Running News Daily
Top Ten Stories of the Week
12/18/2021
These are the top ten stories based on views over the last week.
Good times at the 4th KATA 10k Time Trial Series in Thika kenya
The Kenyan Athletics Training Academy (KATA) is concluding the year strongly after athletes posted impressive times during the 4th edition of KATA monthly 10 Kilometres Time-Trial on Wednesday morning in Thika Kenya.
The time-trial, held on a new course West of the Academy, saw Solomon Gachoka, the winner of the 2nd edition in October, clocked 29:44.23, bettering his previous time of 31:22.10 during the event that attracted 23 participants.
Solomon dislodged Elisha Tarbei, the November winner while new entrants, Evans Kibet, finished 3rd. Tarbei timed 30:05.91, chopping off 1minute and 28 seconds from his previous 31:34.45. Kibet was timed at 31:02.35.
In women, Lucy Mwende Mawia regained her footing ruling in the category just a week after returning to Kenya from Europe where she dominated her races.
She clocked 34:58.24 ahead of Catherine Njihia and Monica Njeri who finished second and third timing 36:38.86 and 44:05.20.
Both the winning times for men and women are KATA 10k Time Trial best performances for the monthly series.
Kenyan Athletics Training Academy Competition Director Joseph Ngure has hailed the results and predicted better times in future from all the Athletes.
“This is our 4th edition since the Academy was opened officially on 4th of September. All our athletes have been posting impressive times and we are expecting more next year,” summed up the Director, also a senior Middle and Long Distant coach.
Three of our elite athletes- Joel Maina, Peter Mwaniki and Lucy Mawia, fresh from winning several races in Europe, also participated in the monthly time trial.
"Our 5th edition will take place on Wednesday January 19th and will act as a warm-up for those who would be competing for the Regions on 22nd," says KATA head coach Julius.
KATA manager Florence days,"Some people want it to happen,others wish it happens,and others makes it happen. Our Kenyan athletic training academy time trial is one of a kind, where you can make it happen."
For more info of our monthly time trial please get in touch with academy manager florence at 0729074388 or 0104074388 in Thika Kenya.
December 15th KATA 10k Time Trisl Results:
1. Solomon Gachoka 29:44.23 (31)
2. Elisha Tarbei 30:05.91 (32)
3. Evans Kibet 31:02.35 (31)
4. Zakaria Kirika 31:27.60 (20)
5. Peter Kimwetich 31:34.92 (32)
6. Erick Cheruiyot 31:39.29 (26)
7. Peter Mwaniki 32:00.25 (23)
8. Alex Ekesa 32:17.41 (39)
9. Eston Mugo 32:32.26 (28)
10. Fredrick Kiprotich 32:44.45 (22)
11. Paul Ng’ang’a 33:47.05 (43)
12. Collins Kibet 34:56.08 (22)
13: Lucy Mwende 34:58.24 23) F
14: Joel Maina 35:44.45 (36)
15. Alfred Kamande 35:44.47 (23)
16: Charles Ndirang’u 36:25.84 (57)
17: Catherine Njehia 36:38.86 (22) F
18. Martin Ndung’u 38:18.50 (31)
19. Levis Kuria 41:06.06 (20)
20. Lamech Cheleket 44:05.19 (23)
21. Monica Njeri 44:05.20 (23) F
(12/15/21) Views: 357Joseph Ngure
Mary Keitany: from shoeless prodigy to top of the world
Kenya’s Mary Keitany, the holder of the world marathon record in a women-only race, generously agreed to donate some of her racing kit to the World Athletics Heritage Collection following her retirement in September.
Since the beginning of December, Keitany’s singlet, shorts and shoes from her fourth and final New York City Marathon victory in 2018 have been on display in the 3D virtual Museum of World Athletics (MOWA).
We are delighted to celebrate her donation by recapping the career of one of the all-time greats of road running.
'If I don’t do this, then what?'
Hailing from Baringo County, a province immediately to the east of the focal point for Kenyan running in Eldoret, there are many well-known and successful athletes who come from the area, but Keitany’s impoverished childhood made it initially unlikely that she was going to join their number.
