Running News Daily
Top Ten Stories of the Week
10/17/2020
These are the top ten stories based on views over the last week.
Head coach Patrick Makau is confident that Kenya will dominate World Half Marathon Championships
Head coach Patrick Makau is confident that his team for the World Half Marathon Championships due Saturday in Gdynia, Poland will win both the team and individual titles.
Makau, who won silver medals at the 2007 Udine and 2008 Rio de Janeiro editions, said he is aware of stiff competition and the adverse weather that awaits them in Poland.
Makau said defending champion Geoffrey Kamworor might be missing in action but reckons that the selected team led by Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) and Prague Half Marathon champion Kibiwott Kandie and 2017 World Cross Country Championships silver medallist Leonard Barsoton is equal to the task.
Makau, a former world marathon record holder, indicated that the women’s team is the finest ever with on form 2016 world half champion Peres Jepchirchir back in the team and Joycilline Jepkosgei out to make amends after settling for silver in Valencia 2018.
“This is a strong team and I can tell you the athletes are focused on the task ahead. They are determined to deliver,” said Makau.
Kamworor sealed his third consecutive title when he won in Valencia in 2018 in 1:00:02 as compatriots Barsaton, Barselius Kipyego and Jorum Okombo finished 12th, 15th and 18th. Alex Oloitiptip failed to finish the race.
Jepkosgei and Pauline Kaveke failed the test, settling for silver and bronze in Valencia as Netsanet Gudeta claimed victory not only in championship record but also in women’s only world record time of 1:06:11.
Kenya would also lose the team titles to Ethiopia.
“Kandie posted a world lead in half marathon with victory in 58:38 in Prague, Czech in September. This goes without saying that he will be the man to watch. We shall really bank on Barsaton’s experience,” Makau said adding that Bernard Kipkorir (59:07), Bernard Kimeli (59:07) and Morris Munene (59:22) also look strong by virtue of having good times.
Makau noted that even though the women’s team will be under pressure to deliver with the defending champion coming from Ethiopia, having Jepchirchir, who is fresh from setting a new women’s only world record in Prague with a time of 1:05:34, is a major boost.
“Peres is back and looks stronger after maternity leave and is eager to reclaim her title. One can easily see the hunger in Joyciline that she is ready to upgrade her silver to something better this time around,” said Makau. “They are ready to neutralise the weather and any challenge posed.”
(10/13/20) Views: 85Ayumba Ayodi
Yuma Hattori is set to Run Fukuoka International Marathon and set a new japanese record on december 6
On Oct. 9 it was learned that Tokyo Olympics men's marathon team member Yuma Hattori (26, Toyota) will run the Dec. 6 Fukuoka International Marathon. It will be the first time a member of either the men's or women's Olympic marathon squads will have run a marathon since the teams were finalized.
For Hattori himself it will be his first marathon since taking 2nd at the Olympic marathon trials in September last year. His goal is to run 2:05.
According to an involved source, Hattori chose Fukuoka as his pre-Olympic marathon because he is familiar with the course from his victory there two years ago. He has already committed to running Fukuoka and has done multiple 40 km runs in preparation.
On Oct. 9 Hattori ran the 10000 m at the Chubu Jitsugyodan Track and Field Championships. With a goal of running 28:30 he ran 28:16.28. Hattori was positive about his run saying, "My time was good. So was the way I ran."
In the summer he focused on improving his speed, breaking 28 minutes for 10000 m for the first time and then bettering that with a 27:47.55 in mid-September, the fastest time by a Japanese man this year. Looking toward a successful return to Fukuoka, Hattori said, "I want to focus all my training on being ready to break the Japanese national record (2:05:29)."
(10/10/20) Views: 70Brett Larner
Tokyo marathon 2021 has been postponed until after Olympics
Next year's Tokyo marathon has been postponed until after the delayed 2020 Olympics, organizers said Friday (Oct 9), as the coronavirus pandemic continues to impact sporting events across the world.
The race was originally set to take place on Mar 7 and include around 38,000 runners, including top athletes.
