Running News Daily

A memorial to victims of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings is taking shape in Boston

Light pillars that form the nucleus of the memorial are being installed Wednesday morning near the finish line on Boylston Street.M

“I think it’s important just to memorialize what happened here, again, it’s about the resilience of Boston and the way this city came together,” said Patrick Brophy, chief of operations for the city of Boston.

For the last several months artist Pablo Eduardo and his team of more than 50 have worked building and molding the pieces.

Twenty-two foot bronze spires are being installed at 755 Boylston St., the location of the second bomb that claimed the lives of 8-year-old Martin Richard and Boston University student Lingzi Lu.

Another set of spires will be placed next week at the second Marathon marker, near the finish line where Krystle Campbell died.

The monument also will incorporate decorative bronze-cast light poles.

Planning began four years ago for the $2 million memorial, which has undergone substantial redesign to satisfy the hopes and expectations of families who lost loved ones.

Three spectators were killed and more than 260 others were wounded in the April 15, 2013, attacks, and a Massachusetts Institute of Technology police officer later was fatally shot by the bombers as they tried to steal his gun.

Boston officials also envision a larger monument that will involve input from bombing survivors.

Usain Bolt claims next generation of Jamaican sprinters are ‘spoiled’ and have lost motivation

Olympic sprint great Usain Bolt sees struggle ahead for Jamaica’s men at the world championships, claiming the Caribbean nation’s “spoiled” young sprinters lack the discipline to train and the hunger for success.

Bolt, who won eight Olympic gold medals and led Jamaica through a golden era in sprinting, said he felt motivation levels had fallen since his retirement after the London world championships in 2017.

“I don’t think it is going to get any better because I think these youngsters are a little bit spoiled,” the 32-year-old told Reuters from his home in Kingston on Tuesday, pointing to their attitude to training.

“I must say yes about that when it comes to sprinting in Jamaica right now on the male side.

“When I was around I think the motivation was there and we worked hard and the level was high, but now that I have left the sport, I feel like it has dropped.

“Not that I’m saying [it’s] because I left the sport, but now that I have left, it has dropped for me and Glen Mills, who is a top coach that I look up to.”

The 100 and 200 metres world record holder’s comments echoed sentiments put forward by Jamaican sprint coaches Mills and Stephen Francis, who feel the nation’s male sprinters are not cutting it at the highest level.

Bolt bowed out of London with a bronze in the 100m and suffered a hamstring injury during the 4x100 relay as Jamaica’s men’s team missed out on a medal for the first time since 2005 in Helsinki.

The Jamaican men also had a disappointing Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast last year, picking up bronzes in both the 100m individual and relay events despite the relatively weak fields.

Bolt was more positive about Jamaica’s hopes in the women’s events at the Sept. 28-Oct. 6 world championships in Doha, with Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Elaine Thompson jointly holding the year’s best time of 10.73 seconds in the 100m.

“Again I think that the females will do well,” said Bolt.

“If we are going to fail, it will be on the male side, but I feel like the females will hold up their end and will do well, but we’ll see what happens.”

Bolt said Jamaica’s women simply had more ambition and drive than their male counterparts.

“It’s the fact the females, I must say, are smarter,” he added.

“I personally believe that because they want to be rich ... They want to be great, they want to accomplish things in life so they work towards certain things.

“They want to develop and go on to do big things. I don’t think that the males are there.”

Mom of three runs 3:11 Marathon Pushing a Triple Stroller

Last year, Cynthia Arnold shattered the world record for pushing a three-kid stroller through the Missoula Half Marathon. After that race, she decided to go for the full marathon record.

And this year, Arnold shattered that record, as well, going nearly an hour faster than the previous record-holder. Arnold crossed the line in 3 hours, 11 minutes, 53.7 seconds.

While it looks like Arnold pushes through the 26.2 miles with ease, she said it’s no small task.