She elaborated on her tough childhood in a lengthy interview with The New York Times in 2019 – details of which are only precised here – and described living in a home without electricity or any other basic amenities, as well as having no shoes for much of her childhood.
Her household tasks as a very young child included walking several kilometers to a nearby river to haul pails of water home for cooking and cleaning.
Keitany’s parents, both struggling subsistence farmers, were unable to afford even the modest school fees for her to continue her education from her mid-teens so, at the age of 15, to help support her parents and five siblings, she left and went to work as a live-in maid almost 20 kilometers away, caring for three infants and sometimes not seeing her family for several months at a time.
“It was not an easy job,” reflected Keitany. “But I was getting money to give to my parents. I was thinking, ‘If I don’t do this, then what?’”
Hidden talent out in the open
She returned to school after two years when a relative was able to help financially and Keitany started to attend the National Hidden Talents Academy near Nairobi, a community-based secondary school that primarily assists orphaned and vulnerable children.
The school had a strong emphasis on physical education, which continues to this day, and it has produced several Kenyan internationals in a variety of sports. Keitany’s precocious talent as a runner, which had been evident in her early teens prior to the enforced two-year hiatus, came to the fore.
After eight months of hard training and sharing a cramped one-bedroom house with three other runners, Keitany made her first overseas trip and caused a minor sensation by winning the relatively low-key Sevilla-Los Palacios Half Marathon in southern Spain – not to be confused with the much better known EDP Sevilla Half Marathon – by over two minutes in 1:09:06, a course record that exists to this day ahead of the 2021 edition on December 19.
The words ‘unknown Kenyan’ are too often used to hide a lack of research or information but in this instance, it was a most appropriate phrase and, amid rumors at the time that the course was short because of Keitany’s super-quick time on the circuit, it bought her to the attention of both athletics aficionados and race promoters alike.
In the first nine months of 2007, Keitany proved that her debut international race had been no fluke as she rattled off another five half marathon victories in six outings at races in Portugal, Spain and France, also reducing her best to 1:08:36.
Keitany takes silver in Udine
This streak of success earned her a place on the Kenyan team at the 2007 World Athletics Half Marathon Championships in the Italian city of Udine – an accolade she subsequently admitted as being among her wildest dreams, despite her ambition to be a top-flight runner 12 months before – and she showed her considerable mettle to finish second behind the Netherlands’ Lornah Kiplagat and bank a cheque for a life-changing $15,000.
To now give a complete narrative of the next 12 years of Keitany’s superb competitive running career through to her last race, the 2019 New York City Marathon, would take a book and cannot be done justice in just a few hundred words.
However, it was apposite that her running career should finish in the Big Apple at arguably the world’s most famous race over the classic distance, as it is this event with which she is probably most closely associated.
After finishing third in New York on her marathon debut in 2010 – in the wake of her win at the 2009 World Athletics Half Marathon Championships in 1:06:36 which, at the time, was the second fastest mark ever on a record-legal course and an African record – Keitany went on to win the New York City Marathon on three consecutive occasions between 2014 and 2016 and then again in 2018.
To this day, she remains the only woman other than the incomparable Grete Waitz to have triumphed in New York more than three times.
Keitany also made her mark in the London Marathon. Her first triumph there came in 2011 and further victories in the British capital came in 2012 and 2017.
Record runs in London and RAK
She continues to hold the women-only marathon world record with a time of 2:17:01 set when she completed her hat-trick of London wins four years ago.
Another particularly notable accolade during her illustrious career was setting a world half marathon record of 1:05:50 at the 2011 RAK Half Marathon.
Perhaps the only blemish on Keitany’s competitive record is that she never climbed the podium at an Olympic Games.
At the London 2012 Olympic Games, she started arguably as the favorite having returned to the city with a world-leading 2:18:37 from the London Marathon, albeit on a different course, four months earlier. She was part of a leading quartet of runners at 40km but was the luckless member of the group to miss out in the battle for the medals over the final two kilometers and crossed the line in fourth place.
In 2016, she was named as a non-traveling reserve for the Kenyan contingent going to Rio, but Keitany had her sights set on challenging for a place on the Tokyo team before the pandemic, and a cruelly timed back injury, intervened.
