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6/20/2020

The Norwegian Ingebrigtsen brothers are quite an exciting trio of track athletes not only in Europe but the whole world

With the altitude and good form expected to play a critical role for “Team Ingebrigtsen” in their mission at the virtual Maurie Plant Memorial Race, their rivals, “Team Cheruiyot”, will have a dig deep to stop the Norwegians.

The two teams that have arguably the best metric race athletes in the world, go head-on in the 2,000m race that is part of the “Impossible Games” on Thursday at 9.40pm (Kenyan time).

The “Impossible Games” have been made possible by the Norwegian National Athletics Association and World Athletics to replace the Diamond League leg of Oslo that has been put off due to Covid-19 pandemic.

“Team Ingebrigtsen” comprising the Norwegian Ingebrigtsen brothers, will run at the Bislett Stadium, Oslo, Norway while “Team Cheruiyot” will be at the Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi.

Jakob, the European 1,500m and 5,000m champion, Henrik and Filip will be joined by fellow Norwegians Narve Gilje Nordås and Per Svela in “Team Ingebrigtsen.”

Three Norwegian brothers have shown pedigree, going on to become European champions in the 1,500m even though they have fallen short of victory in global events like the World Championships, Olympic Games or the Continental Cup.

It’s no wonder the brothers who are trained by their father, Gjert Ingebrigtsen, have been christened, the “Machine Team.” Gjert has already published a book entitled “How to raise a world champion”, talking about his son’s performances.

The elder of the brothers, Henrik, 29, won the European title in 2012 before getting bronze at the 2018 Continental Cup in Ostrava.

Perhaps Filip is the most successful, having won the European title in 2016 before claiming bronze at the 2017 London World Championships. Filip, 27, holds the Norwegian 1,500 record with time 3:30.01, set at a Diamond League meet in Monaco on July 20, 2018.

The youngest, Jacob has been phenomenal since the year 2018, from winning the European Under-20 Championships in 5,000m and 3,000m steeplechase to winning silver in 1,500m and bronze in 5,000m at the 2018 World Under-20 Championships in Tampere, Finland.

Then in 2018, Jakob would claim victory in 1,500m and 5,000m at the European Championships in Berlin, making him the most successful at the event among the brothers. It’s that year that he settled for bronze at the Continental Cup, losing the battle to Kenya’s Elijah Manang’oi and Marcin Lewandowski from Poland.

After bagging gold in 3,000m and silver in 1,500m at the European Indoor Championships in Glasgow and gold in Under-20 at the European Cross Country Championships, Jakob would settle fourth in 1,500m and fifth in 5,000m at the World Championships all in 2019.

(06/15/20) Views: 275
Ayumba Ayodi

Pam Rickard has been running since the 1980’s and running sober since 2006

Pam Rickard is all smiles while running the 2019 Boston Marathon. (First photo) 

Pam Rickard participated in a seven-day running adventure across China’s Gobi Desert in June 2012 in which she won her age group. (Second photo) 

While some people would say Pam Rickard is addicted to running, she would disagree. Rickard, who runs about 2,000 miles a year, has been running since the 1980s and running sober since 2006.

“If I’m living in healthy recovery, I don’t use running in an unbalanced, unhealthy way. I appreciate it as a gift and a tool of healthy living,” Rickard said.

Rickard is director of Active Engagement for Herren Project, heading up Team Herren Project, engaging people to run, walk and participate in healthy activities, helping each other, and others, live stronger, healthier lives. She said she is grateful to be able to use her running, through her job, to raise awareness and funding for Herren Project’s mission, which includes providing prevention and addiction recovery resources and support for all affected by the disease.

In the 1980s and 1990s she graduated from Ohio University, started running, moved to Roanoke, Virginia  to work for The Roanoke Times, married Tom Rickard and moved to Franklin County. As a runner, she has won races, earned best times in different age groups and completed seven marathons. Although drinking a lot during those years, she was high functioning and never drank while pregnant, nursing her children or seriously training.

