Running News Daily
Top Ten Stories of the Week
4/7/2018

Jake Robertson sets a 10K PR and wins Crescent City for second time

New Zealand’s Jake Robertson, 28, also known as the “white Kenyan” since he has been training in Kenya for ten years, came to New Orleans for one reason.

He wanted to be a repeat winner and set a new 10k PR. He did both and more winning the Crescent City 10K in a new PR of 27:28.

Jake blew away the field winning by 50 seconds. Edwin Sol was second in 28:18. Jake’s time ties the New Zealand national record in a 10K road race, with his twin brother. "I think it is even more special than breaking my brother's record, so it's cool," he said.

"I'll keep it for one year. I really tried to change my approach today even though it didn't look like it. I did slow down at one point because I wanted to save a little bit more in the last mile. I really want to get that course record, and I keep getting closer every year." 2018 was a huge year for the Crescent City Classic as it marks the 40th anniversary.

(03/31/18) Views: 552

Middle Distance Superstar Bernard Lagat at 43-years-old move to the roads has been impressive

Every sport has examples of athletes who seem infuriatingly immune to senescence, 43-year-old Bernard Lagat is in another league entirely.

Lagat has competed in five Olympics, a distinction that puts him in very select company among track and field athletes. The fact is all the more impressive when you take into account that his first games didn’t happen until 2000, when he was 25...

In the men’s 5,000 meters at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials, the 41-year-old Lagat was in sixth place going into the last lap of the race. He proceeded to unleash a 52.82-second final 400 meters to win the most competitive 5K ever held at a U.S. Trials. Lagat had the decency to retire from track racing at the end of the 2016 season, he is once again redefining what should be feasible, only this time on the roads.

In January, he ran the Houston Half Marathon in 62 minutes flat, breaking Meb Keflezighi’s U.S. masters record for the distance by over a minute. In March of this year Lagat was the second American finisher at the IAAF World Half Marathon Championships.

For someone who holds the third-fastest 1,500-meter time ever, Lagat seems to be having way too much fun competing in the half marathon. Full story at Outside Online

(04/04/18) Views: 379

Shalane Flanagan message today is very clear - I have unfinished Business

The Boston Marathon everyone has been waiting for is now just two weeks from Monday. Most everyone running have set goals. Shalane Flanagan has had Boston on her radar for months. She posted this today: “I have Unfinished Business: ...On the road and in the gym. It’s something inside us. Something that refuses to take no for an answer. Something that makes us push through every time, no matter what. 2015 Boston Marathon was a stinker Marathon for me. Ive been training and preparing to go back and conquer it. I have unfinished business.” (04/01/18) Views: 329

The Dangers B12 Deficiency Poses For Runners

B12 is essential in the production of healthy red blood cells and bone marrow. Our bodies require B12 to sustain a healthy brain and nervous system. B12 helps to produce the myelin sheath around our nerves. In a recent tweet, a runner posted that she was having difficulty sleeping at night. Her foot was experiencing twitches and tingling sensations. One of her big toes was numb and cramping. “She is describing the symptoms I experienced for over a year before I was diagnosed with myelopathy of the spinal cord due to severe B12 deficiency,” says Miriam Diaz-Gilbert who had run nine Marathons and four Ultras before she realized she had a B-12 deficiency. Untreated B12 deficiency can lead to serious health consequences, including paralysis, dementia and psychosis. For some, a daily oral B12 supplement is sufficient treatment. If you are having tingling, numbness and spasms in your limbs and are awakened by painful calf and toe cramps, or if you experience any other symptoms associated with B12 deficiency, get your B12 and MMA levels checked. (04/04/18) Views: 74

The Prague Half Marathon course is notoriously fast with a World Record Last Year

The 20th Sportisimo Prague Half Marathon is a thing of beauty. Not just because of our breathtaking scenery. But because of who comes out to participate. Over 11,000 runners have registered. Kenyans James Rungaru and Caroline Chepkoech Kipkirui are two of the favorites racing this Saturday April 7. The course, which winds through the historical heart of the Czech capital, is notoriously fast, evidenced last year when Joyciline Jepkosgei broke the world record with a sizzling 1:04:52 run, while picking up world records for 10km (30:04), 15km (45:37) and 20km (1:01:25) en route. While the latter two are now considered world bests and Jepkosgei has gone on to further improve the 10km and half marathon marks, her performance was nonetheless one of the most memorable road running achievements in recent memory. The men's course record is fast too. Atsedu Tsegay clocked 58:47 to win the 2012 edition, still the seventh fastest performance in history and Ethiopian national record. The 27-year-old returns to Prague hoping to bounce back into sub-one hour territory for the first time since 2013. He showed reasonably good form last month in Lisbon, where he clocked 1:00:28 in windy conditions to finish fifth in the Portuguese capital. (04/05/18) Views: 74

