already won in 2017 in the Barcelona Marathon. It has 31:13 as a personal mark in a '10K' en route.

Among the women spain runners, the 23-year-old Carmela Cardama, a university runner of 10,000 meters in the United States and who is the fastest national in the history with her age, beats Alessandra Aguilar.

She was the leader of the Spanish team that won team silver in the 2019 European Cup of 10,000 meters. The San Silvestre Vallecana arrives in great shape, as evidenced by its recent national record in indoor track at 5,000 meters, the tenth best Spanish mark in the distance including outdoors.

(12/27/19) Views: 69
Dani Sanchez

Ben Preisner and Emebet Anteneh, won the Boxing Day 10 Miler, beating the reigning champions Matt Hughes and Robyn Mildren.

The 99th annual Boxing Day 10 and 4 Miler took place on Thursday morning in Hamilton, Ont. The race draws huge crowds of runners to compete in an off-distance road race. Among the runners were Olympians, Canadian record holders and national champions.

This year saw two new victors in the men’s and women’s races, Ben Preisner and Emebet Anteneh, who beat reigning champions Matt Hughes and Robyn Mildren.

Preisner caught Canadians attention when he won the 2019 Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Half-Marathon. There he ran a two-minute personal best, hitting 1:03:02 for the half-marathon win. He won Thursday’s 10 miler in 48:18, just 13 seconds off of Hughes’ course record. Second place went to ACXC (national cross-country) champion Mike Tate (48:47) and third place to the Canadian steeplechase record holder Hughes (49:21).

In the women’s race, Emebet Anteneh won in 55:18, almost a full minute ahead of the second place finisher. Anteneh has been a force on the Canadian roads in 2019. She ran a 1:10:28 at the Edmonton Half-Marathon and a 16:04 5K in the fall. Anteneh comes from a track background, owning an extremely impressive 14:43.29 5,000m personal best.

Second place in the women’s race went to Sanna Mustonen (56:04) and third place to Leslie Sexton (56:19).

(12/27/19) Views: 47
Madeleine Kelly

Ultra marathon runner Will Mather has faced sleet, snow, and high winds during a month long challenge which will see him clock 500 miles

A brisk jog on Christmas Day morning probably fills most of us with dread - so spare a thought for Will Mather who is spending December running 500 miles.

Ultra marathon runner Will has faced sleet, snow, and high winds that blew him off a footpath during his ongoing quest to raise funds for charity.

The dad, from Hadfield, regularly takes to the fells, trails and roads around Glossop.

But he has stepped up his routine for a Christmas challenge in support of Mummy’s Star - which supports women and their families affected by cancer during pregnancy.

Will has been running an extra mile each day of the month, working up to 31 miles on New Year’s Eve.

“I started ultra running in 2017 when I had this idea and have thought about how to do it ever since,” he says.

“I could have chosen February where I'd only have to do 28 days but If I'm going to do it I need to do it right so it had to be a month with 31 days.”

Will has taken the last week of December off work so he’ll have time to meet his daily challenges when the miles really ramp up.

Haulier Will is being backed by his wife Zoe and sons Oliver and Riley during his challenge.

He says: “I’ll be doing this challenge for my local charity Mummy’s Star. It's an amazing charity and when I was introduced to it and read some of the stories it made me think what would I do if me and my wife were in that situation?

“This is the only charity of its kind so without the support mummy star gives there is no support. I think they play a vital part in these situations.”

Some days have been tougher than others but Will has been helped along the way by family and friends who have joined him on his runs.

“I got the wall feeling rubbish long days at work and just simply knackered (4-5hours sleep isn't the best) I still got out and did the 20miles, getting home at 10pm I had a shower and eat my tea in bed. Sleep was needed,” he wrote on his 20th day.

On day 16 he wrote: “16 miles around kinder trying to find a path as the clouds were low and the everything covered in snow.”

While on day 9, Will started his run at the eye wateringly early hour of 3.30am.

“Day 9 was a 9mile run on my own with the moon and badgers keeping me company at 3.30am, it does mean I can get a small rest period before I do 10 miles tomorrow evening,” he wrote.

(12/28/19) Views: 47
Beth Abbit

American gymnastic Shannon Miller was named Tata Mumbai marathon ambassador

Miller's tally of five medals (two silvers, three bronzes) at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona was the most medals won by a US athlete across sport at the Summer Games.

Shannon Miller will be the International event ambassador of the 17th Tata Mumbai Marathon 2020. The announcement about the association with the seven-time Olympics medallist and nine-time world champion was made by Procam International, the race promoter.

She was diagnosed with cancer in 2011 and established a foundation devoted to women’s health to help them make health a priority.

Her tally of five medals (two silvers, three bronzes) at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona was the most medals won by a US athlete across sport at the Summer Games.