After her third daughter was born in 2003, Rickard’s drinking escalated. In 2005-06, within 18 months, she received three DUIs.

“I know now that I was an alcoholic from the first drink at the age of 14,” said Rickard, who is now 58. “But as often the case with addiction, it’s progressive, but on its own timeline. In the ‘80s, ‘90s and early 2000s, I appeared to have it all together; did well in school, married the love of my life who I met in college, was an accomplished member of the local running community, a successful professional and eventually, a devoted mom.”

She added, “In truth, I was anxious and fearful much of the time, self-medicating with alcohol, trying desperately to keep my struggles hidden. Over a very long period of time, I began spiraling out of control. I tried to ‘fix’ my problems myself, declined even the notion of asking for help, and ended up in a ‘perfect storm’ of arrogance and fear. I finally surrendered to my God and my disease when I entered addiction treatment on April 17, 2006 – and took my first steps into sobriety.”

She described her treatment at The Farley Center in Williamsburg in April and May of that year as scary and hard, but after only a few days, she said she felt better and hopeful. She had to listen and follow directions and was relieved to not have to “run the show” anymore. She quickly realized what she got out of treatment was what she put into it.

After pleading guilty to her third DUI, Rickard served three months in the Roanoke City Jail from Sept. 28 to Dec. 31, 2006. Rickard was five months sober when she went to jail. As hard as things got, she hung onto the fact that God and her sobriety could not be taken from her.

“My only plan was to survive. God had other plans though, and while I ended up having some very ugly experiences, I also connected with many women who were broken … not bad, just in an extremely unhealthy cycle that went back generations,” she said. “When I walked out of that jail, the seeds had been planted that would ultimately grow into my desire to help those fighting battles similar to mine.”

Rickard didn’t drive for three years after her conviction. She said she hated inconveniencing her family, but she learned invaluable lessons. As part of her treatment after care, she committed to attending 90 recovery meetings in 90 days.

“It was ridiculously challenging with no license and living in the country, but I did that, and more,” she said.

Running is what connected Rickard to Herren Project. Over a 35-plus year running career, she has completed numerous races, including more than 80 marathons and ultramarathons. Her races have included a seven-day adventure across China’s Gobi Desert and a 100k (62 miles) trek through the Alps from Italy to France. She was a member of the 2016, six-person Icebreaker Run team, running across the U.S. to bring awareness to mental health issues. She has run the New York City Marathon 10 times and the Boston Marathon 10 times, including the 2013 race in which she finished 20 minutes before the bombs went off.

Of all the races she’s done, the one that stands out the most is her 2007 New York City Marathon.

“That was my first sober marathon,” she said. “Then it was my 50th sober marathon in 2018. Without that desire to run one more marathon as a sober person, I wouldn’t be where I am today. I believe I would be right where I should be, but that experience opened up so many opportunities. It began to teach me the priceless truth that I don’t run to stay sober, I get to run because I am.”

For those who struggle or have struggled with substance use disorder, Rickard said, “I encourage myself, and others, to ask for help when you need it, offer help when you can, follow direction of those who have what you want and trust the process.”

Rickard added, “The fact that I can run at all now, let alone do it while building a community and helping others through the work of Herren Project, is a priceless gift.

“Whether it’s a 3-mile training run, or a major event, my mantra is, ‘I don’t have to run, I get to.’”

 

(06/18/20) Views: 69
Leigh Prom

The organizers of Sanlam Cape Town Marathon are adding a virtual version to its existing range of events

The Sanlam Cape Town Marathon race organizers are adding a virtual version of the iconic city marathon to its existing range of events.

It is still too early to predict whether the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon will be staged in its original format on 18 October. The race organizers remain in close contact with Athletics South Africa and all relevant role players as the months progress.

The virtual race will offer an interactive and immersive race experience for runners by superimposing the race route on top of streets, open spaces and gardens, complete with live tracking, distance markers, and push messages with information about key landmarks as they are passed.

