Running News Daily
Top Ten Stories of the Week
11/2/2019
These are the top ten stories based on views over the last week.
Super grandma, 70, Collette O’Hagan is gearing up for her 695th marathon in dublin this weekend
The 70-year-old has no plans to stop there, as she’s aiming to bring her grand total to a cool 700 before the end of the year.
Colette has ran marathons all over the world including places such as Boston and New York.
Collette has run marathons all over the world, but Dublin holds a special place in her heart as it’s where she ran her first marathon 30 years ago.
She explained: “My running journey started in Dublin. I never looked back. I do love Dublin.”
While most runners spend months preparing for a big race, superfit Collette can easily clock up two or three marathons every weekend.
She has also completed all of the major marathons around the world including Boston 11 times and New York six times.
Her impressive list also includes Berlin, London, Chicago and Tokyo, making up the Big Six in marathon circles.
The Dundalk woman recalled how a small crowd joined her on her first Dublin marathon, but over the years the event has grown dramatically, “and now I am doing it with 22,500.”
She said: “I owe a lot to Dublin for getting me going and for my running journey.”
Collette began running with her husband Larry and as time passed her interest in it, and in running longer distances, outgrew his.
She gets a lot out of running and her advice is to “stay focused, keep yourself motivated and enjoy it.”
She said: “I particularly look forward to Dublin; the spectators are amazing, they bring you through it, they are just fantastic.
“Some of the women are out and ask do you want a cup of tea, they are so friendly, it is like a day out nearly going around Dublin, it is just fabulous, I’d say it will be a massive big party day on Sunday.
“It has special meaning and definitely is one of my favorites.”
While she doesn’t keep a close eye on the clock, Collette is happy now to complete a marathon within approximately five hours.
She explained: “I don’t push myself that I’m stressed, if you are stressing your body all the time, stress will bring on an injury.”
2019 is also a special year because it marked her golden wedding anniversary and she celebrated her 70th birthday.
She and Larry have five children and 10 grandchildren and that does not include over 80 children they have fostered over the years.
She said: “This is a special year, a lot of milestones this year and my ambition is to continue running and see how far the journey takes me.”
(10/25/19) Views: 224Elaine Keogh
Olympic marathon could start at 3 or 5 a.m. to keep it in Tokyo
Tokyo, host of the 2020 Olympic Games, is considering proposing to start the marathon and race walking events as early as 3:00 a.m. to counter an IOC decision to move the races to Sapporo due to worries about heat, Kyodo news agency said on Thursday.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) this month announced a plan to move the marathon and race walking to Sapporo, on Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido, from originally planned courses in the capital.
Kyodo, citing unnamed sources, said Tokyo is looking into an alternative plan to have the races start at 3 a.m. or 5 a.m. to keep them in the city.
An official at the Tokyo metropolitan government’s Olympic preparation bureau told Reuters he was not aware of such a plan.
Yoshiro Mori, the president of Tokyo 2020 Olympics, said the city had little choice but to accept the IOC plan, but Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike believes the races should be held in Tokyo.
“We have made many preparations and there’s no change in my thinking that it should be held in Tokyo,” she told reporters last week.
(10/26/19) Views: 191
Tyler Pennel is Ready for Long-Awaited Marathon Comeback At TCS New York City Marathon
With little fanfare, Tyler Pennel has quietly established himself as one of America's top marathoners over the past five years. Despite often being overshadowed by bigger names from high-profile training groups, he's won a national title, played a decisive role in the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials, and finished in the top five at an Abbott World Marathon Majors race. But he's also dealt with a series of frustrating injuries that have disrupted his momentum and left some unanswered questions about his true potential.
With the next Olympic Trials looming this winter, the 31-year-old Pennel will make his comeback at the distance on November 3, at the TCS New York City Marathon. It will be his first marathon in 18 months and only his fourth race at any distance this year. "I'm a little nervous," Pennel told Race Results Weekly in a recent telephone interview from Blowing Rock, N.C., where he lives and trains as part of the On ZAP Endurance group. "That first race back is always a shock to the system. A lot of it is mentally remembering what it feels like to race."