In September this year – with her 40th birthday looming on 18 January 2022 – Keitany decided to call time on her outstanding career and announced the end of her professional running in a valedictory press release.
“After my successful 2019, when I had some good results including second place in New York, I was hopeful that I could still be very competitive internationally for several more years even though I am in my late 30s,” she commented.
“However, I’m sad to say, a back injury that I suffered in late 2019 made a decision about my retirement for me. I couldn’t get the treatment I wanted in Europe because of the pandemic-related travel restrictions last year and every time I thought I had got over the injury and started training hard, it became a problem again.”Sadly, Keitany will no longer be seen on the start line of a major marathon but nevertheless she leaves behind a host of memorable performances that have assured her of a place in the pantheon of road running greats.
(12/14/21) Views: 126World Athletics
Strong field will be competing in 2022 Hardrock 100, with a lottery narrows field to 145
The Hardrock 100 ultramarathon held its lottery on Saturday to select runners to fill out its field of 145.
The race had 1,916 runners apply from 46 states and 50 foreign countries this year, which is slightly down from the roughly 2,200 applicants in 2019. The ages of the applicants ranged from 19 to 73, and the largest group was 40 to 49 years old, or 43% of the total.
New this year is a gender-equity provision, guaranteeing the percentage of women in the field at least equals the percentage of women who applied. So, since 345 women applied, representing 18% , 27 women were selected to participate.
“I thought the gender equity worked out well,” said race director Dale Garland. “The lottery is designed for gender equity and also to make it accessible to new runners and people who have been here before. Both are important.”
Because of COVID-19, international runners who were chosen for the previous year’s event but were unable to travel in 2021 gained an automatic entry for the 2022 race, which includes 16 men and two women.
Automatic entry goes to last year’s winners – Sabrina Stanley, a two-time champ, and Francois D’Haene, who set a course record last year. D’Haene also won the Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc last year in Chamonix, France.
Garland also got to choose six entries, which are kept secret. He said, however, that his picks this year are elite runners, some runners who have provided service for the event and two with good storylines.
After that, 119 runners were selected in the lottery. To be eligible for the lottery, the athletes had to complete one of 30 qualifiers around the world that are all at least 100 miles long.
“I’m really happy with it,” Garland said this year’s field of athletes. “There’s some interesting competitive story lines, some competitive longevity story lines, and we’re seeing some people who have run in 10 or 15 Hardrocks.
Killian Jornet, a four-time Hardrock champion, will race again this year. Aurélien Dunand-Pallaz, who finished second at the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc last year, also is expected to compete for the title.
In the women’s race, Courtney Dauwalter, an Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc winner in 2019 and 2021, will challenge Stanley. “It will be an interesting dynamic to have those two run,” Garland said.
Darcy Piceu, an eight-time Hardrock finisher with three wins, also will be in contention, as will Meghan Hicks, a top-three finisher from last year who lives in Silverton, like Stanley.
Neal Matosky of Durango and Durango High School graduate Dakota Jones also will compete.
“I wouldn’t be surprised to see (Jones) in the top 10,” Garland said.
The race takes place July 15-17. It will start at 6 a.m. on July 15, and the runners will have 48 hours to complete the race. It will start at Silverton and go to Telluride first this year, then Ouray, close to Lake City and finish in Silverton. The first race was held in 1992 and this will be the 27th running of the event. Snow and fires caused a few to be canceled.
Volunteers are needed for the event. For information, visit hardrock100.com.
(12/10/21) Views: 90Cody Olivas
Kenya’s Mark Korir smashed the record at the 14th edition of the Zurich Marathon that was held on Sunday in Malaga, Spain
Kenyan Mark Korir destroyed the race course by more than two minutes as he erased the previous record of 2:10.08 that had been set by compatriot Martin Cheruiyot in 2019.
The 36 year-old cut the tape in a new course record of 2:07.39 and was followed by Nguse Tesfaldet Amlosom from Eritrea who also ran under the old course record as he crossed the line in 2:08.23.
Solomon Kirwa from Kenya closed the podium first three finishes in 2.08. 43.