The creation of this virtual race will allow athletes to compete in the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon on 18 October from anywhere in the world, starting between 06.00–10.00 local time, wherever they are.

The race will be available through the Sanlam Cape Town Virtual Marathon app, an integrated digital platform that will launch soon.

The app will track participants as if they are running the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon route no matter where they are in the world – making this a virtual race like no other.

While the 5km and 10km Peace Runs will also be presented in Virtual Race format on 17 and 18 October respectively, there will not be a Virtual Race option for the 2020 Trail Runs.

Entries for the Virtual Race have opened via Webtickets. Athletes who have already entered the 2020 race will be able to transfer to the Virtual Race. Entrants will receive an official race number, and all finishers will receive a digital medal and certificate.

(06/13/20) Views: 51

Sigowet Athletics Training Camp at Kiptere falls silent as virus bites

At this time of the year, Sigowet Athletics Training Camp at Kiptere Boys Secondary School, some 32 kilometers away from Kericho town, would be busy with budding athletes training hard.

But thanks to coronavirus, the training camp now looks like a ghost town.

The running track in the camp sandwiched between lush green tea farms is now overgrown with grass thanks to heavy rains pounding the region.

In Kalenjin dialect, Sigowet is a herbal tree which is medicinal, but its efficacy has failed to tame the deadly virus as athletes stay away. 

The camp has for years been a big attraction to scouts from Kenya Police Service, Kenya Defence Forces (KDF), Kenya Prisons among others lining up the running track to monitor future stars aged between 15 to 20 years as they push their nimble, little bodies to improve their fitness ahead of major races. 

Sigowet Training Camp was founded in 2001 by veteran athletics coach, Japheth Kemei and hosts between 60-100 athletes when it is in top gear.

“At this time of the year the camp hosts between 60 -100 youth and senior athletes training for various competitions, but since covid-19, it now resembles a ghost camp,” said Kemei, who is also chairperson of Athletics Kenya in Kericho County.

Before Sigowet Camp was launched, the only athletic training camp in South Rift Valley was based at Keringet in Nakuru County and was launched by the former Kenya Secondary Schools Sports Association chairman, the late Livingstone Kimutai Ng’etich.

In a span of 10 years, it has become a permanent breeding ground of youthful athletes who have represented Kenya in World Junior and Youth championships.

The first athlete to hit headlines from the camp was Emily Cherotich, who won the World Youth 800m championship title in Debrecen, Hungary in 2001 while running barefoot. 

Cherotich now turns out for Kenya Police team. 

Since Cherotich burst into the international scene, Sigowet camp has been producing runners in Under-18 and Under-20 competitions.

The camp has provided national youth teams with at least three or five athletes in every major international competition.And when they return back home with their glittering medals, they receive a rousing reception bringing the tea land to a standstill.

At last year’s Africa Under-20 and Under-18 Championships in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, some of the athletes from the camp clinched gold medals including Fancy Cherono (2,000m Steeplechase), Collins Kipkorir (Triple Jump) and Peter Itanao Leshan (Javelin). Ronald Kipngetich (2,000m Steeplechase) and Kenneth Kirui (800m) won bronze medals. 

(06/12/20) Views: 43
Francis Mureithi

Former Ottawa Lions coach Andy McInnis sanctioned with lifetime ban from track and field

On Tuesday, former Ottawa Lions coach and Athletics Canada Hall of Fame member Andy McInnis had his lifetime ban from track and field upheld. McInnis was originally sentenced in May 2019 but was granted a redetermination of his case after he won his appeal in February 2020.

His redetermination was set to be decided by a new commissioner. Athletics Canada appointed Hugh Fraser to handle the case and Fraser has upheld the original decision to ban McInnis for life.

McInnis was placed on administrative leave by the Ottawa Lions initially on September 13, 2018 as a result of allegations of sexual misconduct brought forward by athletes. But according to an announcement by Athletics Canada in March 2019, McInnis was first reprimanded in 2017 for complaints brought by athletes and others in 2016.