Trail Runner Magazine says Moab Trail Marathon is one of their top Ten “bucket list” races

The nation’s top elite runners, along with over 2,000 recreational trail runners, will be competing in the USA Trail Marathon Championships in Moab, Utah on Nov. 3-4, 2018. The Moab Trail Marathon will feature a marathon, half-marathon, 5k and a 1K kids race. The marathon should have more than 50 elite runners who will vie for top honors. Participants will run 13.1 or 26.2 miles on the beautiful, rugged course that features trails along the Kane Creek corridor, including Pritchett Canyon, Hunter Rim and Jackson Trail, as well as some unnamed trails, and trails through private property including a rope-assisted section. The top runners in the marathon will be recognized as champions and will receive a $4,800 prize purse. The course was designed by world-renowned local Moab runner, Danelle Ballengee, who is known to set challenging courses. Trail Runner Magazine has named the race as one of the top-10 “bucket list” races. Some trails will include a rope-assisted section. The marathon has a reputation for being one of the toughest cross country races around. The course features a mix of Moab’s unique four-wheel drive roads and trails; this course travels up, down and through several stunning canyons. Rugged terrain and spectacular scenery bring runners from around the world to compete on this course. This is the tenth year of the race. This event sells out so you should get signed up soon. (04/03/18) Views: 63

Using Poles can greatly add to a more efficient trail running experience

Poles can greatly add to a more efficient trail running experience, primarily while walking on uphills. Poles are especially useful in longer in trail running races with lots of sustained or steep terrain. Walking with poles can be a good way to conserve leg power as it allows athletes to engage otherwise unused muscles in the upper body. Poles can also be helpful on very steep uphills with loose footing. In these situations racers can take up body weight with the upper body and reduce foot slip. On steep downhills the use of poles can aid balance and stability. While striding with poles, keep your hands relaxed get into a natural rhythm. Let momentum & gravity swing the pole forward. (04/05/18) Views: 62

Prize Money and Bonuses Offered Exceed $100,000 at Credit Union Cherry Blossom Run

As they have for the past several years, organizers of the 46th Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run will offer over $90,000 in prize money and bonuses to top runners, including a $10,000 American record bonus for the first American man to break Greg Meyer's American record of 46:13, set here in 1983, and for the first American woman to break Janet Bawcom's American record of 52:12, set here in 2014. In addition, the Professional Road Racing Organization's (PRRO) 2018 Championship - with an additional $10,000 PRRO Super Bonus available to the winners of the five PRRO Circuit races, should one of them win the 2018 Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile. The Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile will also serve as the 2018 Road Runners Club of America National Championship for ten miles, and will award $1,200 each to the first male and female finishers among RRCA Roads Scholars and Run Pro Camp alumni. Going to be a good paid day for the elites. (04/04/18) Views: 54

I just refuse to give into old age says 80-year-old marathon runner Bob Wray

When most 80-year-olds are heading for the recliner, Bob Wray is hitting the road. Before his “knees gives out” he will be running the London Marathon this month. He was one of the lucky 40,000 plucked from a pool of more than 300,000 applications. He said this will be his ninth marathon, and his motivation remains simple. “I just refuse to give into old age,” Wray says. “You see people who are still in their late 60s and early 70s and have given up on life, I’m determined to not allow that to happen to me. “ My daughter thinks I’m mad. “I found out there’s an 83-year-old running as well in London. “I’m usually first in my age group (at marathons), as I’m the only one in my age group. ” He has been putting in up to 50 miles a week either on a treadmill — which he says is “very boring” — or on the footpath on cooler nights. (04/03/18) Views: 49

The security measures being used to protect runners and spectators at the Boston Marathon

About 5,000 uniformed and undercover police officers, drones, bomb-sniffing dogs and trucks blocking some streets are just some of the security measures being used to protect runners and spectators at this year’s Boston Marathon. Federal and state law enforcement officials said Tuesday that there is no known credible threat to this year's marathon on April 16, which comes five years after two bombs planted near the finish line killed three spectators and wounded more than 260 others. But they said the public should stay vigilant and guarded. The security coordination involves eight cities and towns, as well as 7,500 to 8,000 public safety personnel that will include almost 5,000 uniformed and plainclothes law enforcement officers and the National Guard. Law enforcement will fly three tethered drones traveling at 400 feet above the marathon course. (04/03/18) Views: 49