Pennel grew up in Golden, Colo,, and had an impressive career at Western State College (since renamed Western Colorado University), winning the NCAA Division II title over 10,000 meters as a senior in 2012. He joined the ZAP Endurance group shortly after graduating and made his 26.2-mile debut at the Twin Cities Marathon in 2014, which doubled as the USA Track & Field championship that year. He pulled off a surprise win that day, setting a still-standing personal best of 2:13:32.
He carried that momentum into 2015 with a series of strong results on the roads and track (including lowering his best in the mile to 3:58.99), and headed into the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials riding high with confidence. Perhaps too high. On a hot day in Los Angeles, Pennel took the lead in the 16th mile and forced the pace for the next several miles. The tempo ultimately took a toll and he faded to fifth place in 2:14:57, missing a spot on the squad for the Rio Games by just under two minutes.
"The Trials was my second marathon, and I think since I had a good first one maybe I was a little bit overconfident," he says. "Initially when I made that move I felt great. That first mile that I led I was almost shocked nobody went with me. That's how good I felt. It wasn't until after I started pressing after that first mile of leading that it really hurt."
Since that disappointment, a variety of injuries prevented Pennel from consistently training and racing. He's put together some bright spots, including finishing eighth at the TCS New York City Marathon in 2016 and running to a gutsy fourth-place finish at the 2018 Boston Marathon during the now-infamous nor'easter that turned the race into a cold, wet and windy war of attrition. But after taking third-pace at the Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta in July 2018 he didn't race again for 11 months, first battling a sacral stress fracture, followed this past winter and spring by a bout of osteitis pubis (inflammation of the tissues around the pubic bone). That's the same injury that plagued marathoner Laura Thweatt.
Pennel has been healthy since May, but raced sparingly during his preparation for New York. "The build-up has been really stellar," says On ZAP Endurance coach Pete Rea. "He was able to train through the summer and put together a full marathon build-up cycle. In terms of actual true consistency and healthy running for months and months, that had not happened for Tyler since 2016 until these last six months."
Pennel has been making adjustments to his routine to avoid injuries, including taking one day off from running each week. "If anything I would say he has really made a conscious effort to try to hit fewer home runs in training since, in some respects, that's what got him in trouble in the past," Rea says. "He's actually running more quickly at a lower intensity. He's working less-hard in terms of intensity, but it seems far more comfortable than it did a few years ago."
(10/29/19) Views: 147Runners web
Kenyans Andrew Ben Kimutai and Cynthia Cherop are the favorites in Venice
Kenyan Andrew Ben Kimutai starts as the fastest runner in the men’s field at the 34th edition of the Hauwei Venice Marathon, an IAAF Bronze Label road race on Sunday (27). The 30-year-old, who set his 2:08:32 personal best at the Seville Marathon in 2018, won this year's Wuhan Marathon in China in 2:10:06.
Kimutai will take on compatriot Geoffrey Yegon, who finished second at the Rome Ostia Half Marathon in 1:00:23 and has four sub-one hour half marathon runs to his credit. He clocked 59:56 at the Prague Half Marathon in 2018 and has a career best of 59:44 from 2016.
The men’s line-up also features Moses Mengich of Kenya, who was second at the Treviso Marathon in 2019 and Ethiopians Asefa Habtamu (2:08:32 in Dubai 2013) and Tsegaye Hiluf (PB 2:12:30 in Barcelona 2018).
The top Italian runner is Ahmed Nasef, who won the national marathon titles in 2016 and 2017.
The favorite in the women’s race is Kenya’s Cynthia Cherop, who clocked 2:25:55 on a slightly downhill course at the Los Angeles Marathon in March and finished runner-up at the Gothenburg Half Marathon setting her PB with 1:08:26 in May.
She'll face compatriots Judith Korir, winner at the Belgrade Marathon this year, and Jackline Autonyang, who will make her debut over the distance.