A March 2019 Athletics Canada announcement also claimed that according to the terms of his initial suspension from the Ottawa Lions, McInnis was prohibited from having any contact with staff or athletes from the club. Despite these terms, he coached Ottawa Lions athletes at a training camp during the last week of December 2018 and the first week of January 2019.

In late March of last year, Ken Porter (former president of the Ottawa Lions) and McInnis received suspensions from Athletics Canada while their cases were under review. They both received lifetime bans in May 2019, which Porter chose not to appeal.

(06/12/20) Views: 37

Japanese Government considering simplified format for Tokyo 2020

The Japanese Government is considering a simplified format for the postponed Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo.

Measures would be introduced to contain the spread of coronavirus, with many concerned that the pandemic may still be an issue next year.

The changes could include a reduction in the number of spectators and a scaling back of the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, as reported by Kyodo News.

Athletes may also have restrictions on the number of times they can leave the Athletes' Village, with testing mandatory for athletes, staff and spectators.

"We hope to work together with the Government and the Tokyo Organising Committee to look into what can be rationalised and simplified," said Tokyo Govenor Yuriko Koike.

"It will be necessary in order to gain empathy and understanding from the public."

The pandemic forced the postponement of this year's Olympics to July 23 to August 8, 2021, with the Games set to be followed by the Paralympics from August 24 to September 5.

Japan Medical Association President Yoshitake Yokokura has expressed his fear that the Games may be completely cancelled if a coronavirus vaccine is not available, while Australian Olympic team medical director David Hughes recently warned that the event in the Japanese capital "will not be business as usual".

Tokyo 2020 and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) have also been looking to scale back some elements of the Games due to concerns over cost.

It has been suggested that the Olympic Torch Relay may be streamlined, for example.

IOC President Thomas Bach predicted the postponement of Tokyo 2020 would cost the governing body $800 million (£659 million/€739 million), while Tokyo 2020 are yet to calculate their final figure.

Japan has reported nearly 17,000 cases of coronavirus, resulting in 900 deaths.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe lifted the state of emergency in the country last week, but the easing in restrictions has seen a jump in new cases in Tokyo.

(06/13/20) Views: 37

After Both Her Parents Died of COVID-19, Running Helped Yolanda Scott Grieve

She began a run streak nearly 200 days ago, and has since found even more comfort through “prayer and pavement.”

Within minutes of finding out that her mother had passed away from COVID-19, Yolanda Scott went for a run.

“I had no idea what the route was, because I was crying the entire time—I just let it all go,” Scott, 58, told Runner’s World. “That’s what running has become for me: A catharsis. A way to deal with the grief of losing both my parents within five days of each other. A way to try to understand I’ll never talk to them again. If I don’t run, I know it will all get stuck.”

While this particular run took on new meaning for her, it wasn’t all that out of the ordinary; the New Orleans native has been running every single day since last Thanksgiving.

Scott had always enjoyed walking—she actually walked two full marathons after she turned 50. But five years ago, when she was 53, she felt she could benefit from a challenge, so she added running into the mix. When Scott was able to run more consistently, she decided she wanted to run a marathon, and she picked the 2017 Rock & Roll Marathon in New Orleans in honor of her hometown. She had moved to Columbus, Ohio in 2009, where she’s employed as a dietitian, but she always missed her parents, Bernadine and Arthur Moran, who still lived in the New Orleans. Her mother was so happy about the marathon that she put together a uniquely New Orleans bash—a crawfish boil for the whole extended family.

“Here I am, barely able to walk, and she’s having a party for me,” Scott said. “That was my parents. They celebrated everything I did—they were so supportive even when they didn’t quite understand what I was doing.”

Moran was so proud of Scott for her marathons that her she had a habit of asking random runners in New Orleans if they knew Scott.

