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2/15/2020

It is tough but I just keep going as I battle colon cancer head on

A little past 7 on Christmas Eve morning, about 15 minutes before sunrise, I headed out for my Tuesday morning four mile run through Central Park. I’ve done the same thing, at the same time on 19 Tuesdays since late spring. It wasn’t easy this time.

Lately it has gotten a lot harder. The hills in the park seem to have gotten a fair bit bigger. In spite of having run six days a week since Memorial Day my fitness hasn’t improved in a typical way.

I start my run at home and finish near a diner at Columbus Circle. Kristen leaves the apartment a little after I do and takes a duffel of dry clothes on the subway to meet me. We’ve gotten the timing down so we arrive at about the same time.

I towel off and change clothes in the restroom of the diner. A quick coffee and a bagel and off to Mt Sinai for my weekly chemo treatment.I haven’t really kept it a secret that I was diagnosed with colon cancer in March. A fair number of friends know.

I have made a point of not talking about it much; choosing not to allow myself to become a victim of the diagnosis or to have “C” as a new middle initial or for any of it to become an unintended and unwanted new identity so....a lot of folks might not know.

I seek no pity, no attention nor to raise money to cure anything. You should know I share all of this only in an attempt to get it out of my head and move on.

At the same time, if this encourages anyone to stay active in spite of a health condition or more importantly to listen to your body and when something feels off, see a Dr, get a colonoscopy as I did, good.

Tuesday wasn’t meant to be my last run to a chemo appointment but it will be. The side effects have gotten increasingly more difficult and unmanageable. My Dr. said that I had already realized the benefits of the treatment and continuing would be more harmful than helpful.

He gave me the best Christmas gift ever by agreeing it’s time to stop. I’ve managed to cover about 800 miles since I recovered enough from surgery to begin running in late May.

My Dr. supported my attempt to try and run through my treatments. He seemed to intuitively know that after 50 years as a runner that it would be good for me both mentally and physically.

I’m not sure he initially thought I could keep it up. In time I think he began to think I might. I never doubted It. The nurses in the infusion suites were endlessly supportive and maybe even amused (or maybe bemused) by what I was trying to do.

All of my runs each week fell into a nice predictable pattern. Tuesday’s morning run to the hospital was always filled with intent; to be of good cheer about where I was headed and why. I always intended to minimize dread by running to the treatment, to take it head on.

Wednesday was a day off from running because I had no choice. I’d wait until late day to get out on Thursday to give myself as many hours as I could post-chemo. It usually worked.

I’d be a little gauzed over from the lingering effects but a gentle run in the woods seemed to wash it away. Friday, Saturday, Sunday & Monday were life as usual, as much as possible, with a daily run of 4-7 miles, mostly in the Connecticut woods.

It was all combined with slowly building anxiety as the days crept toward the next Tuesday. And so it went through the summer heat & humidity, the crisp lovely days of fall and the darkening cold days of early winter.

My Dr. said that the effects of the chemo would be cumulative and therefore more difficult as time went on. It was steadily getting harder over the months but with a certain amount of guile it was manageable, at least until early December.

Over the last few weeks there were new side effects weekly; amplified and lingering. I kept my routine, running every day but one each week.

My Tuesday run through the park had the intent I always meant it to have but coming as my 6th run in a row and over the hills of the park, it began feeling as difficult as the last 4 miles of a marathon.

Christmas week the side effects reached a point where quality of life was being impacted; sleep, eating, GI distress, weight loss and profound fatigue. It was hard to imagine continuing the treatment until early February.

My Christmas Eve morn run to the diner was a real beast. I struggled but made it. Big body chills, afterward a real doubt that I could get through the day without being hospitalized if I had my scheduled treatment.

I couldn’t eat after changing into my dry clothes. I wasn’t able to get warm no matter what I did. I felt crummy to say the least.