But with restricted entry into the country and rules around big events, it is now being pushed back to Oct 17 "due to various restrictions related to the new coronavirus", a spokesman for the Tokyo Marathon Foundation told AFP.
Marathons worldwide were cancelled or severely scaled back this year as the deadly new disease spread.
The 2020 Tokyo marathon was held in March with a reduced field of around 200 elite runners.
The spokesman said holding the marathon later in 2021 could allow a larger race to take place, but added that the number of entrants was yet to be decided.
The news comes as questions swirl about how and whether the Olympics, also forced back a year by the COVID-19 crisis, will go forward.
(10/09/20) Views: 59
Khapilina and Sbaai break course records at the Wizz Air Sofia Marathon
Viktoriya Khapilina and Youssef Sbaai came out on top at the Wizz Air Sofia Marathon on Sunday (11), winning the World Athletics Bronze Label road race in course records of 2:27:57 and 2:13:03 respectively.
Khapilina, who warmed up for this race with a 1:12:24 half marathon PB in Kovel last month, was part of a five-woman pack during the early stages. The Ukrainian passed through 10km in 35:08 alongside Kenyan trio Naom Jebet, Cynthia Kosgei and Marta Akeno as well as Uganda’s Clementine Mukadanga.
Running well inside the pace required to break the course record (2:32:35), Khaplina, Jebet, Kosgei and Akeno maintained their tempo to reach half way in 1:14:13. Mukadanga had drifted back, while Japan’s Haruka Yamaguchi had broken away from USA’s Jane Bareikis to reach the half-way point in 1:16:15.
Khapilina and Jebet increased the pace, leaving Kosgei and Akeno to fall off the lead pack. At 30km, reached in 1:45:01, the lead duo had a 51-second margin over the chasers with Yamaguchi a further two minutes in arrears.
Jebet struggled to keep up with Khapilina in the closing stages as the Ukrainian went on to win in 2:27:57, taking six seconds off the PB she set when winning the Krakow Marathon last year. Jebet finished second in 2:28:41 while Kosgei held on to third place in 2:32:10, all three women finishing well inside the previous course record. Yamaguchi came through for fourth place in 2:32:49.
The men’s race was even closer as Moroccan duo Youssef Sbaai and Radouan Nouini were given the same time at the finish with Sbaai given the verdict.
A group of seven men went through the opening 10km in 31:41, and six of them – Sbaai, Nouini, Mohamed Ali of the Netherlands, and Kenyan trio Duncan Koech, Jonathan Maiyo and Victor Chelokoi – were still in contention at the half-way point, reached in 1:06:46.
The pace then increased and Koech, Maiyo and Chelokoi fell out of the lead pack. Ali did likewise just before the 30km checkpoint, leaving the Moroccan duo to pass that marker in 1:34:04.
Locked in a duel for victory, Sbaai and Nouini forged ahead in the final 10 kilometres and opened up a significant gap on the chasers. Still neck-and-neck in their sprint for the finish line, they crossed the line almost together with Sbaai just getting the edge on his younger compatriot, both clocking 2:13:03.
The winning time is a course record, although the race record – set on a different course – still stands to Khristo Stefanov with his 2:11:26 clocking from 1997.
Ali finished third in 2:16:21 with Koech taking fourth place in 2:17:09, finishing 40 seconds ahead of Uladzislau Pramau of Belarus. Maiyo, competing for the first time in five years, was sixth in 2:22:32.
(10/11/20) Views: 58World Athletics
Shalane Flanagan’s Favorite Marathon Training Meal
This recipe from Elyse Kopecky is a nutritional powerhouse.
When Shalane Flanagan traveled to Bend, Oregon, to kick off recipe testing for Run Fast. Cook Fast. Eat Slow. with me, this Thai Quinoa Salad was the very first recipe to come out of the kitchen.
It was love at first bite. We continued to tweak the recipe, not because it needed much work, but because we secretly wanted an excuse to make it time and again. This is the salad Shalane made on a near weekly basis while training for the 2017 NYC Marathon and 2018 Boston Marathon.