“She acted like I was famous, like everybody should know me. I tried to tell her that’s not the case, but she never stopped doing it.”

As a way to keep challenging herself, Scott tried a streak in 2017; she made it four days before stopping. The second time, in 2018, she got up to 14 days.

“I thought it would be easier to do than it was,” she said. “That’s when I realized this really does take commitment. This is about mindset. So, I thought I’d give it one more shot.”

She chose the Runner’s World Thanksgiving to New Year’s streak in 2019, and the third time ended up being the charm, since it stuck. Once the calendar turned to 2020, she made a new resolution to run every day of the new year. And she’s stayed with it, although it’s been the most heartbreaking, soul-challenging year of her life.

[Run faster, stronger, and longer with this 360-degree training program.]

Even if it’s 11:15 p.m. and she feels like breaking the streak, she goes anyway, calling it her “prayer and pavement therapy.” Often, she thinks about her parents while running, and about the week that changed everything.

Ever since moving to Ohio, Scott called to her parents every Monday evening—they’d both be on the line, her father talking about his latest golf round, her mother chatting about cooking. But on March 23, neither picked up the phone.

Concerned, Scott asked an uncle who lived close to them in New Orleans to check in after another day had passed without contact. Although both her parents were in good health, Scott knew how much of a coronavirus pandemic hotspot the area had become, and her mother told her the week before that they hadn’t been feeling well recently. Scott’s uncle went to Bernadine and Arthur’s house, but when they didn’t answer the door, he broke it down, finding them both collapsed and Bernadine nearly incoherent.

Although Bernadine was taken to the hospital, the paramedics assessed Arthur and determined he could stay home to recover—but he passed in his sleep that night. Bernadine, who never became lucid again and had to be put on a ventilator, declined quickly despite aggressive measures in the intensive care unit. On April 1, a physician let Scott know the prognosis was very poor due to lack of oxygen to the brain during the time she’d been collapsed at home.

When the decision was made to remove Bernadine from the ventilator, a nurse gowned up and held her own phone up so Scott could talk to her and pray over her one last time. Thirty minutes later, Bernadine passed.

Then, as she’d done every day since last Thanksgiving, Scott went for a run. Despite running alone, Scott said she’s not doing this by herself.

“As I thought about how running has helped me cope with the grief of losing my parents, I’ve been reflecting on the relationships of my running community,” she said. “There has not been a day since they died that someone from Marathoners in Training or Black Girls Run didn’t call or text me to see if I needed anything or offer condolences.”

One of her Black Girls Run! sisters dropped off a “runner pandemic grief package” of gummies, hand sanitizer, and a face mask. Some runners call when they know she’s running so they can be on the phone with her during her mile. One of the Marathoners in Training pacers texted Scott every day for five weeks just to say she was thinking of and praying for her.

“Those are the intangibles that go beyond helping you make a PR or picking out the best training plan,” she said. “I love this community.”

Without her “prayer and pavement,” Scott believes she would struggle with simply getting out of bed every morning. She had a tough time getting through Mother’s Day, and she’s dreading the upcoming Father’s Day. Like all her relatives, she didn’t even get to say goodbye at their shared funeral—it was held over livestream—and she has to stop herself from calling them every Monday.

“You have to do something to get through grief, you need an outlet,” she said. “Prayer helps me turn inward, but running helps me get it out.”

Little did Scott know that taking up running five years ago would have such an impact on her life.

“Not only has running helped me grieve, but I think it helped me prepare for this time as well,” she said. “It created a way for me to cope and have better emotional health going into this.

(06/13/20) Views: 33
Elizabeth Millard

World-class athletics at Weltklasse – and across the globe – at Zurich’s Inspiration Games

With Weltklasse Zurich unable to go ahead as planned this year, innovation-driven meeting organisers have instead launched the 'Inspiration Games', a border-spanning Wanda Diamond League exhibition event to be held on 9 July.