As Kristen and I talked about what to do, we both recalled a meeting with my Dr. back in June in which he said in my case chemo was optional but that research said a good outcome was slightly more likely if I did it. It made sense to take advantage of every opportunity presented to us and we quickly agreed to the 6 months of chemo.

I knew, we knew, that I’d reached a point where I needed to ask my Dr. what I could or should do. When I saw him mid morning he told us there was no statistical difference in the effectiveness of my particular treatment lasting 3 months vs. 6 months.

I’d made it 4.5 and he agreed that I had reached a place where stopping made sense. He shared with us that he had seen my decline and nearly recommended stopping a week prior but decided to wait and see if I bounced back.

I clearly hadn’t....and just like that I was done. What’s next? Beyond Christmas morning with my still sleeping family, it’ll be the beginning of a few weeks of getting the residual drugs metabolized out of my body and my blood counts rebuilt to normal levels.

I will have a lot of follow up blood tests and CT scans in the months and years ahead. I’m a really lucky one in that I caught this early, it hadn’t spread into my lymph nodes or anywhere else. The expectation is that I will be ok.

I’ll continue running six days a week. I might even run through the park to the diner on Tuesday mornings. I’m not sure my dear night owl of a partner would be quite so enthusiastic about continuing to leave at 7am with a bag of dry clothes. Maybe I can get her to keep doing it if I try to go at a more civilized hour...

Updated Feb 12 - I have continued running 6 days a week since Christmas. I’m still rebuilding my strength from the damage done to my blood from 4.5 months of chemo.  

It’s slow but I’m gaining some strength. I managed my first 30 mile week recently and have gotten pace back down into the 8s per mile and my long run to 8 miles a couple of times.

In March I’ll go in for my first round of post chemo tests and my first colonoscopy (which will be necessary annually from here on). As a runner my body has done a very good job of keeping me informed of where I am and where I’ve been through all of this.

It was intolerance to normal running that led me to be a persistent pest with my Drs and led to the early (and luckily timely) diagnosis, running through the chemo kept me in touch with what was happening to my blood count.

I had blood tests every week prior to treatments and I was often able to tell my Dr what I felt like the blood test would show just from how different or difficult the running had been in the week prior.

Accordingly I’m pretty optimistic about what the tests in March will show, just as a result of how I’ve felt putting in a few more miles and even doing so a little more quickly...

Photos were taken Feb 2019 during a run in Central Park with MBR editor Bob Anderson.  

(02/12/20) Views: 819
Larry Allen

Three indoor American records were set Saturday at the 113th NYRR Millrose Games in front of a sold out crowd

American records fell in three events as athletes entertained a sell-out crowd at the Armory and the113th NYRR Millrose Games Saturday afternoon in Washington Heights. 

Elle Purrier raised the bar in the NYRR women’s Wannamaker mile smashing the American Record in 4:16.85. At the bell, Purrier powered ahead to outpace Germany’s Konstanze Klosterhalfen at the wire and break one of the oldest American records in the books, a 4:20.5 by Mary Slaney in 1982. Her en route time at 1,500m was 4:00.23, the second-fastest time in U.S. indoor history 

In the New York Presbyterian men’s 800 meters, Donavan Brazier added another record to his resume, crossing the line in 1:44.22 to break his own mark of 1:44.41 set here last year in finishing second. Brazier holds both the indoor and outdoor U.S. records. Ajeé Wilson put on a show in the women’s 800 meters, biding her time through 600 meters when she surged to go ahead of Jamaica’s Natoya Goule to cross the line in 1:58.29, bettering the AR of 1:58.60 she set in 2019 to win the Millrose title. 

USATF CEO Max Siegel and USATF COO Renee Washington presented the World Athletics Heritage Plaque to the Armory to honor the NYRR Millrose Games’ Wanamaker Mile. 

In a showdown between the reigning Olympic and World champions in the men’s shot put, Rio gold medalist Ryan Crouser blasted the sixth-best throw in American indoor history, a 22.19m/72-9.75 in round five, that gave him an almost three-foot margin of victory over Doha winner Joe Kovacs, who threw 21.34m/70-0.25. 