We highly recommend the use of fish sauce (a store-bought condiment) to give the salad a true Thai-inspired umami kick, but if you’re vegan or vegetarian, the salad is crown-worthy made with just soy sauce.
Make this salad on a Sunday night for work lunches all week long or serve as a side dish with a juicy, grilled steak for a dinner set to impress.
Thai Quinoa Salad
SERVES: 5
Ingredients
1 cup quinoa, rinsed and drained
2 cups thinly sliced purple cabbage
3 green onions, white and green parts sliced
1 cup packed mint leaves, chopped (cilantro works too)
1 cup packed basil leaves, chopped
1 jalapeño or serrano pepper, seeds removed, minced (optional)
½ cup roasted peanuts, chopped
Dressing
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
â…“ cup fresh lime juice (2 to 3 limes)
2 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari
2 tablespoons honey (or maple syrup)
1 tablespoon fish sauce (such as Red Boat)
DIRECTIONS
STEP 1
Here is a foolproof method to cook quinoa: In a medium saucepan over high heat, bring to a boil 1½ cups water and the quinoa. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes or until all the water has been absorbed. Transfer to a large salad bowl, fluff with a fork, and set aside to cool.
STEP 2
Meanwhile, put the olive oil, lime juice, soy sauce or tamari, honey, and fish sauce (if using) in a glass jar or bowl and stir to combine.
STEP 3
Once the quinoa is cool, add the carrots, cabbage, onion, mint, basil, and pepper (if using) to the bowl and toss to combine. Add the dressing and toss again. Taste and, if needed, add more fish sauce or soy sauce.
STEP 4
Top with the peanuts. Chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour or until ready to serve.
This salad will stay fresh in airtight glass containers in the fridge for up to 5 days.
(10/11/20) Views: 57Women’s Running
Sifan Hassan Runs 29:36 To Shatter Paula Radcliffe’s 30:01 European Record
The first FBK After Summer Competition track and field / atheltics meeting was held tonight in Hengelo. On a cool (high 40s) and rainy night, Faith Kipyegon came up well short of her goal in of the women’s 1000 world record of 2:28.98 as she ran just 2:32.82. Yomif Kejelcha (13:12.84) and Stewart McSweyn (13:16.05) were also nowhere near their goals of a pb in the 5000.
The story of the night belonged to reigning world 1,500 and 10,000 champ Sifan Hassan. She attacked Almaz Ayana’s 29:17.45 world record as she went out in 14:37 before fading to a European record time of 29:36.67, as Paula Radcliffe‘s European record of 30:01.09 which had stood since 2002 was destroyed. Outdoors, she is now the 6th fastest women in history at 1500, 9th fastest ever at 5000, 4th fastest ever at 10,000, and 10th fastest ever at the half marathon.
Let’s Run
What the fastest runners can learn from Joshua Cheptegei
Joshua Cheptegei made history on Wednesday when he set the 10,000m world record with a 26:11.00 run in Valencia. Cheptegei is arguably the best runner alive, and while he is riding an incredible high right now, it wasn’t long ago that he faced an enormous low after a massive mid-race collapse in 2017. Refusing to let this derail his career, Cheptegei pushed forward, and that is why he made it to where he is today.
While you probably won’t ever come close to Cheptegei’s level, that doesn’t mean you can’t learn from his career. If you’re facing disappointments or tough times in running, channel your inner Cheptegei and trust that you’ll eventually climb out of this rut.
In front of a home crowd at the 2017 World Cross Country Championships in Kampala, Uganda, Cheptegei, then 20 years old, was on his way to the biggest win of his young career. Cheptegei had led for most of the race, and he had a 50-metre lead on Kenya’s Geoffrey Kamworor in second place. With less than a kilometre to go and the championship within reach, Cheptegei began to unravel, and he was eventually passed, not just by Kamworor, but by the next 28 runners as well. It was one of the biggest implosions in running history, and Cheptegei went from first place to 30th in the blink of an eye.