The TMM is amongst the world’s leading marathons and with prize money of $ 405,000, the race in Mumbai on January 19 will witness over 50,000 participants, including leading Indian, international distance runners, amateurs and fitness enthusiasts.

The American sporting ace stated: “Sport has the power to bring the community together and a marathon is an ideal example. It is a great leveller. At the start-line, everyone comes together with a touch of anxiousness and excitement. I have been fortunate to be part of events which have sport on the highest of levels, a wonderful sense of goodwill and sportsmanship.”

(12/27/19) Views: 46

2020 Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon Medal design unveiled

The eagerly anticipated medal design for the fastest half marathon in the world – the Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon – has been revealed as event organsiers, Ras Al Khaimah Tourism and Development Authority (RAKTDA), announce that over 1,000 runners have already registered for the sporting event taking place on 21st February 2020 on Al Marjan Island.

The Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon has commissioned four medals for the 2020 edition of the world-renowned race – one for each of the categories. Crafted in metal, each medal is engraved with the category and embossed with the individual race distance. While the Half Marathon and Relay medals boast an impressive 90mm diameter with a stylised rotating disk in the middle, the 5KM and 1KM medal designs are solid discs measuring 80mm and 70mm respectively and bear the eye-catching, iconic logo of the event. The medals are made complete with colourful, individual ribbons for each category.

On course to be the biggest ever edition of the event with a record number of participants, the family-friendly race will host a number of categories including; the half marathon, two- and four-person relay, 5km and 1km Kids Run. In particular, the relay and 5km races are perfectly suited for team building amongst school teams of teachers and students, as well as corporate teams, and friends and families alike. A special discount will be offered to group bookings to encourage teams to engage in a healthy and active challenge.

Each participant will receive a race shirt from the Half Marathon’s technical sponsor – leading Spanish sports equipment brand, Joma. Until 31st December, runners can personalise their shirts with 15 characters to wear their name, nickname, cause or running club on the reverse of their race shirt.

Raki Phillips, CEO of Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority said: “The 2020 Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon is on track to be the biggest ever edition of the race and we are expecting record numbers of runners to join us. With so many incentives for runners, from a generous prize fund of AED 1,219,000, discounts on local attractions, transport to and from the event, and a variety of races to suit all abilities and fitness levels. We are looking forward to welcoming runners and spectators from all over the UAE to Al Marjan Island to experience everything Ras Al Khaimah has to offer.”

(12/28/19) Views: 44

McSweyn breaks 10km record in Zatopek win

Running machine Stewart McSweyn is eyeing Tokyo Olympics glory after becoming the first man in more than two decades to win a hat-trick of Zatopek 10,000m titles.

The 24-year-old Tasmanian broke a national record that had stood for eight years in Melbourne on Saturday night, powering through the final lap on his own before saluting the crowd with three raised fingers as he crossed the line in 27 minutes and 23.80 seconds.

His time was more than one second faster than Ben St Lawrence's previous Australian-best mark of 27:24:95, set in 2011.

McSweyn also capped his massive year on a personal level by shaving more than 27 seconds off his own personal best time and cracking the Olympic qualifying standard in the process.

The versatile and rangy Kind Islander has also qualified for the 1500m and 5000m at Tokyo 2020 and now faces a big decision about which events he will contest.

"I'm kind of leaving it all open," McSweyn said.

"I'm just going to wait and see what I think is my best chance because I was in the (5000m) final in Doha (at the 2019 World Athletics Championships) and I want to go further than that next year.

"I want to try and be the guy who competes for medals."

Training partners Brett Robinson and Jordan Williamsz set the pace for McSweyn early and he had Queensland's Patrick Tiernan for company until the final lap, when he kicked into another gear and left his rival behind.

"To run that fast was probably a bit of a surprise but I think we owe a lot to Pat Tiernan for setting up that race," McSweyn said.

"What he was able to do after the pacemakers dropped out was pretty amazing.

"I know I was hurting the last 10 minutes and I was hanging on for dear life, so I think half the credit definitely goes to Pat for his run."

McSweyn is now within reach of matching Australian legend Steve Moneghetti's record of four consecutive Zatopek titles, claimed from 1989-92.

Earlier, dual Olympian Genevieve Gregson revealed she would target a spot in the 10,000m event at Tokyo after claiming her first Zatopek crown.

The 30-year-old Queenslander has already qualified for the 3000m steeplechase and will attempt to combine the two events.

Gregson won the Zatopek in 32:47:83, ahead of Canada's Andrea Seccafien (32:48.30), and would need to shave almost one minute and 23 seconds off her time to reach the Olympic standard.

"The goal was to win here, get my auto spot and now chase the time," Gregson said.

(12/28/19) Views: 44