Another world-leading performance came in the women’s pole vault, where Sandi Morris scaled 4.91m/16-1.25, a height only she and Jenn Suhr have ever bettered on the U.S. indoor all-time list. 

Keni Harrison, the world record holder in the women’s 100m hurdles, won the 60m version of her specialty in 7.90, with Daniel Robertstaking the men’s race in 7.64. Coming through 200m in 20.61, 400m hurdles World Championships silver medalist 

Rai Benjamin won the Jane & David Monti 300m in 32.35, making him the No. 8 all-time U.S. indoor performer. 2018 World Indoor bronze medalist Ronnie Baker won the men’s 60m in 6.54, and ‘18 USATF Indoor women’s 60m champ Javianne Olivertook the women’s dash in 7.13. 

World Championships fourth-placer Wadeline Jonathan powered away from the field in the Cheryl Toussaint women’s 400m to win by more than a second in 51.93, while Team USATF steeplechaser Allie Ostranderunleashed an unbeatable kick over the final 100m of the Mike Frankfurt women’s 3,000m to win in 8:48.94.

(02/08/20) Views: 122

A look at who's got a shot at making the American Olympic marathon squad

The U.S. Olympic Trials are less than three weeks away. The fields are finalized, the tapers are starting soon and runners and fans are anticipating one of the most exciting trials yet.

Here’s a look at which runners we think are most likely to place in the top three and be named to the U.S. Olympic squad after the February 29 race in Atlanta.

Women’s field.- The favorites to make this Olympic team are Sara Hall (Asics), Des Linden (Brooks), Molly Huddle (Saucony) and Emily Sisson (New Balance). Hall has been extremely consistent over the past year, running personal bests in both the marathon and the half (a 2:22:16 in Berlin and a 1:08 in Houston just a few weeks ago). Linden is a gamer and someone who shows up no matter the conditions. She’s also an Olympic marathon veteran.

Huddle and Sisson are training partners who have helped each other improve over the marathon distance. Huddle has been a staple on the American distance scene for years (she’s a multi-time American record holder) and Sisson is the rising star who has flourished alongside Huddle. The pair own 2:23:08 (Sisson) and 2:26:33 (Huddle) marathon personal bests and know how to show up on race day. But the knock on Sisson is that she’s only run one (albeit, fantastic) marathon, and inexperience could be her downfall.

Our best bet for the top three, in order, is: Hall, Huddle, Linden.

The dark horses.-  Jordan Hasay (Nike) and Amy Cragg (Nike) are the dark horses. We just haven’t seen enough to know where these two runners are at. Hasay’s most recent result is a DNF from the Chicago Marathon. Admittedly, her training group had just folded and her former coach was charged with doping infractions, so her racing conditions weren’t ideal. But Hasay hasn’t even gotten on a start line since then.

As for Cragg, she’s the 2017 World Championship medallist and 2016 Olympian over the distance. Cragg’s results are few and far between over the past two years, but she put it all together at the Tokyo Marathon in 2018 to run a 2:21:42–one of the fastest American times in history. Both Hasay and Cragg boast the best personal bests of the bunch, but with no indication of fitness, it’s impossible to predict where they’ll end up in 20 days’ time.

Men’s field.- The favorites in the men’s race are Galen Rupp (Nike), Leonard Korir (Nike), Scott Fauble (Hoka) and Jared Ward (Saucony). Rupp was almost a dark horse, due to his poor resume from the past year, but on Saturday he clocked a 1:01:19 in a tune up half-marathon in Arizona. So he’s in good shape.

As for the other three, all hold personal bests from 2019 around the same time. Korir’s is 2:07:56 from Amsterdam and Fauble and Ward’s are both from Boston 2019 at 2:09:09 and 2:09:25. Among these three it’s really a toss-up, based on past performances, as to who makes the team.

Our best bet for the top three, in order, is: Rupp, Ward, Korir.