Many people would have let this result define them, but not Cheptegei. Later that same year, he ran to a silver medal in the 10,000m at the world championships. In 2018, he won gold in the 5,000m and 10,000m at the Commonwealth Games, and he ended the year with the 15K world record. The following year, he upped his game once more, first redeeming himself with a win at the World Cross Country Championships in Denmark, then winning 10,000m world championship gold in Doha. His finale for 2019 was another world-record performance, this time in the 10K (although his mark was bettered by Rhonex Kipruto in early 2020).
Finally, in 2020 — the season that almost didn’t happen because of COVID-19 — Cheptegei had the year of his life, breaking world records in the 5K on the road in February, the 5,000m in August and then the 10,000m on Wednesday.
Odds are that you won’t have a collapse like Cheptegei did in Kampala in 2017, but even if you do, he’s proof that you can recover from it. Everyone will have slumps in their careers, whether in training or racing or both. But if you believe in your training and trust in your abilities, you’ll eventually leave those troubles behind, replacing them with PBs, race wins and great results.
(10/12/20) Views: 54Ben Snider-McGrath
Callum Hawkins, Charlotte Purdue and Stephanie Davis withdraw from World half Marathon Championships
Ahead of next week’s World Half Marathon Championships in Gdynia, Poland, British Athletics can confirm that Callum Hawkins (coach: Robert Hawkins; club: Kilbarchan), Charlotte Purdue (Nic Bideau; Aldershot, Farnham & District) and Stephanie Davis (Phillip Kissi; Clapham Chasers) have all been forced to withdraw from the British team.
Hawkins, the European half marathon leader, was due to make his first appearance at the Championships since the 2016 World Half in Cardiff, where he claimed an individual 15th position, and earlier in the week, clocked 14:05 over 5k in the Fast 5K at Aston-in-Makerfield.
He will be replaced in the team by fellow Scotsman Adam Craig (Steve Vernon; Inverclyde), who will make his British debut on the roads next week. In his maiden half marathon in Antrim last month, the 25-year-old clocked 63:24 to move 13th on the British half marathon list for 2020.
Fellow European half marathon leader Purdue, who led the British team in Valencia’s World Half in 2018, has been forced to withdraw through injury. She clocked a season’s best of 68:23 in Marugame, Japan, back in February and was in line for a third consecutive appearance at the Championship.
Davis, who was due to make her debut at the Championships after a personal best 71:15 at the Big Half in London back in February, has also been forced to withdraw through injury. Neither athlete will be replaced in the team at this late stage.
The British team selected for the World Athletics Half Marathon Championships on October 17:
Men:
Mohamud Aadan (Paul Oppe; Thames Valley), Adam Craig (Steve Vernon; Inverclyde), Tom Evans (Andrew Hobdell; Belgrave), Kristian Jones (Dundee Hawkhill), Jake Smith (James Thie; Cardiff).
Women:
Becky Briggs (Mick Woods; City of Hull), Clara Evans (Chris Jones; Cardiff), Samantha Harrison (Vince Wilson; Notts).
(10/09/20) Views: 53
Olympian Kara Goucher, Whose Grandfather Died from COVID, Responds to Trump's 'Tone-Deaf' Comments
Olympic runner Kara Goucher is calling out President Donald Trump for his "tone-deaf" remarks downplaying the severity of COVID-19 as her grandfather was "suffering greatly" and later died from the coronavirus.
Just hours before her grandfather's death Tuesday night, the athlete joined Anderson Cooper on CNN's Full Circle to discuss her grandfather's battle with COVID-19 and how she felt "disrespected" by the president's recent comments.
After Trump was discharged from the hospital and returned to the White House Monday night, he released a video message on social media, in which he asserted that the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) — which has killed over 210,000 people in the U.S. alone — is nothing to be concerned about, in his opinion.
"One thing that's for certain: don't let it dominate you. Don't be afraid of it. You're gonna beat it. We have the best medical equipment, we have the best medicines, all developed recently. And you're gonna beat it," the 74-year-old said.
