Running News Daily
Top Ten Stories of the Week
5/26/2018

Is Yuki Kawauchi's secret weapon doing long distance runs at a slow pace? He ran 44 mile race Sunday

2018 Boston Marathon winner, Japan’s Yuki Kawauchi, won the Yatsugatake Nobeyama 71K ultramarathon in Nagano, Japan Sunday May 20, taking more than six minutes off the course record in the process.

His winning time was 4:41:55 (6:23/mile for 44.1 miles).  He won by more than half an hour.  According to Japan Running News, Kawauchi is training for the Stockholm marathon, which is June 2. 

Yuki finished sixth place there last year. This was the longest race of Kawauchi’s career so far. Kawauchi is famously unusual in his incorporation of over-distance training at a slow pace into his training, something few world-major elites do.

Some believe it’s his secret weapon, though others are skeptical of its value in marathon training.  

(05/21/18) Views: 2,189

Catching Up with Sarah Sellers, her life has changed since placing Second in Boston

The last time we checked on Sarah Sellers, she was being deluged with worldwide media requests and coping with overnight fame in the wake of her stunning second-place finish in the Boston Marathon.

More than a month later, the nurse who came out of nowhere to defeat world and Olympic medalists in the world’s most famous road race is still riding the wave she created in Boston.

She now has her own Wikipedia page, an agent, a weekly podcast and a shoe deal. She has an invitation to ride the lead float in a Phoenix parade this fall.

She has received calls from Oakley and Timex, among other companies, about endorsing their products. And the interviews continue. During the broadcast of the London Marathon, she got up in the middle of the night to do live interviews for BBC radio and TV (after performing jumping jacks to wake herself).  

Sellers has been invited to run road races on the pro circuit, and this time she won’t have to pay her entry fee or expenses, as she famously did at Boston. Her first post-Boston race will be the New York Mini 10K (all women) on June 9; her second will be Salt Lake’s Deseret News 10K in July.

She hasn’t chosen her next marathon, but she has an offer from the Gold Coast Marathon in Australia, among others. Sellers is a hot commodity in running circles and her anonymity is long gone. 

Hey, aren’t you that marathoner? According to her agent, Bob Wood, Sellers had 6.9 million Google searches for her name the first two days after the Boston race. “It’s been a life-changing thing,” says Wood.

“She’s got so many people who want a piece of her, and she’s been very accommodating.” Sellers, an Ogden native, has returned to work as a nurse anesthetist at Banner-University Hospital in Tucson, while also training at an elite level for professional road races.

She still does her training runs at 4 a.m. before she goes to work, and, if she is doubling that day, she’ll run again in the evening after work. When she isn’t running or working, she’s trying to respond to the demands of fame.

“I’m just trying to respond to all the messages,” she says. “Sometimes I feel like I’m making progress, but I’m not. It’s been good and exciting, but this is added on top of trying to work full time and train. It’s not sustainable.”

(05/22/18) Views: 617
Doug Robinson/ Deseret News

America’s Best Distance Runner Galen Rupp is misunderstood by many other runners

Writing for Outside, Martin Fritz Huber ponders the lack of warmth some in the running community feel for two-time Olympic medalist Galen Rupp. Here is Huber's piece, which begins this way: "He's the best American runner in generation. Too bad nobody likes him." I have trouble right away with the premise because, ahem, I like him. Huber suggests Rupp's relative lack of popularity within the running community stems from media inaccessibility, a deficit of charisma and for being part of the Nike Oregon Project, which some believe pushes the boundaries of the rules.  The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, for instance, has had the Oregon Project and coach Alberto Salazar under investigation for at least three years without uncovering enough evidence to make a case. Huber cites a LetsRun.com piece which consulted six experts, including Kara Goucher, Danny Mackey, Steve Magness and three coaches who chose not to be identified, about several topics leading into the Boston Marathon. Only one was quoted as being willing to root for Rupp in the race. At the risk of belaboring the obvious, asking Goucher, Mackey and Magness whether they would root for Rupp or the Oregon Project is like asking three Fenway Park season ticket-holders if they will root for the Yankees. I don't have trouble getting interviews with Rupp, perhaps because I haven't jumped to conclusions about the circumstantial and anecdotal allegations made against him and Salazar.  I find Rupp, who starred at Central Catholic and the University of Oregon, to be very smart, very focused, very competitive, very religious, a little shy, and not all that interested in seeing his name in headlines.  And, let's face it, he and Salazar have been used as punching bags, both in the British tabloid press and on the LetsRun message boards, where anybody with an uninformed opinion and/or an axe to grind can hide behind a pseudonym and bash away. Rupp can be warm when he doesn't feel threatened, and remains exceedingly popular at Hayward Field, where he starred as a Duck and has run regularly since turning pro. (Editor note: the stories we post here about Galen are the most popular.)  (05/19/18) Views: 362
Ken Goe/ Oregon Live