More than 13,000 runners are expected to take part in the Venice Marathon and the popular 10km mass race.
(10/26/19) Views: 112IAAF
Olika Adugna of Ethiopia will be aiming to defend his title at the 41st edition of Marseille Cassis 20km
It’s been 12 years since Wilson Chebet retained his title in the race, the last runner to do so. Last year the 20-year-old Adugna defeated Amera Kuma following a fierce sprint. But Adugna, who clocked a half marathon PB of 1:01:43 one year ago, has a season’s best of just 1:04:23 from August, so doesn’t seem to his in his best shape.
One of Adugna’s rivals will be Vincent Gerald of Kenya, who also knows the challenging course along the French Mediterranean coastline. He rounded out the podium last year in 1:00:33, just four seconds behind Adugna.
Yasin Haji, who’ll be making his debut in this event, will be another strong contender. The Ethiopian, 23, is the fastest man on the field courtesy of a 1:01:19 half marathon career best, a time he ran just two weeks ago.
Josphat Kiproo Menjo should also be a threat, on paper, as he is the fastest man in the field over 10km, although his 27:04 came nine years ago.
The Kenyan, who turned 40 in August, set his half marathon best in March 2018 when running 1:01:36. In 2019 he clocked season’s best of 28:37 and 1:06:23.
Dennis Rutoh will have a role to play following his victory at the Montbéliard half marathon last September in a new lifetime best of 1:01:44. He also set his 10 km best in July with 28:21.
French hopes will rest on Mohammed Serghini and Julien Devanne. The latter won within a month both half marathon and marathon national titles.
On the women’s side, Brillian Jepkorir Kipkoech looks to be the favourite to succeed to Gete Alemayehu.
The Kenyan, 24, improved her half marathon best one month ago with a 1:07:12 run. She also bettered her 10km best to 31:04 in July. She seems to have a big margin over the rest of the field.
Compatriots Susan Kipsang Jeptoo and Lucy Macharia should be her main rivals. The former improved her 10km, half marathon and marathon bests in 2019 while the latter finished fourth at last year’s event.
French hopes will rest on the shoulders of Elodie Normand and Leonie Periault.
The start takes place near Marseille’s well-known Velodrome Stadium and then follows the Mediterranean coast before a tough 327-metre climb up to the Col de la Gineste halfway through the race. Runners then wind down a long descent towards the finish line in the port town of Cassis.
(10/25/19) Views: 85IAAF
Nairobi Standard Chartered Marathon´s race organizers have increased the prize money for this year
In a bid to have it promoted to the world's elite marathons, this year's Nairobi Standard Chartered Marathon will see over 200 technical officials deployed by Athletics Kenya (AK) to monitor the annual race that will run this weekend in the capital city.
Athletics Kenya Nairobi boss, Barnabas Korir said the event organizers are paying extra attention to the technical aspects of the city road race as they aspire to get the road race in the IAAF permit.
Over 20,000 participants have registered for the run that returns to its traditional venue, the Nyayo National Stadium.
For the first time in a long period, race organisers have increased the prize money from Sh1.5 million ($14,500) to Sh2 million ($19,400US).
And in line with the international safety provisions, the Nairobi Traffic department on Tuesday released an elaborate road closure diversions schedule that will see traffic to and out of the city diverted to alternative roads between 4am and 2pm.
The affected roads include sections of Mombasa Road, Uhuru Highway, Upper Hill and Forest road while within the CBD, Kenyatta Avenue, Muindi Mbingu and sections of Haile Selasie and University Way will also be closed.
"We do not expect a major disruption in the flow of traffic. We have carefully organized traffic diversions to ensure that Nairobi County residents have alternative routes to critical locations in the city including hospitals, churches and airports," Traffic Commandant, Nairobi County, Joshua Omukata announced.
The event organizers have announced a few changes to the route for the six race categories largely due to relocation of the start and finish points back to in and around Nyayo Stadium.
Speaking during a press briefing, Peter Gitau, the Chairman of the Local Organizing Committee expressed optimism that the goal of raising Sh60 million this year for the FutureMakers initiative will be attained.