“The kids are a year heavier, and I was feeling that. The stroller felt really heavy this year,” said Arnold, a Polson native.

Arnold said she wasn’t even hitting her pace times prior to the race, but on race day some new energy kicked in. 

“The neat thing that happened this year was that there were a lot of spectators who knew what I had done last year and that I was going for the marathon this year, so there were a lot of people there saying things, personal things, actually addressing me about it, and that was a neat experience and really touching,” Arnold said.

On top of the 26 miles, Arnold said one of the biggest challenges was keeping the kids comfortable during the three-plus hours.

“They’re usually in the stroller more like one hour to one hour and 20 minutes, so it was a little over twice as long,” Arnold said. “So, that was going be a big challenge for us, which is where Margarite kind of came in. I thought she could read to them. They like I-spy, so she could initiate I-spy if they were kind of getting tired or bored.”

Three world records later and the kids getting bigger every year, Arnold said this was most likely the last competitive run she’ll do with the kids, but that doesn’t mean she’s done at the Missoula Marathon. She plans to run it by herself in 2020.

Cigna returns as Presenting Sponsor of the Marine Corps Marathon

Global health service company Cigna (NYSE:CI) is returning for a second year as presenting sponsor of the Marine Corps Marathon® (MCM) to honor and thank U.S. military members, veterans, and their families and to support health and wellness in the community. Now in its 44th year, the MCM celebrates the commitment of the more than 30,000 runners and thousands of spectators who gather at this historic 26.2-mile journey through our nation’s capital.

"It’s a privilege to partner again with the Marine Corps Marathon to honor our brave military service men and women and their families," said Brian Evanko, president, U.S. government business, Cigna. "We are proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with the veterans and other athletes who are toeing the starting line this year, as we celebrate the power of the communities and support systems that got them to where they are today."

"Cigna has demonstrated a sincere appreciation for the military community and a genuine commitment to veterans. Combined with their dedication to improving health for all, MCM participants and their supporters were rewarded with a staggering array of meaningful interactions and engagements with Cigna," said Rick Nealis, Director, Marine Corps Marathon Organization.

In addition to serving as a presenting sponsor, Team Cigna runners will participate in the MCM and the MCM10K on Oct. 27, 2019. This year, Cigna will sponsor more than 50 athletes to participate on Team Cigna from Achilles International, a non-profit organization that helps people with disabilities participate in mainstream athletic events.

Could an american woman win the Chicago Marathon this year? Very strong field is lined up

There haven't been three American women in the top five at the Chicago Marathon since 1994, and the 2019 field has a good shot at changing that, Jordan Hasay, Amy Cragg, Stephanie Bruce, Lindsay Flanagan and Emma Bates have a chance at rewriting Chicago Marathon history this fall.

On October 13, one of the strongest-ever American contingents will line up in Chicago for a race that hopes to see Deena Kastor’s American record fall.

Hasay announced in May that she would be returning to Chicago to target the American record and yesterday the remainder of the American elites were announced for the world major. This field includes the five women mentioned above who all own sub 2:30 personal bests.

Cragg, who was the 2016 U.S. Marathon Olympic Trial champion, is an interesting addition to the field. She’s run the fifth-fastest time in American history and ended a 34-year medal drought by taking home a World Championship bronze in 2017.

She’s barely raced since running her personal best at the 2018 Tokyo Marathon, but we’re excited to see what she can do come the fall.

There haven’t been three American women in the top five at the Chicago Marathon since 1994, and this particular field has a good shot at changing that.

Woman only runs backwards because it’s more fun than forwards says Shantelle Gaston-Hird

We can only imagine the potential for sprained ankles and accidentally tripping over, but one runner loves going backwards instead of forwards. Shantelle Gaston-Hird, 32, even runs backwards while training on the treadmill in the gym. She says she just finds it ‘so much more fun than running forwards. 