The 'Weltklasse Zurich Inspiration Games' will see 30 track and field superstars compete across eight disciplines in an innovative team event spanning seven stadiums and three continents. The aim is not only to provide live sport for athletics fans across the world, but also to inspire the next generation.

As host of the Wanda Diamond League Final, Weltklasse had expected to welcome the world's biggest athletics stars to Zurich this year. But with this year's edition cancelled due to the ongoing coronavirus crisis, Swiss fans will now have to wait until 2021 and 2022 for the three-day series finale to return to the city.

Instead, Zurich plans to take itself to the world on 9 July, by hosting an innovative new live team event, with dozens of athletes competing simultaneously in different venues across the globe.

"We want to offer fans what they have long been yearning for: a world class live athletics event," said meeting director Christoph Joho.

Three-way clashes

The innovative format will see the world's best athletes line up in a series of three-way clashes between Europe, the USA and the rest of the world. In the 150m, for example, Bahamian Olympic 400m champion and 200m Diamond League champion Shaunae Miller-Uibo will take on US star and six-time Olympic champion Allyson Felix and Switzerland's world bronze medallist Mujinga Kambundi. While Kambundji will burst out of the blocks in Zurich, Felix will compete in Walnut, California, and Miller-Uibo in Miramar, Florida.

Innovative broadcasting

The format, developed in co-peration with World Athletics, the Wanda Diamond League, Swiss Timing and broadcaster SRG SSR, will also showcase traditional athletics from a completely new angle thanks to a unique, specially designed broadcast to be produced by SRG SSR and beamed out across the world.

"To simultaneously broadcast three different venues in each discipline will certainly be a technical challenge," said Karin Nussbaumer, SRG SSR's national coordinator. "Time delays will have to be corrected so that everything is synchronised for the viewer. It is highly demanding to organise such a broadcast."

Inspiration

Yet overcoming challenges is precisely what the Inspiration Games are about, says meeting director Andreas Hediger. The event will be the second part of Weltklasse's 'Inspiration Series', which began with the nationwide 'OneMillionRun' event involving 80,000 Swiss residents in May.

"Both projects are about giving a positive signal and overcoming hurdles," said Hediger. "National and international stars such as Kambundji, Miller-Uibo and Felix are important role models in this respect. They can show the youngsters just how far you can go if you never stop improving, dreaming and believing in yourself."

(06/13/20) Views: 33
World Athletics

Two-thirds of Tokyo’s corporate sponsors are undecided on whether to continue supporting the Games

Two-thirds of Tokyo 2020's corporate sponsors are undecided on whether to continue supporting the Games now the event has been pushed to 2021, according to a new survey.

In the poll published late Thursday by Japanese public broadcaster NHK, 65 percent of the sponsors surveyed said they had not made up their minds about whether to extend their financial backing for another year.

According to NHK, some companies voiced concerns that their promotional activities around the Games could be curtailed due to crowd-reduction measures imposed against the coronavirus.

They were also worried the Games could be scrapped altogether, with several senior Olympic officials saying the Tokyo Olympics must take place next year or not at all.

Many also said they had not decided whether to extend their sponsorship because they had not yet opened negotiations with the organisers -- suggesting they may be open to persuasion.

Tokyo CEO Toshiro Muto revealed later Friday that the organising committee had not contacted the sponsors due to the coronavirus state of emergency that was declared in Japan just after the Games were postponed in late March.

However, he sought to ease their concerns that the Games would not take place.

"I don't think there is anyone who can really promise that the Olympics and Paralympics will be held in 2021 for sure -- 100 percent in any circumstance," he admitted.

But he stressed that the sponsors should be assured of the "commitment and dedication" from the organising committee to "somehow holding the Olympics."

More than two-thirds (68 percent) of respondents said coronavirus had taken a toll on their own financial situation, as Olympic organisers face having to fund the unprecedented postponement of the Games.

Muto again refused to put a price tag on the additional costs of postponing the Games by one year, but the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has set aside $800 million.

