Running News Daily
Top Ten Stories of the Week
3/14/2020
These are the top ten stories based on views over the last week.
The Lisbon Half Marathon, originally scheduled for March 22, is now postponed to September 5 2020 due to coronavirus
Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa said on Tuesday that the Portuguese people must be prepared for the worst-case COVID-19 scenario.
"We are facing a virus that is new in Portugal and in the world, and that naturally puts factors of uncertainty about what is the forecast of what may be its evolution," Costa told reporters after meeting with his ministers of finance, economic affairs, internal administration, health, infrastructure and planning, to announce further measures in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.
"If we compare it with other European countries, the number of cases of infection in Portugal is low," he said, adding that this may be because the novel coronavirus outbreak is still "at an early stage" in Portugal.
"We must foresee an increase in the number of cases of infection over the next few days and weeks. We must be prepared for the worst-case scenario," he said. However, he also reiterated that panic is the worst enemy of all.
As of Tuesday morning, 41 confirmed coronavirus cases had been reported in Portugal.
Portuguese authorities are beginning to adopt strict containment measures, such as closing homes, schools, universities, or suspending visits to hospitals and prisons. All flights between Portugal and the most affected areas of Italy have also been suspended.
The Lisbon Half Marathon, originally scheduled for March 22, is now postponed to September 5 2020.
(03/11/20) Views: 384Shi Yinglun
Bayelign Teshager of Ethiopia, Margaret Muriuki of Kenya win 2020 L.A. Marathon
Ethiopia’s Bayelign Teshager won the Los Angeles Marathon on Sunday after finishing in 2:08:26.57, while Kenya’s Margaret Muriuki topped the elite women’s field with a time of 2:29:27.68, according to the marathon’s leaderboard.
John Langat of Kenya had the lead until Teshager made his move down the stretch to win by 40 seconds.
Teshager turns 20 years old on Monday. (The L.A. Marathon listed his age Sunday as 20.)
Wilson Kwambai Chebet, 34, also from Kenya, placed in third, L.A. Marathon’s website said.
Last year’s winner Elisha Barno, 34, came in ninth place.
In the women’s field, Muriuki won with her personal best time. It’s her second marathon victory in three months after the 33-year-old won at Honolulu in December.
She was in control of the women’s race throughout and kept a strong pace, eventually pulling away from 23-year-old Almaz Negede of Ethiopia with seven miles remaining to win by 3:01.
Jane Kibii, a 34-year-old runner from Kenya, placed in third.
(03/08/20) Views: 188
Olympic 5,000m champion Vivian Cheruiyot is keen on defending her title at the Lisbon Half, and reclaiming her London Marathon title on April 26
Olympic 5,000m champion Vivian Cheruiyot has revealed that winning the marathon title at this year's Olympic Games in Tokyo will be the icing on the cake in an illustrious career spanning over two decades.
Cheruiyot, nicknamed ‘Pocket Rocket’ is also a multiple-time world champion on track and cross country but insists she has her work cut out in her chase for what she describes as her all-time career goal.
But before Tokyo, Cheruiyot is keen on defending her title at the Lisbon Half (March 22) and reclaiming her London Marathon title on April 26.
This, she says, will boost her confidence heading to Tokyo.
Speaking in Elgeyo Marakwet County during the Maria Soti Cross Country Championships 10 days ago, the two-time 5,000m and 10,000m world champion said she has been preparing well for the Games.
“Heading into these two major races, I will be running as a typical Vivian and I have hope, determination and the zeal to do well,” said Cheruiyot.
“I will be defending my Lisbon title as a precursor for the London Marathon. I also have a big task ahead of me, that of representing my country Tokyo, where I also hope to win my second Olympic title.”
Arguably the most decorated Kenyan runner, Cheruiyot began her international career in 1999, when she won a silver medal in the junior race at the World Cross Country Championships in Belfast and a 3000m bronze medal at the World Youth Championships in Bydgoszcz.
Since then she has won numerous accolades at the African Championships, Commonwealth Games, World Championships, Olympic Games and World Marathon Majors.
“The journey has been good and I want to do better than I have ever done. I want to promise Kenyans a good fight in Tokyo,” added Cheruiyot.
This, she says, will boost her confidence heading to Tokyo.
Speaking in Elgeyo Marakwet County during the Maria Soti Cross Country Championships 10 days ago, the two-time 5,000m and 10,000m world champion said she has been preparing well for the Games.