As you might imagine, she gets some funny looks while out on her jogs. She said: ‘I get catcalled every time I go out for a run, but when you run backwards all they say is ‘you are going the wrong way’ which is so much nicer than a white van man making inappropriate comments!

”Initially it was a bit of fun, but after researching backwards running I realized that it is a great cross-training exercise, and a great work out for your abs.”

Shantelle first tried running the wrong way as part of a team building exercise in 2013 – but before long she was hooked, and running backwards several times a week. The sport, she says, has a vast amount of benefits not just for physical health but for mental wellbeing and socializing, whilst also being a very accessible sport for anyone who wants to get involved. Shantelle has been running backwards for six years, has competed in competitions and set up a weekly club for any other budding backwards runners to enjoy the sport, coined retro running.

“It’s fun and a great workout,” she says, “the confidence that you obtain from retro running is incredible, I’m an ultra-runner and middle-distance triathlete so it compliments my training really well.

“I now organize the Retro Mile event on the first Saturday of every month so that other people can come and try retro running in a safe environment. 

”I even had a teenage boy tell me that he loved it and asked if we could do another one, his mum was said to me if I can make a teenage boy smile, I must be doing something right.”

The Great Run Company has announced that the Stirling Marathon will be canceled for 2020

The Great Run Company has announced that the event will not continue this year. Taking to social media, the organizers said: “We’ve taken the difficult decision not to stage the Great Stirling Run from 2020.

When the great Stirling Run was conceived three years ago, it was our ambition to build a world-class marathon in Stirling. Whilst we’ve created a great event, we haven’t been able to deliver that ambition.”

The Stirling XCountry event, which took place for the first time in January, has also been axed as it too, was deemed not to be financially viable.

A number of reasons have been voiced by locals and previous runners as to what the main reasons are for the failure of the event to continue.

The event was hosted on the same day as the London Marathon, which is one of the world’s biggest sporting events and attracts more than 40,000 participants every year.

Commenting on the Facebook announcement, a disgruntled local said: “Gutted! I had hopes that this race in my hometown would grow. Such a beautiful route and great support in the villages in town! Was London being the same day the downfall?”

Another added: “You could have doubled the number of entrants on a different weekend.”

Others have argued that it is far too soon to pull the plug on the sporting spectacle, given that it has only been running for three years.

To top it off, there was also only a £200 prize for the winners of the elite races, which was unsurprisingly unsuccessful in attracting a world-class field to Stirling for the event.

There are a lot of students who will be disappointed at the news, given that the university’s athletics and triathlon clubs have been represented in both the marathon and half marathon distances over the last three years.

It has been a great opportunity for members to produce personal best times on a home stage.

Students have also used the Stirling Marathon to raise money for charities of their choice, and to promote health and well-being in the area.

A Stirling Council spokesperson said: “This is obviously a disappointing decision but our focus is already very much on bringing new events to Stirling.”

Sifan Hassan breaks women world record for the mile clocking 4:12.33 in Monaco

Sifan Hassan, who arrived on the Stade Louis II track tonight July 12 as the third fastest miler of all time, departed the Herculis EBS Diamond League meeting as the fastest, having produced a marvel of a final lap to finish in 4:12.33, thus breaking the 23-year-old mark of 4:12.56 held by Russia’s 1996 Olympic 800 and 1500m champion Svetlana Masterkova.

Hassan had said on the day before the race that she intended to run “three or four seconds” faster than her best of 4:14.71, set in London in 2017.

As things turned out, she failed in that ambition; not that she looked too put out about it after the race as she lay on her back with a radiant smile on her face.

After the field had been paced through 800m in 2:08.20, Hassan moved into the lead with 600 metres remaining, with Ethiopia’s Gudaf Tsegay the only runner in touch at that stage.

Hassan, who had broken the 5km road race world record in the Principality in February, simply cut loose over the final lap and was suitably rewarded for her enterprise by the digital clock.