According to the latest budget, the Games were due to cost $12.6 billion, shared between the organising committee, the government of Japan and Tokyo city.

Tokyo 2020 "Gold" sponsors include such Japanese household names as Canon, NEC and Asahi Breweries, while car giant Toyota is a worldwide Olympic sponsor.

According to the latest version of the Tokyo 2020 budget, local sponsorship was due to bring in $3.3 billion, more than half the projected revenues of $5.9 billion.

Since the postponement, officials have been stressing the need to slim down the Games, both in terms of costs and organisation.

IOC President Thomas Bach told AFP in an interview this week they were searching for ways to "simplify the organisation of the Games, how we can reduce the complexity of the Games, how we can save costs for these postponed Games".

Muto said there were 200 proposals on the table for simplifying the Olympics, but again refused to give further details.

For its survey, NHK surveyed 78 Olympic and Paralympic sponsors, receiving responses from 57.

Muto also announced on Friday that 80 percent of venues had been secured for the postponed Games and negotiations were ongoing for the rest, including the Athletes' Village and the proposed site for the media.

He refused to say which venues were still under negotiation.

(06/13/20) Views: 32

Quarantine Backyard Ultra will return in July

The virtual ultramarathon that captured the attention of runners around the world is coming back in July for Round Two

The Quarantine Backyard Ultra was quite possibly the biggest race of 2020 so far, not only garnering attention from runners, but breaking into mainstream media coverage with stories in the New York Times, Washington Post and Sports Illustrated, among many other publications. The race directing team, Gather Virtual, has announced that the race is making a return on July 11, and they hope to make it even better than before. Just like the first time around, the race is free to enter, and it will follow the same last-runner-standing format, which inspired the event’s new tagline: “All will DNF but one.”

Backyard ultra format

The format for the Quarantine Backyard Ultra is simple. The first bell will ring at 7 a.m. MDT on July 11, starting the first lap of many. Runners have an hour to complete each lap, which will be 6.706K.

As was the case in the first event, which was held in April, runners will have the choice to run either inside on their treadmill or outside near their homes. Some runners competing in the April race couldn’t run outside due to coronavirus restrictions in their countries but also didn’t have treadmills, so they ran around inside their homes to complete each lap. It doesn’t matter where athletes run, as long as they cover 6.706K before each hour is up.

All competitors have to video in on Zoom, and this way, once they finish each lap, they can prove they ran the right distance by showing their treadmill or GPS data to the camera. Once an athlete finishes a lap, he or she can rest, eat, or do whatever they like for the remainder of the hour. They just have to make sure to be ready to run when the bell goes at the top of the next hour. The last runner standing is the winner.

Mike Wardian of the U.S. won the first Quarantine Backyard Ultra in a 63-hour-long battle with Czech runner Radek Brunner. Wardian ran 422K to take the win over Brunner, who missed the start of the 63rd lap and was therefore disqualified.

Round Two

“A second race wasn’t initially in the cards,” says Stephanie Gillis-Paulgaard, one of the members of the Gather Virtual team who helped create and run the Quarantine Backyard Ultra. “Then people started reaching out and lots of people were asking if we’d do it again. They were even asking during the race.”

When they saw that more and more summer races were getting cancelled due to COVID-19, Gillis-Paulgaard says they decided to have another run at the Quarantine Backyard Ultra.

“In a very short time-frame of two weeks, we threw that first race together and kind of crossed our fingers and hoped for the best,” Gillis-Paulgaard says. “We just thought it would be fun and unique.”

Despite the limited time to plan for the first race, they still managed to attract over 2,400 participants from more than 50 countries. Now, they have two months to promote and prepare for the event, and after all the good press the first race received, the Quarantine Backyard Ultra is a name that many people across the world know.

Registration for Part Two of the biggest running sensation of 2020 opens today, and runners can sign up for free here until July 10, 24 hours before the first bell.

(06/14/20) Views: 32
Running Magazine