The message echoed a tweet Trump posted earlier in the day, in which he wrote: "Don’t be afraid of Covid. Don’t let it dominate your life. We have developed, under the Trump Administration, some really great drugs & knowledge. I feel better than I did 20 years ago!"
Goucher said she was packing a bag to fly to Minnesota to see her grandfather, Calvin Haworth, for "one last time" when her sister forwarded Trump's message to her.
"I just felt really disrespected, I felt like my grandfather was disrespected, I felt like all the people who have been suffering through this were disrespected," Goucher told Cooper of the president's comments, trying to hold back tears.
"It just felt so tone-deaf and just really not the right thing to say," she said. "To say ‘Don’t let it dominate your life' — this is my life. This is his life. He is literally taking his last very painful breaths."
While the Olympian said she was "glad that the president got top care," not everyone can be so lucky.
"That is not the reality for hundreds of thousands of other people and their family members," she explained. "It just felt very dismissive."
"I was just not happy about that tweet at all," she added. "[My grandfather's] life is worthy and he deserves to be respected."
Goucher told Cooper that she and Haworth had a "rich, long relationship" as he raised the athlete and her sisters after their father passed away.
The professional runner said her grandfather was "contributing to [her] life and so many other lives" through his final moments.
She expressed the importance of having compassion in times like these and to "stop making this political."
"This needs to be about compassion and caring for your fellow citizens and doing what’s right to protect other people," she said. "This is a loss that shouldn’t be happening. We should’ve been able to see him in the last seven months and we should be able to sit there and hold his hand right now and we can’t."
"Please show compassion and think of life bigger than just yourself," she concluded.
Goucher announced her grandfather's death late Tuesday night on Twitter.
"Fight on Papa," he wrote alongside a picture of her family at her wedding. "He would be overwhelmed with the support he has received from you all."
(10/11/20) Views: 53People Magazine
2020 Chicago Marathon Charities will lose Millions due to the pandemic
In 2019 a record 45,932 runners crossed the finish line and an estimated 1.7 million spectators cheered them on in the Chicago Marathon. The event generated $428 million for the local economy. Participating groups also raise a lot of money for charity. But the race will not be the same in 2020. Will the virtual event have the same impact?
Brett Geschke ran in his first Chicago Marathon in 2019. He said it was a rush like no other.
“You’re in the pen with the runner, and everyone’s got that nervous energy,” he said.
But this year COVID-19 is changing everything. The race is virtual for the first time in decades. There will be no crowds and no cheers. People run by themselves, clock a time, and cross their own finish line.
“It’s going to be a lonely existence out there for me for 26.2 miles, but I’ve got a good playlist set up,” said Geschke.
geshcke is part of a much smaller crowd than usual. He is trading the downtown streets for the lakefront trail. the Chciago Area Runners Association is running in small groups.
“This year, we had about 1000 that started the season and about 500 that are seeing it through,” said Greg Hipp, CARA Executive Director.
Staff is also seeing the downward trend in participation with those it trains who run for roughly 50 charities.
“All of the charity programs combined raise about $28 million dollars though the Chicago Marathon. With the marathon canceled, they still need support,” said Hipp.
This year charity runners were initially required to raise a minimum of about $1700.
“We started last year’s marathon with 350 people, and this year we have 167,” Hipp said.
One of the largest charities is Mercy Home, a shelter for at-risk and troubled youth in the West Loop.
“We are 100% privately funded at Mercy Home ,so it’s had a big effect on us,” said Jim Harding with Mercy House Heroes.
Last year the marathon brought in about $550,000.
“And unfortunately this year we’re at $130,000 right now,” he said.
There have been similar financial hits for more than 100 charities.
Thankfully Mercy Home says it is financially stable and able to stay on its feet as some runners sit it out during these unprecedented times.
Marathon officials said they continue to take an aggressive approach to encourage people around the world to run for a charity about which they are passionate.
The virtual marathon registration is open until Sunday.
(10/10/20) Views: 51Steven Graves