In her wake the effort of chasing told on Tsegay, who faded to fourth in a season’s best of 4:18.31 as Britain’s Laura Weightman came through to finish second in a personal best of 4:17.60 and Gabriela Debues-Stafford of Canada took third place with a national record of 4:17.87.

“I knew I could run fast but the first 800 was a bit slow, so after that I wasn’t thinking it would be a world record,” Hassan, the European 5000m champion, said. “When I crossed the line I was so surprised.

“After you run a last 400 like that, and set a world record, it gives me so much confidence over 5000m. I want to double over 1500 and 5000m in Doha and the way I finished the last 400 there, it’s amazing!”

Hassan said she had been lifted by the crowd in the closing stages of the race. “That made me extra happy,” she said. “It was a beautiful last lap with the crowd supporting me.”

Her next race, she said, would be a 5000m. “I don’t know where yet. The one world record I would love would be the 5000m.” 

Before the start of the women’s mile, re-named the Brave Like Gabe Mile, a short film clip was shown featuring the US runner Gabe Grunewald who fought cancer for so long before succumbing earlier this year, and the crowd showed their respect and appreciation.

Two other Monaco world record breakers - Ethiopia’s Genzebe Dibaba, who set the current 1500m world record of 3:50.07 on this track four years ago, and Kenya’s Beatrice Chepkoech, who set a new world 3000m steeplechase mark here last year – had been due to race but had pulled out.

Whether their presence would have also have produced a world record race remains an open and, now, irrelevant question.

A group of 122 people broke the record for the most runners linked to complete a marathon

Last Sunday (July 7 2019) hundreds of people descended on Tenby, Wales, to take part in The Wales Marathon 2019. 

Amongst the runners were a group of 122 people hoping to break the record for the most runners linked to complete a marathon.

Running for Cancer Research Wales, the participants were linked with more than just rope, with each of the runners having been affected by cancer in some way.

Organiser Neal Gardner, a Royal Mail employee, was no stranger to this record. He organised an attempt in 2009, securing the title with 30 linked people completing The Wales Marathon in Newport.

"My mum sadly lost her fight to cancer in 2002, at just 48," he said the day before this latest attempt. 

"I began fundraising and it eventually led me to a Guinness World Records title. We first broke this world record in London 2009 with 30 runners. The very same record that we will be attempting to win back tomorrow.”

Since then, the record has grown and grown, and has been held by participants from marathons held in Cologne, London, Paris, Milwaukee, Würzburg and Calgary.

However, after a hearing that a friend of his had been diagnosed with cancer, Neal decided to reclaim the title, 10 years after his first attempt.

"In October [2018] I received the sad news that a very good friend and work colleague, Pip Morgan, had been diagnosed with stage four cancer. It was time to do it all again!"

The successful attempt included many of Neal’s fellow Royal Mail colleagues and Dale Evans, Cancer Research Wales Events Manager, who helped to organise the attempt.

Organised into 30 rows of four runners, the team were successful, with the last person crossing the line in 6 hours and 47 minutes. 

Record-breaking participant Cath Diment said afterwards: "Hope you are still buzzing like me, I haven’t stopped talking about what we achieved!"

"Many of our runners have been affected cancer in some form. Hearing each person’s reasons for running was incredibly inspiring and really did provide the motivation to dig deep."

"As well as breaking a Guinness World Records title, our runners’ efforts are also helping to fund important research into the prevention, early diagnosis and better treatment that will benefit cancer patients in Wales and beyond."

Strong field of American runners will join previously announced superstars Galen Rupp and Jordan Hasay at the Chicago Marathon on October 13

“This year’s elite field highlights an exciting resurgence we are seeing in American distance running right now,” said Bank of America Chicago Marathon Executive Race Director Carey Pinkowski. “We have a deep pool of American runners who are coming to Chicago to run fast, and we cannot wait to welcome them in the fall. We could see new American records and a lot of personal bests in October.”