“Heading into these two major races, I will be running as a typical Vivian and I have hope, determination and the zeal to do well,” said Cheruiyot.
“I will be defending my Lisbon title as a precursor for the London Marathon. I also have a big task ahead of me, that of representing my country Tokyo, where I also hope to win my second Olympic title.”
Arguably the most decorated Kenyan runner, Cheruiyot began her international career in 1999, when she won a silver medal in the junior race at the World Cross Country Championships in Belfast and a 3000m bronze medal at the World Youth Championships in Bydgoszcz.
Since then she has won numerous accolades at the African Championships, Commonwealth Games, World Championships, Olympic Games and World Marathon Majors.
(03/09/20) Views: 163Emmanuel Sabuni
A quintet of sub-2:23 runners will be gunning for the course record at the Nagoya Women's Marathon on Sunday
Traditionally, the Nagoya race is the largest women's-only marathon in the world, with 24,000 runners entered to run this year. But due to concerns over the outbreak of Coronavirus cases in Japan, organizers restricted entry to this year's race to elite athletes only.
Among those are five sub-2:23 runners who set their career bests in 2019 who will be eying the 2:21:17 course record set by Eunice Kirwa in 2017.
Purity Rionoripo is the fastest in the field at 2:20:39 from the 2019 Valencia Marathon, but also has a 2:20:55 to her credit from the Paris Marathon in 2017.
Helen Tola was second in the 2019 Tokyo Marathon with 2:21:01 and also ran 2:21:36 in Berlin later in the year. Tola also has two additional 2:22 performances under her belt, both from Berlin.
Helalia Johanness is the defending champion, clocking a personal best of 2:22:25 last year. Shen has a strong championships records having won the 2018 Commonwealth Games title and taking bronze at last year's World Championships.
If the favorite falters, then Nancy Kiprop, Stella Barsosio, Betsy Saina, Birke Debele and Hirut Tiberu could emerge.
Kiprop ran 2:22:46 in Frankfurt in 2018 and then ran a personal best of 2:22:12 in Vienna the following year. Barsosio clocked 2:23:43 in Paris two years ago and 2:23:36 in Rotterdam last year. Saina won the 2018 Paris Marathon with 2:22:56 and ran 2:22:43 in Toronto last May. Debele ran 2:23:19 in that Toronto race while Tiberu has a best of 2:23:35. Tiberu has run 2:25 or faster in all her completed marathons since 2017.
The race also provides the final chance for Japanese women to make the Olympic Marathon team. They'll have to faster than 2:21:47, the winning time at the Osaka Women’s Marathon, which may prove to be a tall order.
Yuka Ando is the fastest among Japanese with a 2:21:36 personal best set in this race in 2017. The best she's run since is 2:26:47.
Kayoko Fukushi is vying to make a fifth Olympic team. The 37-year-old, who has a 2:22:17 personal best which dates to 2016, started but dropped out of January's Osaka Marathon to focus on Nagoya.
Others to watch include Mao Kiyota, who comes armed with a 2:23:47 best; Reia Iwade, who's clocked 2:23:52; and Mao Ichiyama, with a best of 2:24:33.
(03/06/20) Views: 162World Athletics
The Coronavirus is really hurting a lot of professional runners in Kenya and around the world
This is a tough time for professional runners in Kenya and other parts of the world. All races in Italy have been cancelled for at least a month. Plus many other races in Europe have been cancelled or postponed due to the Coronavirus.
Case in point, Kenya's Joel Maina Mwangi had won three races in three weeks in Italy (last being March 1). In one race he clocked 1:00:40 and he was set to break an hour in Rome this weekend and win the race. This is the half where Galen Rupp ran his first sub hour half in 2018. That half marathon was cancelled and all the prize money associated with it. Of course, thousands of non-professional runners could not run either.
So Joel is heading home today to continue to train at the Ujena Fit Club training Camp in Thika. He had no reason to stay in Italy.
Like many professional runners he was looking forward to winning thousands of dollars from races to help support his family. Prize money has been his only source of income for several years. Kenya runners alone have been winning millions of dollars annually from races. Races featured on the My Best Runs lists over $20 million (US) of prize money. There is most likely over $25 million US being awarded annually. Much of this going to Kenya runners.
Hopefully the world will get a handle on this deadly virus. There have been no cases reported in Kenya todate.