"We have increased the prize money from Sh1.5 to Sh2m for 42km, and from Sh150,000 to S 300,000 for 21km and we have noticed heightened interest from the elite and fun runners," Gitau underscored.
"So far, we have registered close to 20,000 participants and we are optimistic of reaching our target. There is a big uptake from both individuals and corporates entries. We expect this trend to boost the numbers towards achieving our target of 25 000 runners," Gitau added.
(10/25/19) Views: 83
Gerry Fay will be taking on his 522nd Marathon at Dublin Marathon
Gerard Fay hopes to complete his 522nd marathon this Bank Holiday weekend to complete an astonishing 109 marathons in 365 days.
Gerard is an accomplished marathoner. To date in this calendar year, the 48-year-old has done 86 Marathons. All these marathons were done in Ireland and all will be a minimum of 26.2 Miles each.
Aside from the marathons he also does numerous shorter distance races from 800m to half marathons as his training during the week and on weekends when there are no marathons on.
Dublin City Marathon was Gerard's first Marathon back in 1998. This weekend will be his 22nd Dublin event.
"A lot of miles have been done in the past 21 years and each an everyone has been done with thousands of people in my head pushing me along.
"These people are of course those with Cystic Fibrosis both living and deceased. People constantly ask where do I get my motivation and it is simple Just look at a person with CF.
"Learn what they have to go through day in day out with physic, medication and just basic breathing. Things we as healthy people take for granted. I have know some of these CF's over 30 years now and to see their achievements in their lives pushes me on to do what I do.
"There are plenty others out there doing what I do and more but we all have the one goal to try and help the real warriors the Persons with CF. They are the ones who push me to achieve my dreams and if by doing so I can help them achieve their then I am happy.
"The running is my pastime but this is their lives and with the support of their families they are doing their very best to achieve their potential. Please support those with CF if you can. Donation page is always open."
Gerard's chosen charity is Cystic Fibrosis Ireland who provide excellent and much needed support services to people with Cystic Fibrosis. The funds raised will be used for the purchase of vital equipment in the CF units around the country but also to assist Cystic Fibrosis Ireland with their Exercise Grant Scheme whereby they give a grant to persons with CF for part funding gym memberships or the purchase of home exercise equipment. The target for the fundraising is to raise a minimum of €50,000.
"I have been fundraising for Cystic Fibrosis over the past 30 years and in that time have raised in excess of €150,000 of which €100,000 was used for the purchase and refurbishment of the dedicated CF Outpatients unit in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda. All funds will go to Cystic Fibrosis Ireland and all expenses are borne by myself."
Cystic Fibrosis is a Genetic Disease which effects over 1,250 people in the Republic of Ireland which is the highest per head of population in the World. The Association is over 50 years in existence and over those years has contributed nearly 20 million to research and over 15 Million for the building of the dedicated centers around the country. These centers are invaluable to those with CF.
(10/25/19) Views: 60Gavan Becton
Steph Twell has set a new Scottish record for the marathon, eclipsing Liz McColgan's 1997 mark in Frankfurt
Steph Twell ran a PB of 2:26:40 to break the Scottish marathon record and achieve an Olympic qualifying mark at the Mainova Frankfurt Marathon on Sunday.
The women’s race was won by Kenya’s Valary Jemeli Aiyabei in a course record of 2:19:10, a time which moves her to 12th on the world all-time list, while the men’s title was claimed by Ethiopia’s Fikre Tefera in a close finish.
For Twell, her time to finish eighth puts her fifth on the UK all-time rankings in only her second ever marathon, behind Paula Radcliffe, Mara Yamauchi, Charlie Purdue and Veronique Marot.
It improves on the 2:30:11 she ran on her debut in Valencia last December and betters Liz McColgan’s 22-year-old Scottish record by 12 seconds.
Her fellow Briton Jenny Spink of Bristol & West took almost four minutes off her PB with 2:31:14, while Spink’s England team-mate Hayley Carruthers dropped out after 30km after suffering sickness and fainting.