With a PR of 2:20:57, Jordan Hasay leads this year’s women’s field as the second-fastest American woman in history and the fastest to ever run the Bank of America Chicago Marathon. Hasay hopes to put Deena Kastor’s long-standing American record, 2:19:36, in jeopardy.

But Hasay’s primary competitor won’t be the clock alone – Amy Cragg, Emma Bates, Stephanie Bruce, Lindsay Flanagan and Taylor Ward represent a strong contingent of U.S. women all vying for podium finishes. The last time three American women finished in the top five in Chicago was 1994, and the last time U.S. women claimed the top two spots was 1992. Chicago’s history could be rewritten this fall.

Cragg, a member of Nike’s Bowerman Track Club since 2015 and the winner of the 2016 U.S. Olympic Marathon trials, enters this year’s field as the fifth-fastest American woman in history with a personal best of 2:21:42. Cragg stunned the world at the 2017 IAAF World Championships Marathon when she ended a 34-year medal drought by taking home the bronze. While she hasn’t raced much in 2019, she won the one-time Road to Gold eight-mile road race in Atlanta in March.

Galen Rupp, a two-time Olympic medalist in the marathon (bronze) and 10,000m (silver) and the current holder of four American records, stands out in the men’s field as the 2017 Bank of America Chicago Marathon champion and as one of the fastest runners in U.S. history with a PR of 2:06:07. While it will be difficult to match the foot speed of someone like Rupp, several American men have the potential to run significant personal bests and place inside of the top ten.

Brogan Austin, Chris Derrick, Scott Smith, Diego Estrada, Dathan Ritzenhein, Noah Droddy and Brendan Gregg are among some of the top Americans in this year’s field. Austin closed out 2018 with a career-boosting win, a national title and a huge personal best, 2:12:38, at the California International Marathon. Prior to that breakthrough performance, he broke the course record at the Indiana Monumental Half Marathon, clocking 1:02:39. He built on his 2018 momentum by winning the Road to Gold eight-mile road race in March.

The Chicago Marathon will be Austin’s third go at the marathon. Derrick, a native of Naperville, Illinois and the 2013-2015 U.S. Cross Country champion, made his highly anticipated marathon debut in Chicago in 2017, running 2:12:50 to finish ninth. He followed up his debut performance with a ninth-place finish in 2:13:08 at the 2018 New York City Marathon.

Derrick, one of the elite pacers for Nike’s Breaking2 project in 2017, is one of the most versatile runners in the field with PRs of 13:08 in the 5,000m, 27:31 in the 10,000m, and 1:01:12 in the half marathon. 

Smith, a 4:01-miler, experienced a huge breakthrough in the marathon in 2017 when he posted a 2:12:21 in Frankfurt, and then he hung on to finish sixth overall at the 2018 Boston Marathon (the now infamous year where runners endured whipping winds and freezing rain). He trains with Northern Arizona Elite, and he has represented the U.S. internally in both the half marathon and marathon at the IAAF World Championships. Smith’s strongest performance came in May when he finished second at the USATF 25K national championships. 

Estrada has been a favorite among Chicagoans, ever since his 2016 breakout performance in Chicago and his second-place finish at the 2017 Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle. After slipping on a bottle at the 10K mark during his Chicago debut and badly twisting his ankle, Estrada rallied to finish eighth overall (first American) in his still-standing personal best, 2:13:56. He finished 16th in 2017 and he did not race a marathon in 2018. Estrada hasn’t raced much on the roads in 2019, but his half marathon speed (1:00:51) and 2:13 PR indicate that he has the talent to be a top marathon runner heading into 2020.

Ritzenhein (“Ritz”), a three-time Olympian and the fifth-fastest American in history, enters Chicago with one of the most impressive resumes. He has broken 13 minutes in the 5,000m, run 27:22 in the 10,000m, collected four national titles, and earned a bronze medal at the 2009 IAAF World Championships Half Marathon. He set his marathon PR seven years ago in Chicago, 2:07:47. At 36 and now racing with the Hansons-Brooks Distance Project, Ritzenhein is a veteran, but his 1:01:24 half marathon earlier this year still makes him a top contender. 