James Koech
Eliud Kipchoge would like to become first athlete to three-peat in the Olympic marathon
World Athletics sat down with the marathon world record holder and double Olympic marathon champion Eliud Kipchoge, to reflect on his great career. Kipchoge cited his previous Abbott World Major Marathon wins, his world record and running the first sub-two-hour marathon (unofficially) as things he joyfully looks back on.
When asked about his future goals, he said he wants to become the first athlete ever to win three straight Olympic gold medals in the marathon.
“My goal going into the 2020 games was to win back-to-back Olympic golds, and I’d like to win the third one,” Kipchoge said to World Athletics. He also mentioned other goals on his running bucket list, such as running all six Abbott World Marathon Majors and lowering his half marathon personal best.
If Kipchoge defends his title at the 2024 Paris Olympics, he would become the first-ever athlete to three-peat. Currently, he is in an exclusive club of three, the other two athletes being Abebe Bikila of Ethiopia (who won gold at both the 1960 and 1964 Games) and Waldemar Cierpinski of East Germany (who won gold at the 1976 and 1980 games, but it’s been highly speculated that he was part of East Germany’s state-sponsored doping program during the 1970s).
When he was asked about giving the world record another shot, Kipchoge said, “There are many people who could break my marathon world record. I think Geoffrey Kamworor will one day break the world record. Joshua Cheptegei will also make his mark in the marathon, and Kenenisa Bekele is still there.”
As his 2021 season comes to an end, Kipchoge isn’t sure of his 2022 race plans. “I always strive to improve my fitness, and I approach it like education. For example, if you have an exam in two years, you have to plan carefully for it to have success.”
(12/10/21) Views: 72Marley Dickinson
The Bank of America Chicago Marathon Announces Field of 40K Runners for 2022
The Bank of America Chicago Marathon on Thursday announced its field for the 2022 race, bringing back 40,000 runners to Chicago streets after hosting a smaller field in 2021.
Runners who entered the non-guaranteed entry drawing for the 2022 race were notified of their status Thursday.
Guaranteed runners already in the lineup include Chicago Marathon and Shamrock Shuffle legacy finishers, time qualifiers, international tour group participants, charity runners and those who deferred or cancelled entries from a previous event.
"Today, we celebrate the commitment made by our newest field of competitors, alongside the continued dedication and support of our volunteers, spectators and community members,” Marathon Race Director Carey Pinkowski said in a statement. “The Bank of America Chicago Marathon has always been the people’s race. They helped to create the tradition and they will be a part of the comeback as we embark on the next chapter in the event’s history.”
But it won't be the last chance for runners to enter.
Organizers noted that those still hoping to participate in next year's event will be able to join an official charity team, with more than 170 nonprofit organizations currently raising funds in 10 different categories. Runners who register with one of those charities will need to raise a minimum of $1,750.
So far, the race plans to nearly double the number of runners from last year's event, which saw 26,109 participants cross the finish line. Organizers said health and safety plans will be released in the months before the race.
(12/10/21) Views: 70
Join us in central London next year!
While yesterday’s news about the move to Plan B wasn’t what any of us wanted to hear, we’re staying positive and looking ahead to next spring and the Vitality London 10,000.
As you’ve told us you’re interested in the event, we bring you good news: it will be back on its central London course on Bank Holiday Monday 2 May 2022 – and entries are open now!
It’s your chance to set yourself a goal that’ll help you keep moving during the dark winter months while also enjoying the mental and physical health benefits of exercise.
It’s been more than 1,000 days since we were last able to hold the event in the capital and we can’t wait to return.
There’s nothing quite like the feeling of running past some of the most famous sights in the city – including St Paul’s and the Houses of Parliament – surrounded by people with the same aim as you: to get to the Finish Line (and have fun of course)!
So enter now and begin the new year on a high, with a fun and achievable goal to aim for and something to look forward to in the spring.
See you on the Start Line!
(12/10/21) Views: 69
The 2024 Paris Olympic opening ceremony will be held on boats
The Paris 2024 Organizing Committee announced today that the popular river Seine that runs through Paris will serve as the venue to host the 2024 Olympic Games opening ceremony. Athletes are set to travel on a six-kilometre route by boat, as the general public cheers on from the river banks of the Seine.