The dark horses.- The dark horses in this event are the masters men: Bernard Lagat (Nike) (45) and Abdi Abdirahman (Nike) (42).  Like in women’s marathoning, the men are also proving that age is just a number on the race course. Lagat and Abdirahman have both recently clocked 2:11 and 2:12 marathons and are in the conversation for the team if they have a good day in Atlanta.

(02/11/20) Views: 96
Madeleine Kelly

Boston announces their 2020 start times and Elite women will start behind the men

On Thursday morning the B.A.A. released start times for the 2020 Boston Marathon, and the timetable came with one major change for 2020: the women will start behind the men.

Over the past few years it has become tradition for the elite women to start ahead of the elite men, but the 2020 Boston Marathon has reversed the order, citing safety concerns. The press release says, “To minimize the amount of passing of athletes down course, the elite men will start eight minutes prior to the elite women.

This change is being implemented to help increase the safety of athletes within the elite women’s division, who in previous years were at risk of being overtaken by both the elite men and their accompanying lead vehicles in the second half of the race route.”

The B.A.A has promised that the new order will not compromise the women’s coverage.

2020 start times, 9:02 a.m. ET Men’s Wheelchair Division Start, 9:05 a.m. ET Women’s Wheelchair Division Start, 9:30 a.m. ET Handcycle Program & Duo Participants Start, 9:37 a.m. ET Elite Men’s Division Start, 9:45 a.m. ET Elite Women’s Division Start, 9:50 a.m. ET Para Athletics Divisions Start, 10:00 a.m. ET Wave One Start, 10:25 a.m. ET Wave Two Start, 10:50 a.m. ET Wave Three Start, 11:15 a.m. ET Wave Four Start.

(02/07/20) Views: 80
Madeleine Kelly

Chinese athletes forced to train in isolation due to coronavirus

Chinese athletes preparing for Tokyo 2020 have been forced to train in isolation due to the coronavirus crisis.

The Olympic hopefuls are being kept "behind closed doors" around the country, an official told Xinhua.

Coranavirus has killed more than 1000 people and spread to at least 27 countries since it originated in Chinese city Wuhan.

More than 40,000 people have been infected and the World Health Organization has declared a global emergency.

"Athletes are training behind closed doors in camps in various domestic and overseas cities in preparation for the Olympic Games and qualifying tournaments," said Liu Guoyong, the vice president of the Chinese Olympic Committee (COC).

"Up until now, no athlete from the national team has reported to be or is suspected of being infected with the virus.

"We will do our best to prevent all athletes from becoming infected."

The COC has been in contact with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) regarding the participation of Chinese athletes in Tokyo 2020 qualifiers, Liu said.

This comes after China's women's football team were kept in quarantine in Brisbane after arriving in Australia for an Olympic qualification tournament.

The squad had been in Wuhan, where the event was due to take place before the virus forced its move.

Four players were unable to leave China at all, including experienced midfielder Wang Shuang, with the tournament schedule this month re-jigged.

Liu added that Chinese athletes would have special arrangements for accommodation and transport.

"There will be over 100 Olympic qualifying tournaments around the world between February and April," he said.

"Hopefully the Chinese athletes can prepare well and claim more Olympic berths.

"The IOC has asked various international sports federations to provide all possible assistance and convenience to Chinese athletes."

The World Athletics Indoor Championships, initially scheduled for March in Nanjing, is the most high-profile sporting event to be postponed because of the virus so far. It has been delayed by a year until March 2021. The Hong Kong Marathon was also cancelled as well as many other events.  

The opening test event for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, an Alpine Skiing World Cup in Yanqing, was also cancelled.

Other sports affected include boxing, football, wrestling, basketball, tennis, hockey, badminton, diving, equestrian, golf and biathlon.

German Olympic Sports Confederation President Alfons Hörmann described the virus as the "greatest threat" to Tokyo 2020, with Japan one of the countries with confirmed cases.