Droddy and Gregg both bring massive potential to this year’s field. Droddy, always a crowd favorite, ran his personal best, 2:16:26, in Chicago in 2017, but his half marathon best, 1:01:48, suggests that there is room to demolish his PR this fall. Gregg made his debut in Chicago in 2014 in 2:18:30, and he experienced his best performance in 2018 at the California International Marathon, running 2:13:27. 

This year’s field also includes 25K American record-holder, Parker Stinson, and exciting debuts from Reed Fischer and Justin Gallegos. In 2018, Gallegos became the first professional athlete with cerebral palsy to sign a contract with Nike.

Kinsey Middleton and Malindi Elmore are both seeking a spot on Canada's Olympic marathon team going to Tokyo

Kinsey Middleton and Malindi Elmore both ran their first marathons in the last nine months, Middleton becoming Canadian champion at Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon last year, and Elmore making a strong debut at Houston in January.

Though they are at very different points in their lives and careers, their times were almost identical (2:32:09 and 2:32:15), and both are now chasing a spot on Canada’s Olympic team in the marathon. Middleton and Elmore will contest the Canadian Marathon Championships (which double as the Canadian Olympic marathon trials) at Scotiabank on October 20.

Middleton, 26, claims to have learned a lot from her first marathon. A native of Boise, Idaho, which is at 800m altitude and surrounded by mountains (she has dual citizenship, since her mother is Canadian), Middleton has relatively easy access to higher altitudes for training purposes.

She says she may plan to surpass the 190K peak weekly mileage she reached during last summer’s build, with the goal of getting even faster.

Malindi Elmore 39, represented Canada at the 2004 Olympics, the 2006 Commonwealth Games and the 2011 Pan Am Games, then became a triathlete for a while before returning to running. She has two children, and is in the midst of a comeback after retiring from her career as a 1,500m runner seven years ago–a comeback that surprises even her.

“I didn’t see this coming at all,” Elmore told us last month after her third-place finish at the Vancouver Sun Run. “I didn’t even think this was possible a year ago. I started running for fun and then the marathon went really well along with my 10K and half training. I’m feeling fresh again.”

Middleton and Elmore went two and three at this year’s Vancouver Sun Run, behind Canadian 10K and 10,000m champion Natasha Wodak.

The Kenyan marathon team has worked extra hard and hopes to sweep this year's World Championships in Doha, Qatar in October

Kenya's marathon team head coach Richard Metto says Kiplagat, who is the Boston marathon silver medalist and her colleagues, Dubai Marathon champion, Ruth Chepngetich and Sally Chepyego will be hard to beat and hopes they sweep the medals in the marathon.

"Kiplagat returns inspired seeking a hat-trick of gold medals at the World Championships. It will be her fifth attempt and she has won a medal in each of the three races she was involved in Daegu, Korea and in Moscow, Russia. It's only in Beijing 2015 that she finished fifth. I don't think the team requires another motivation," Metto said on Thursday in Nairobi.

The men's team has defending champion Geoffrey Kirui, Amos Kipruto, who finished second in Berlin Marathon last year and the 2018 Paris Marathon champion Paul Lonyangata.

But speaking in Ngong, in the outskirts of Nairobi where the team is training, Kiplagat revealed she still has the hunger to excel in marathon despite being 39-years-old.

"I still have a dream to win a third marathon title at the World Championships," said Kiplagat. "It will go down well with my record in dominating the world championships."

Kiplagat finished fifth in Beijing as defending champion and was second in London losing to Bahrain's Rose Chelimo.

Chepngetich, the fastest marathoner this year after her exploits at the Dubai Marathon with a course record in a time of 2:17.07, says the country has an abundance of talent.