“The objective was to make the opening ceremony accessible to everyone,” said Tony Estanguet, the Paris 2024 President, in a press conference. Estanguet suggested the idea to hold the opening ceremony on the river back in March.
The location for the ceremony was approved today by the Paris 2024 Board and the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
Since the ceremony is outdoors, the host nation predicts that 10 times more spectators will have access to and watch the event. This is the first time in recent Olympic history that an opening or closing ceremony will be held in an accessible public space.
The Paris 2024 organizing committee plans on having over 600,000 spectators able to attend the opening ceremony free of charge.
If you are looking for front-row seats on the Seine, they will come at a cost. Organizers mentioned that popular viewing points on the river will be operating in paid ticketed zones.
The concept is a boat party and parade with delegations and athletes set to travel down the river on 170 boats The route will begin at the Pont d’Austerlitz, which is close to the French National Library. The Trocadéro Gardens will mark the end of the opening ceremony. The location was the site of the handover celebration during the conclusion of the Tokyo 2020 closing ceremony.
Paris organizing officials mentioned that they had 50 meetings with top security experts since they developed the concept, with no security obstacles identified so far.
The Paris 2024 opening ceremony is scheduled to take place on July 26, 2024, with the Olympics running until Aug. 11. The Paris Games will also mark the first time that the Olympics will host a marathon for the general public on the same course as the Olympic Marathon.
(12/14/21) Views: 69Marley Dickinson
Joseph Hale and Yanet Castro Aguilar won the men’s and women’s marathons, respectively
Most of Sunday’s runners at the BMW Dallas Marathon had been waiting two years to feel the euphoria of crossing the finish line in front of city hall.
Joseph Hale had three years of waiting under his belt after finishing fourth in 2018 and not running the race in 2019.
So when the Dallas resident crossed the finish line to win the 50th Dallas Marathon with a time of 2:28:42, he pumped his fist and let out a celebratory yell.
“It’s literally more than a life goal,” Hale said. “I don’t get emotional very often, but I’m going to get emotional about this.”
Joseph Hale crossing the finish line with a time of 2:28:42 to become the winner of the 50th Dallas Marathon.“I’ve literally dreamed of running that corridor for the last three years,” he said.
He just edged runner-up Joseph Darda of Fort Worth, who was about 20 to 30 seconds behind for the last 12 miles of the race. Darda crossed the finish line with a time of 2 hours, 29 minutes, 14 seconds.
Hale said having someone right behind pushed him to go harder but also forced him to be strategic.
This was the second straight weekend Hale finished a marathon.
He ran the California International Marathon the previous Sunday in Sacramento, Calif., finishing with a time of 2:26:44. He said he felt the mileage in his legs by the 10th or 11th mile.
“I wasn’t going for time; that’s what my race last week was about,” Hale said. “I actually don’t really know my time. I don’t really care. I won.”
More than 17,500 runners competed in Sunday’s races, and over 26,000 people competed over the entire weekend, which set a record.
The women’s winner was Solyenetzitl Selene Yanet Castro Aguilar of Zacatecas, Mexico, who finished with a time of 2:52:20.
She spent the first part of the race pacing with another competitor but, unbeknownst to her, the other runner was running the half marathon and soon split off in a different direction.
Castro Aguilar said she has been dealing with injuries over the past few years. She has spent the past three months training very hard for Sunday, and she took full advantage of the opportunity.
“I’ve been waiting three years to run this,” she said through a translator. “I was very happy and smiling all the way.”
It was the first marathon for Bradley. She ran at Baylor and was an NCAA cross country championship individual qualifier in 2017.
“This is kind of a full-circle moment because I went through some injuries that at the time I thought were career ending,” Bradley said. “To be able to run a marathon, it’s like all my dreams coming true.”
It was a banner year for first-time competitors. Both half marathon winners, Mitch Ammons and Kelsey Bruce, and women’s ultra marathon winner Megan Smyth were running at the event for the first time.