This year's SportAccord World Sport and Business Summit in Beijing, scheduled for between April 19 and 24, is also at risk.

"We will keep a close eye on the development of the situation to decide when sporting events can be resumed," Liu said.

(02/10/20) Views: 79

Galen Rupp breezed to victory Saturday in the Sprouts Mesa Half Marathon

Galen Rupp covered the 13.1-mile course in Mesa, Arizona in 1:01.19. He crossed the finish line comfortably in front of veteran road-racer Matt Llano, second in 1:02.05.

The race was the first for Rupp since he was forced off the course late in the Chicago Marathon in October with a left calf strain, and only his second since undergoing surgery in 2018 on his left heel.

Rupp said going into Saturday’s race that it would serve as a tuneup for the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials, Feb. 29 in Atlanta.

It also was the first time Rupp had raced since announcing he is being coached by Northern Arizona coach Mike Smith. Rupp, 33, had been coached by Alberto Salazar since attending Portland’s Central Catholic High School.

Salazar is serving a four-year ban for violating doping rules. Salazar is appealing the ban.

Rupp is a two-time Olympic medalist. The former University of Oregon runner won the silver medal in the 10,000 meters in 2012, and the bronze in the marathon in 2016. He will be attempting to make his fourth U.S. Olympic team at the marathon trials in Atlanta.

(02/08/20) Views: 63
Ken Goe

Renee Seman ran six of the world’s major marathons after she learned she had breast cancer

When Renee Seman learned she had Stage 4 breast cancer in 2014, she set a goal for herself: to use her remaining time to run marathons. Six of them, in fact, in New York, Chicago, Boston, Berlin, Tokyo and London.

Together, they constitute the Abbott World Marathon Majors, a collection of the most distinguished marathons in the world. Since 2006, only about 6,500 people have completed all six, the organization said, including Ms. Seman, who finished her final race, the London Marathon, in April.

“She knew that it was incurable from the moment it was diagnosed, and she was determined to make the most of her time,” Ms. Seman’s husband, David Seman, 48, said of her illness last week.

“It almost increased her focus and determination,” he said.

Ms. Seman, who died on Jan. 29, Mr. Seman said, ran all six races after receiving her diagnosis, drawing the attention and support of runners and cancer survivors. A profile about her in Runners World was published shortly before last year’s London Marathon. In addition to her husband, she is survived by her 6-year-old daughter, Diane. They live on Long Island.

It isn’t uncommon for patients facing a terminal diagnosis to make bucket lists of goals they want to accomplish before they die, said Melissa Ring, the director of regulatory and compliance at the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization.

“People will take a look back at their life when there is an initial shock of a terminal diagnosis,” said Ms. Ring, who has worked in hospice and palliative care for over 20 years.

Ms. Seman started running to become healthy before having her first child, her husband said. She started by running 5Ks and 10Ks, and was training for a half-marathon in Brooklyn when she received her diagnosis, she told Runner’s World.

After learning she had cancer, Mr. Seman said, she thought of only two things: spending as much time as possible with her daughter, and earning the Abbott World Marathon Majors’ Six Star Finishers medal.

In 2019, Ms. Seman ran her last two marathons, in Tokyo and London, eight weeks apart. This required her to train as much as she could while undergoing chemotherapy.

Ms. Seman did not pause or panic. Instead, after Berlin, she began working with Daphne Matalene, 46, a running coach.

“Even when you are super healthy and super trained it still takes a lot out of you,” said Ms. Matalene, who has run five of the six marathons. “Renee was totally undeterred by that. Her goal was not to win; it was not even to run her fastest.”

Ms. Matalene came up with a training regimen that worked around Ms. Seman’s treatment schedule. Ms. Seman would run easy miles in the morning and then have chemotherapy treatment in the afternoon. Days later, once she had recovered, she would do a long run of 12 to 16 miles.

Many runners who try to complete the six races are dealing with health issues or recently had a health scare, said Lorna Campbell, a spokeswoman for the Abbott World Marathon Majors.