Strong elite women's field set for World 10K Bengaluru 2018 on Sunday

A strong women's field with elite runners from across the globe has been assembled to challenge Ethiopias IAAF World Half Marathon Valencia 2018 winner Netsanet Gudeta at the TCS World 10K Bengaluru 2018 Sunday. Gudeta's rivals this weekend will include the Kenyan pair of Agnes Tirop and Pauline Kamulu. Tirop, still only 22, won the 2015 world cross country title and has proven herself to be a formidable competitor on the track as well. She won the IAAF World Championships 10,000 metre bronze medal in London last summer and showed she is in excellent form earlier this month when she finished second over 3000m at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Doha with a personal best of 8:29.09. Kamulu, 23, has spent several years based in Japan but this will be her first trip to India. She surprised many when she took the bronze medal at the IAAF World Half Marathon Valencia 2018. A third Kenyan, Caroline Kipkirui, doesn't have the international championships credentials of her two compatriots but has shown stunning form recently while winning the Doha 3000m in a personal best of 8:29.05 and also running a 10km best of 30:28 when finishing second in Prague last month, which makes her the fastest woman in Bengaluru and the equal-seventh fastest ever. (05/21/18) Views: 83

Love it or hate it, The 107th annual Bay to Breakers is this Sunday in San Francisco

Love it or hate it, Bay to Breakers is a San Francisco staple and is returning on Sunday — costumed runners, half-naked dance parties and all. The 12k-course, or almost 7.5 miles, goes from downtown to Ocean Beach, passing through distinct areas like Hayes Valley, Golden Gate Park, and the Sunset.

If you’re looking to get out of your usual neighborhoods with runners in tutus, inflatable donuts and dressed as a Bloody Mary along the way, this is the place to do it. Whether you’re running, participating without actually running, people watching, or just trying to avoid the madness, here are some things to know about Bay to Breakers this Sunday: 

1. Runners can show up at 6 a.m. but will make their break from the bay starting at 8 a.m. The race starts off at Howard and Main streets. The route largely uses Howard, Hayes, and Fell streets before taking up John F. Kennedy Drive in Golden Gate Park and ending at Ocean Beach. 

2. The starting line just a couple blocks from Embarcadero station, where BART and Muni will be shuttling people in and out.  Because of the street closures, the SFMTA warns that there are only two options to cross the flow of runners is the Embarcadero and Crossover Drive, which is the road in Golden Gate Park linking 19th and 25th avenues. 

3. Weather - Jackets may not be feasible with some wacky costumes but it would come in handy. It’s expected to be windy, partly cloudy and with temperatures in the low 60s.  

(05/18/18) Views: 76
Ida Mojadad/ SF Weekly

Running makes me a better mom, a better partner, a better human says Melissa Chamberlain

Melissa Chamberlain always thought marathon runners were nuts. She certainly never thought she'd become one. "I was not born to run," said Chamberlain. "I didn't like running. I didn't like sweating. I didn't like being outside." But she also was looking for a way to stay in shape. Despite the time crunch that comes with being a working mom, she started small and realized she kind of liked it. "I did the Shamrock 5K in 2010 and that was my first 5K and then I got bit by the bug," said Chamberlain. "I just do it for fun. I do it to stay healthy. I like to run to show the kids that it's important to train for something and stick with it." She ran the Cleveland half Marathon on Sunday May 20th for the seventh time since 2010. "I have always aspired to be one of those runners that has a training plan and sticks to it every single day, but life happens and kids get sick and extracurricular things happen and you just can't always get out when you want to, so you just do the best you can," said Chamberlain.  Whether it's getting a run in on her lunch break or logging some miles on the weekend at Stevens Park in Niles, she says one of the most important parts behind all of this is simply getting some "me" time. "You just have to kind of make that time for yourself. And I honestly think it makes me a better mom. It makes me a better partner. It makes me a better human because I get that time to do something that I really love and then I can get back to life," said Chamberlain. She fully admits that she's not the fastest person out there; she walks when she has to and isn't worried about competing for a win. For her, it's about the experience on race day. (05/21/18) Views: 73