Bruce and Hale are best friends, meeting each other when they were both runners at Dallas Baptist from 2011-15.
They even ran the first few miles of Sunday’s race together before embarking on their own separate, winning journeys.
Bruce won the half marathon with a time of 1:14:35. She moved to Wichita Falls earlier this year after being hired as the head coach of Midwestern State’s cross country and track teams. Being able to come back to her hometown of 10 years and win the half marathon in front of her friends, family and coach was special.
“It’s always fun to hear your name on the course from people you love,” Bruce said.
So with her friend still on the road, Bruce stuck around after receiving her medal and award, joining the cheering brigade for Hale.
And as Hale entered the final length of his winning run, one voice stood out amid the crowd cheering him on.
“With 600 to go, she was there telling me that you got it,” Hale said. “She knows how I finish. She knows I can finish terribly. So when she said that I had it, I knew I had it.”
(12/13/21) Views: 65Peter Warren
Kenya’s Philemon Kiplimo and Ethiopia’s Gotytom Gebreslase win Bahrain Half Marathon
Ethiopia’s Gotytom Gebreslase and Kenya’s Philemon Kiplimo claimed victory at the Bahrain Royal International Night Half Marathon – a World Athletics Label road race – when the event returned for its second edition on Sunday (12).
After running 2:20:09 to triumph when making her marathon debut in Berlin in September, Gebreslase achieved another impressive result as she improved her half marathon PB to 1:05:36 in Manama to win by 11 seconds ahead of home favorite Kalkidan Gezahegne – the Olympic 10,000m silver medalist who was making her half marathon debut after breaking the world 10km record with 29:38 in Geneva in October.
The men’s race was much closer, with Kiplimo outsprinting his compatriot Collins Koros to the tape – both athletes recording a time of 1:00:01.
The women’s race had got off to a blistering start, with Gebreslase and Gezahegne both part of a group which passed the 5km mark in 14:53, well inside world record pace. The race also featured Kenya’s former world record-holder Ruth Chepngetich, who had run 1:04:02 in Istanbul in April and won October’s Chicago Marathon in 2:22:31, but she ran to around 17km in Manama and did not finish.
Following the fast start, Gebreslase and Gezahegne maintained their pace through 10km, with the clock showing 29:49 – four seconds off the split recorded by Ethiopia’s Letesenbet Gidey en route to the 1:02:52 women’s half marathon record she set in Valencia in October.
The wind had been behind them during the first half of the race and as they looped back the pace dropped, with Gebreslase passing 15km in 45:47 and Gezahegne following five seconds behind her. Chepngetich’s race came to an end a couple of kilometers later.
Gebreslase had increased her lead to 11 seconds by the finish, with the top two clear ahead of the rest of the field. Sheila Kiprotich secured third place in 1:07:01 and was followed by her Kenyan compatriots Irene Cheptai, who was four seconds back, and Daisy Cherotich, who ran 1:07:11, with a total of 11 athletes finishing inside 68 minutes.
Kiplimo led a Kenyan top five in the men’s race and had formed part of a lead group which followed the pacemakers through 5km in 13:58 and 10km in 27:35.
A seven-strong pack passed 15km in 42:24 and things remained close until the final stages, with Kiplimo edging ahead to deny Koros, and Mathew Kimeli finishing third just three seconds back.
Titus Mbishei finished fourth in 1:00:23, one second ahead of Geoffrey Koech, while Ethiopia’s Jemal Yimer was sixth in 1:00:29.
World Athletics, with assistance from Alberto Stretti
Leading results
Women1 Gotytom Gebreslase (ETH) 1:05:362 Kalkidan Gezahegne (BRN) 1:05:473 Sheila Kiprotich (KEN) 1:07:01 4 Irene Cheptai (KEN) 1:07:055 Daisy Cherotich (KEN) 1:07:11
Men1 Philemon Kiplimo (KEN) 1:00:012 Collins Koros (KEN) 1:00:013 Mathew Kimeli (KEN) 1:00:044 Titus Mbishei (KEN) 1:00:235 Geoffrey Koech (KEN) 1:00:24
(12/14/21) Views: 63World Athletics