(02/07/20) Views: 56
Sandra E. Garcia

Some reaction to the cancelling of the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon due to the Coronavirus

Public health is our top priority. To support the government’s epidemic prevention efforts, the organiser cancelled the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon originally scheduled for February 9.  Entry fees will be fully refunded with details to be announced shortly.

Local and international racers offer their thoughts as some 70,000 people deal with the fallout and lost training time

Here was some of the reactions: 

Gone Running’s Peter Hopper, who runs a local group which has been helping numerous runners prepare for the race, said this as the news reached those training for the marathon.  

“It's of course really sad that it has been necessary to cancel the Standard Chartered,” said Hopper, who has been holding weekly training sessions for the race. “I know how people feel after training diligently leading up to this and it is a big disappointment. However, at this stage, not knowing how serious the coronavirus can be, it is better to err on the side of caution. I am sure it was not an easy decision to make.”

Mainland Chinese runners have already faced a wave of cancellations with the upcoming Wuhan and Wuxi marathons axed and others scheduled as far ahead as June provisionally suspended. The overall reaction has been that of understanding, despite many runners having already booked hotels and plane tickets.

“I was ready to run for my third year and did not think that [the race] would be cancelled not because of HK separatists making trouble, but because of an epidemic. I have just cancelled my flights and hotel,” wrote one.

A Weibo running account had similar comments, including one which stated, “I would never have thought this race would be cancelled because of this reason.”

Bhoovarahan Desikan, 52, was planning on having the 2020 edition be his 100th marathon. His first marathon was in Hong Kong in 2005 and the 2020 race would have been his 15th. He ran marathons in Seoul, Moscow, Shenzhen and Taipei all last year. He said he “fully understands” the reason for cancellation and has no complaints, and will look to another race in the near future.

“We can’t control everything in life,” said Desikan, who was going to run with a number of friends from his running group, which is based out of Tung Chung. “As long as I am fit and alive to run, there will always be a marathon around.”

Hong Kong runner Christy Yiu Kit-ching, who was targeting a top five finish in hopes of qualifying for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo before she had to pull out due to an injury, said public health and safety are paramount to the race.

“Although I have an foot injury and decided not to participate few weeks before, as one of the Hong Kong runners, I still feel disappointed with the cancellation of (the marathon),” she said.

Yiu, 31, who competed in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, said the race has been in question for multiple reasons since this summer.

“In fact, many of us has worried about the cancellation or the arrangement of (the marathon) since last year when the draw lots was launched. I’m sure everyone has noticed that lots of competitions have also already been cancelled due to the the social violence.”

Ireland’s Caitriona Jennings, who competed for her country in the marathon during the 2012 Olympics in London, and now lives in Hong Kong, was planning on running the race February. She echoed Yiu’s statement that this was the right decision by the government.

Amy Mumford, who is a mother of five and cancer survivor, said running and competing gives her a formidable sense of self and empowerment. She said she has been getting up at three or four in the morning out in Clearwater Bay as part of her training and regular running routine.

“The coronavirus is spreading rapidly and it seems unavoidable to have had to cancel the Standard Chartered Marathon,” said the 41-year old who recently won the China Coast Marathon. “There will be many people as devastated as I am. All the training, compromise, nutrition and emotion involved. I think the most important aspect is everyone’s safety and health ... running makes my heart sing and for all those other runners out there, see you next year.”

Hong Kong expat, Aaron Tennant who is originally from the UK and was hoping to break the four hour barrier in his race, said he is definitely dealing with mixed emotions given the amount of effort he had put into his preparation.

“It is frustrating to see the training go to a waste,” said the 30-year-old. “But I completely understand the decision to cancel the marathon. I will look for an alternative, and so will the 70,000 other runners.”