Mary Etta Boitano's Mother smashed the world 5K record for 94-year-olds

My 94 year old mother just grabbed the women’s world age group record in the 5k for 94 year olds. She smashed the world record held by Betty Ashley from Tampa, Florida set in February of 2016. In this picture, she is nearly half way to the finish line and going strong. I am so proud to call her my momma. She will turn 95 in July and there are more distance records she can now chase. Check out the web site at ARRS.net. We are just now hoping the course was certified and from what we heard, it was.  Her time was 1:13:24.9 at the 2018 Marin Greek Festival Walk and Run held Saturday May 19th.  (Editor's note: Mary Etta has run over 150,000 miles and has been running races since she was four.  She ran 50 marthons before she was 12.  In 1973 she was the overall winner at the Dipsea.  She was 10.  She won the Bay To Breakers and many other races.  Her mother has always been so proud of her daughter and now they can celebrate this world record together.)  (05/21/18) Views: 65
Mary Etta Boitano Blanchard

Joan Benoit Samuelson Track in Freeport Maine was officially opened today

I had the pleasure of attending the dedication of the Joan Benoit Samuelson Track at Freeport High School in Freeport, Maine this afternoon.  A well-deserved honor for America’s most loved, respected and admired female marathoner of all time!!  And kudos to Nike for donating $1.3 million to help finance the entire project…wow.   Hundred’s and thousand’s of young athletes will now be the beneficiary of this display of unselfish goodwill by Joanie, the local track committee and by Nike.  We all took a lap around the track together after Joanie “cut the ribbon” to officially open up the facility. Pretty inspiring.  (Editor’s note. Joanie won the first women’s Olympic Marathon in 1984.  David is the director of the Boston Marathon.) (05/19/18) Views: 61
David McGillivray

Mo Farah and Tirunesh Dibaba win Great Manchester 10K Sunday May 20

Britain's Olympic and world 10,000m champion Mo Farah said he felt "tired" after his first victory in the 10km Great Manchester Run. Farah, who finished third at the London Marathon last month, raced past Ugandan Moses Kipsiro with 100 metres left to win in 28 minutes 27 seconds. Abel Kirui of Kenya finished third, 25 seconds behind Farah. Ethiopian Tirunesh Dibaba won her third straight women's race, well ahead of Kenya's Joyciline Jepkosgei.  

Farah, who was appearing in the race for the first time since 2007, took part in a minute's silence before the race in tribute to the 22 people who died in last year's Manchester Arena bombing. For most of the race, the 35-year-old looked comfortable in warm conditions as he kicked past Kipsiro with 100 metres to go. But he said he was still recovering from breaking the British record at last month's marathon - his first event over the distance since switching his focus to road racing.

"I've got great speed and I know that at the end of the races I can use it if the guys haven't hurt me enough, so today was a matter of hanging in there," he told BBC Sport. "I was pretty tired. Having competed in the marathon not so long ago, today was hard work."

(05/20/18) Views: 57

World marathon record holder Mary Keitany of Kenya will return to action at New York Mini 10km race

World marathon record holder Mary Keitany of Kenya will return to action on June 9 in New York just two months after failing to improve on her mark at the London Marathon. Keitany is the reigning champion for the New York Mini 10K and hopes she has returned to her best after suffering fatigue for pushing too fast her quest for the world marathon record in London on April 22. The Kenyan won the New York Mini 10km race on two occasions in 2015 and 2017. "The New York Mini 10km is a very special race for me, not only because I have been able to win it twice, but because it is so special to see so many women of all ages and abilities running together," Keitany said. "I hope that I am able to inspire them as much as they inspire me," she added. Runners in New York will vie for a first-place prize of 10,000 U.S. dollars in the open division. But Keitany is only keen to gauge her body after suffering exhaustion in London Marathon. "I have gotten over my frustrations from London Marathon. I still feel I can run faster, but after the experience in my last race, it will be important to take each day at a time and focus on the task ahead that is to win the New York Mini 10km race," she said on Tuesday from her training base, In Iten Kenya.   (05/22/18) Views: 56