(10/28/19) Views: 60Athletics Weekly
Noor Alexandria Abukaram, 16, was disqualified from high school cross-country meet for wearing a hijab
Noor Alexandria Abukaram, 16, was disqualified from her district cross-country meet last weekend for wearing a hijab without submitting a waiver ahead of the race. According to OHSAA (Ohio High School Athletic Association) rules, a form must be completed ahead of a competition if a runner is planning to compete in religious headwear. Abukaram finished her 5K race in 22:22, a season’s best that won’t count.
According to Runner’s World, Abukaram attends a private school (Bounty Collegium) but competes for her district school’s cross-country team, Sylvania Northview High School, in Sylvania, Ohio. The runner had raced 10 times earlier in the season while wearing her hjiab, without any issues.
The Toldeo Blade reports that Ohio high school runners are not allowed to wear any head coverings, including hats, unless they have received special permission via a waiver. Abukaram has already submitted a waiver for this weekend’s regional competition, which has reportedly been approved.
As a result of Abukaram’s case, the athletic association is looking at rewriting their rules. OHSAA Director of Communications Tim Stried told The Blade, “The OHSAA is also already looking at this specific uniform regulation to potentially modify it in the future, so that religious headwear does not require a waiver.”
Abukaram’s story has gone viral. The runner’s cousin and Cure Your World founder Zobaida Falah first posted the story on Instagram and Facebook on Wednesday, and it quickly caught media attention.
Abukaram shared on Facebook Friday morning that she’s so thankful for everyone’s support. “I knew I had to do something so that no other student athlete competing in a hijab would ever endure the humiliation and anguish that I went through last weekend. I am so thankful to each and every person who has shown me love and support. You guys don’t realize what that did for me, so thank you!”
(10/26/19) Views: 59Madeleine Kelly
Healdsburg Wine Country Half Marathon Cancelled due to Fire
We are sad to announce that we must cancel the Hallowine Run on October 26th due to the Kincaid fire which has burned over 10,000 acres in Northeast Sonoma County and forced evacuations in Geyserville, near our race start venue at Coppola Winery. Local law enforcement and other vital resources are needed to help with evacuations, road closures, fire fighting and other support duties over the next few days.
We would like to support the fire victims and responders who work so tirelessly to save lives, homes, businesses and natural habitat in the area. One way to show our appreciation - and YOURS - is come to our Race Expo in Santa Rosa’s Historic Railroad Square from noon to 6:00pm tomorrow. We are asking all our exhibitors and other vendors to also show their support by coming to the expo tomorrow as planned. There will be wine and beer tasting, product sampling and demonstrations, food truck, music, a raffle, fun runs, games and more! Registered runners will be able to pick up their race shirt, wine glass, medal and even race bib if desired. We have plenty of product from our sponsors and exhibitors that will be offered to the race participants and also donated to those evacuated by the fire, and firefighters. Wine and beer tasting is complimentary for all registered runners and $15 for others (includes wine glass). The event is open to the public. Our staff and many of our volunteers will be there to manage the event.
While most of wine country in Northern California remains open and most wineries are not directly affected, those wineries in the Alexander Valley, including Coppola, are currently closed. Dry Creek Valley wineries and downtown Healdsburg tasting rooms are open today and not directly impacted. This weekend some of our participating wineries will be offering wine club member for a day benefits such as a complimentary wine tasting and a discount on wine purchases to registered runners. We will post those wineries on social and our website as soon as we learn which ones are open and making that offer. We hope this information is helpful for those of you traveling from out of town.
Once we’ve had a chance to confer with our charity partners, vendors, Active Network and suppliers, we’ll be sending another email next week explaining your options regarding your entry. Right now we are focused on dealing with logistics and communication to all our suppliers, wineries, hotels, etc. In times of crisis we have seen the local community, and the running community, come together to support those affected by this natural disaster that has become all too commonplace in recent years. Thanks again for your understanding, patience and support.