(02/09/20) Views: 55

Israeli marathon runner Beatie Deutsch is set to compete in the 2020 Fitbit Miami Half Marathon

Israeli marathon runner Beatie Deutsch is breaking records just four years after taking up the sport. But that isn’t what makes her so remarkable. It’s the stereotypes and cultural barriers she shatters every time she crosses a finish line in a long skirt, long sleeves and a head scarf.

The 30-year-old ultra-Orthodox Jewish mother of five, who was raised in New Jersey and moved to Israel in 2008, broke the course record for Israeli women at the 2018 Jerusalem Marathon, and has since won the Tiberias Marathon, the Israeli half marathon and marathon national championship. Her personal best marathon time of 2:32 is just shy of the Olympic qualifying standard.

Last May, she won a half marathon in Latvia, becoming the first known Orthodox Jewish woman to win an international race. This Sunday, she is running in the LIfe Time Miami Marathon, her first race in the United States. She is competing in the half marathon, and will be rooted on by Jewish fans in South Florida and all over the world, many of whom follow her on Facebook and Instagram (@marathonmother).

“Speedy Beatie,” as she has been nicknamed, is inspiring Orthodox Jewish women to take up running, women like Brocha Lipkind, a 45-year-old mother of five from North Miami Beach, who is participating in the Miami Marathon with a 54-member team called “Run4Yitzi.”

The group is raising funds for ALS-stricken Rabbi Yitzi Hurwitz of Los Angeles, 47, who cannot move, talk or eat on his own but writes a weekly blog using eye movements to direct his computer.

“I think the stereotypical view people have of a religious Jewish woman is a woman with a million kids hanging on her, not working, not caring about herself and her individuality and we don’t always represent so well because maybe sometimes we look haggard,” Lipkind said. “Beatie is out there changing the face of what religious mothers and women look like. Even more so, she’s changing the face of what people think Jewish people are all about. She is out there surrounded by runners from all over, even Palestinian runners. She’s representing a culture of love and kindness, support for everybody.”

Deutsch grew up in Passaic, New Jersey., and though she was always tiny — she is barely over 5 feet now — she was athletic and coordinated. She didn’t watch sports because her deeply religious family didn’t own a television, but she was a talented gymnast. She stopped training at age 12 for modesty reasons because the coaches were men. She took taekwondo lessons and played basketball every Sunday with other girls at her school. She never considered running until four years ago, when she finished last in family races on the beach and vowed to get back in shape.

Her husband, Michael, an avid cyclist, fully supported her new hobby and even bought her a runner’s watch. She never imagined running marathons would result in becoming an international role model.

“Sports has such an important power to break down barriers,” she said by phone from Jerusalem. “Through the running community in Israel, I have come in contact with so many people, not just Jewish but also non-Jewish. In Israel, there are a lot of stereotypes about religious Jews and people have misconceptions about what we are able to do and how oppressed we are. I have been able to break down some of those barriers.”

Living in a “Haredi” community of strictly Orthodox Jews, Deutsch said “being different is not always accepted,” but she is slowly changing attitudes. She is proving that she can be a doting mother to five children under the age of 10, a devoted wife and a professional athlete.

(02/07/20) Views: 54
Michelle Kaufman

Kenya’s David Barmasai Tumo won the 2020 edition of the Lagos Marathon

Kenyan long-distance runner David Barmasai Tumo wins Lagos marathon. He won the race in 2 hours, 10 minutes 22 seconds. The 42km race commenced from National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos.

It was a clean sweep as Debeko Dakama and Paul Waweru Chege also from Kenya joined Barmasai on the podium finishing second and third.

The male and female 42km runners competed for the grand prize of $50,000 while the second and third place winners will get $40,000 and $30,000 respectively.

In 2011, David has a personal best of 2:07:18 hours, set winning of Dubai Marathon and came fifth at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics.

The 42km race commenced from National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos, at about 6:30am and ended at Eko Atlantic City.

Since the inception of the annual marathon festival, no Nigerian has emerged winner, now in its fifth edition.

 

(02/08/20) Views: 53
Taiwo Okanlawon