"In the meantime our team in Thika at our UjENA Fit Club Training Camp is training hard and getting stronger and stronger," says Coach Dennis. What else can they do but remain positive.
"The spirit of our team is inspiring," says operations director Willie Korir. "We only started training together since January 19 of this year and our Ujena Fit Club team is really shaping up. We will be ready to run some good times."
This is a tough times for racing in many parts of the world. But things will return to normal at some people. Runners just need to keep training and be strong during this time.
(03/07/20) Views: 96
Bob Anderson
Ukrainian runner Oleksii Borysenko is missing in Japan
In Japan for the Tokyo Marathon, Ukrainian runner Oleksii Borysenko has been missing since late February.
A search was launched on Monday on Mt. Fuji for Ukrainian marathoner and trail runner Oleksii Borysenko. Borysenko was in Japan for the Tokyo Marathon, but was unable to race due to the cancellation of the mass participation race. He was last seen on February 28 heading into a subway station.
Borysenko, 37, is an accomplished runner and ambassador for Hoka One One Ukraine. In 2019, he posted several impressive results from races across Europe. He ran a 2:37:29 at the Berlin Marathon in September, and later in November he came fifth at the Kyiv City Half-Marathon in 1:14:58 (which, according to his Instagram page, are his PBs at each distance).
He also represented Ukraine at the 2019 Trail World Championships in Miranda do Corvo, Portugal.
The Tokyo Reporter wrote that the search was called off after just one day due to unsafe weather conditions on Mt. Fuji. The rescue team reached an elevation of 3,000 meters before they had to turn around (Mt. Fuji has a total elevation of 3,776 meters). The search is set to resume once the conditions clear up.
(03/11/20) Views: 70
The Schneider Electric Marathon of Paris 2020, postponed to October due to coronavirus
The new and 44th edition of the Schneider Electric Marathon de Paris was said to be held on Sunday April 5, 2020 but is postponed to October 18, 2020 due to the coronavirus outbreak.
This year, the route is set between the Avenue des Champs-Elysées and the Porte Dauphine.
The Schneider Electric Marathon de Paris will be back on Sunday October 18, 2020! As tradition would have it, participants will start the race from the Champs Elysées and cover the legendary 42.195km throughout the French capital’s most beautiful streets, before crossing the finish line by the Porte Dauphine.
The decisions came in light of new rules by the French government to cancel "gatherings of more than 5000 people."
"The practical changes concerning these two events will be communicated to the competitors shortly," organizers said in a statement.â €
The virus, also known as COVID-19, emerged in China's Wuhan last December, and has since spread to over 80 countries.
The global death toll is past 3,300 with more than 98,000 cases, according to the World Health Organization.
In France alone, 420 cases have been reported with 6 deaths.
The country has announced it would enter the third and final stage on an urgency scale of preparing against and combating the virus.
(03/06/20) Views: 59
An assault of Wilson Kipsang's course record on tap at the 75th edition of the Lake Biwa Marathon
An assault of Wilson Kipsang's 2:06:13 course record from 2011 is on tap at the 75th edition of the Lake Biwa Marathon, a World Athletics Gold Label road race, in Otsu, Japan, on Sunday.
Three sub-2:06 and two sub-2:07 runners are in the line-up. Four of those have career bests faster than Kipsang's nine-year-old record. All of those performances came in 2019, suggesting that quartet is on top of their game.
The fastest in the field is Evan Chebet who clocked 2:05:00 in winning last year's Buenos Aires Marathon. Chebet has also produced sub-2:06 runs in Valencia, Berlin and Seoul and also finished fourth in the Tokyo Marathon with 2:06:42.
The next fastest is Filex Chemonges who broke the Ugandan national record with a 2:05:12 performance in Toronto last year. He has run three marathons and each time improved his personal best.
Felix Kiprotich, the third fastest in the field, won the 2019 Daegu Marathon with 2:05:33, and also has three more sub-2:07 runs to his credit. Samuel Ndungu, the Lake Biwa winner in 2015, improved his personal best to 2:06:02 in Lisbon last year. The final sub-2:07 man in the field is Dutch national record holder Abdi Nageeye who improved clocked 2:06:17 in Rotterdam, also last year.
Former winners joining Ndungu are 2018 champion Joseph Ndirangu and 2019 winner Salah Bounasar. Other contenders include Stephen Mokoka who was third in 2019 in 2:07:58, the second-best time of his career.
The race also serves as the final chance for Japanese men to win a spot on the Olympic Marathon team. To secure their spot, a runner must run faster than the 2:05:29 national record set last week by Suguru Osako.
The fastest among the five invited Japanese runners is Yuki Kawauchi, with a lifetime best of 2:08:14. Other high-profile Japanese include Takuya Noguchi, with a 2:08:59 best; Kohei Ogino, who's clocked 2:09:36; Shohei Otsuka, a 2:10:12 man; and Kengo Suzuki, who has a 2:10:21 best.
(03/06/20) Views: 55World Athletics
South Africa's 800m queen Caster Semenya says she has a surprise planned for her participation at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics
The 29-year-old Rio 2016 gold medalist had been the center of a controversial ruling from the IAAF that has placed restrictions on natural testosterone levels for female athletes competing in the 800m and 1 500m distances.
That directly impacts Semenya, who now has to take medication to lower her natural testosterone levels if she is to take part over those distances in Tokyo.
In an interview with Netwerk24, however, Semenya revealed that she has something up her sleeve.
"I'm going to surprise you ... and you're going to like the surprise," Semenya said when asked what her plans for Tokyo were.
Semenya acknowledged that there was very little she could do about the IAAF rulings, but she would not let that get in the way of her ambitions to compete at a third Olympics.
"My biggest goal remains to be at the Olympics and I will work hard to achieve that," she said.
"No ruling is going to get in the way of that."
When asked about her appeal to the IAAF following the ruling, Semenya would not engage.
"I don't want to say anything about that ... there are other people you need to ask," she said.
"It's an issue I have no control over.
"My focus now is on me and nothing else."
(03/06/20) Views: 54
Hitomi Niiya is back from retirement and now is fully focused on Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games
It is a little hard to fathom, but Hitomi Niiya – potentially one of Japan’s strongest track hopes at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games – hates running.
The 32-year-old, who blitzed to a Japanese half-marathon record in Houston and is eyeing up a spot on the 10,000m team for this year’s Olympics, says with a smile that running makes her tired and does not remotely compare with her passion for shopping.
However, what Niiya lacks in enthusiasm for the sport, she certainly makes up for in ability and it is not beyond the realms of possibility that the diminutive athlete could threaten the podium in Tokyo.
Born in the Okayama Prefecture in the south of the island of Honshu, Niiya was inspired to take up running after watching her compatriot Naoko Takahashi win marathon gold at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
“I did a lot of sports when I was younger,” says Niiya. “My two older brothers played football so I did too, but it was watching Takahashi that inspired me and I joined a club team at junior high school.”
She made quick progress and at the age of 15 her talent was snapped up to attend the Kojyokan High School, one of Japan’s most powerful running schools.
The impact was immediate. At the age of 16 she represented Japan at the 2004 World Cross Country Championships in Brussels. On hilly terrain and thick mud, Niiya performed respectably to finish 19th in the women’s U20 race, helping her country secure team bronze.
However, the Japanese teenager was far from satisfied.
“When I arrived, I thought I could beat the athletes from the other countries,” she says. “But it was after competing in Brussels that I first realized the level of the athletes from the African countries was higher.
“It was also the first event I’d been to without my coach,” she adds. “The experience taught me I needed to be more independent. Running in Brussels acted as motivation to return to the World Cross and run better.”
She was good to her word. Twelve months later she competed at the 2005 World Cross Country Championships in St Galmier and placed 13th. Later that year she gave more evidence of her exciting potential, earning 3000m bronze at the World U18 Championships in 9:10.34 in Marrakech.
“I didn’t expect to win a medal because the Africans are so strong,” she recalls. “I was very proud. Winning bronze and watching the Japanese flag at the medal ceremony was such a happy memory.”
Training at an intensity which she believes puts her on a similar level to the top African athletes, her coach elected to enter Niiya for the Houston Half Marathon in January. Her main intention was to use the event as preparation for her 10,000m ambitions, but she excelled and won the race in 1:06:38 to carve 48 seconds from the Japanese record set by Kayoko Fukushi in 2006.
“My aim was to break the national record and I was really pleased to do so,” she adds.
“My hope is to make the Olympic team,” she explains. “If I do, I will feel a lot of responsibility for a good result. The aim is to win a medal for all the people who have supported me, from my coach, my sponsors and all the people in my life.”
(03/09/20) Views: 54World Athletics