"Depending on how the training goes, I think we have a very strong team. Kenya has never lacked talent in the marathon," she said.

Chepngetich who cites her victory in the Turkish capital last year, where she set a new course record of 2:19.35, as her best race so far says she is training adequately for that particular event.

"It all goes down to preparation, I believe nothing is impossible when one has prepared well," said the athlete.

Despite Chepngetich being the third fastest woman in the history of the marathon after Briton Paula Radcliffe (2:15:25) and Kenya's Mary Keitany (2:17:01), she still does not see the need of having a coach.

"I will not be having one any time soon, I think training with my colleagues does well for me. Some athletes think I am weird, but I like it that way," she added.

Justin Gallegos, a runner with cerebral palsy, is set to run the 2019 Chicago Marathon

Gallegos, a runner with cerebral palsy, plans to run the 2019 Chicago Marathon, race organizers announced on Thursday. 

The Oregon senior completed his first half marathon in May 2018 and finished the 13.1-mile course in two hours and threes minutes. Gallegos became the first professional athlete with cerebral palsy to sign a contract with Nike in October 2018 and with his reaction went viral in a film captured by a film crew. 

Before signing with Nike, Gallegos played a major role in the company's testing and promotion of the Fly Ease running shoe that features a zipper on the heel to assist someone with putting the shoe on.

“I’ve always wanted to work myself up to a full marathon and beyond,” Gallegos said in May 2018. 

Gallegos will have his chance to complete a marathon this October in Chicago.  

This year's Chicago Marathon professional men's field includes Olympic bronze medalist and 2017 Chicago Marathon champion Galen Rupp and two-time Olympian Dathan Ritzenhein.

Olympian Jared Ward is Helping Saucony Develop Faster and more efficient Racing Shoes

“I only thought about shoes that were lighter, lighter, lighter,” admits Jared Ward, who finished third in Los Angeles and then a strong sixth at the Rio Olympics. “As far as we knew, that was the most important thing.” Ward wore a pair of Saucony Type A8 shoes in 2016; they weighed a mere 5.9 ounces.

Ward didn’t even notice the clunky-looking Nike shoes worn by Los Angeles Marathon Trials winner Galen Rupp. In Rio, Ward didn’t realize the top three finishers—Eliud Kipchoge, Feyisa Lelisa, and Rupp—wore similarly big, cushy Nike shoes. They were 0.6 ounces heavier than Ward’s shoes and twice as thick in the rearfoot.

After Rio, however, it didn’t take long for Ward and the rest of the world to learn about Nike’s revolutionary Vaporfly 4% shoes. Scientific testing at several labs showed the shoes could improve a runner’s efficiency by about four percent. (Study 1; Study 2). That’s a huge difference in a world where one percent gains are rare, if not downright illusory. The shoes combined a stiff carbon plate with a new, responsive, and lightweight midsole foam.

Then came the highly publicized Breaking2 marathon attempt on a car track in Monza, Italy. There Kipchoge clocked a previously unthinkable 2:00:25, indicating the Nike shoes were game changers.

To answer that question, Ward joined a BYU research team that analyzed the Vaporfly 4% shoes. The results of that study have just been published by the Journal of Sports Scientists. The BYU group found the Vaporfly shoes improved runner efficiency by 2.7 percent—not quite as much as other reports, but similar.

Fortunately for Ward, Saucony’s research and development group had already begun the hunt for more efficient shoes. “I give Nike credit for their breakthrough,” says Saucony VP Spencer White, head of the company’s Human Performance and Innovation Lab. “But we weren’t far behind.”

White’s team was also investigating composite plates and new foams. “The pieces of the puzzle have been around for decades,” he notes. “We’re just getting better at fitting them together. It’s a complex process. If it were easy, I wouldn’t have a job.”

Saucony is testing new prototype shoes with a number of its best runners. Ward just happens to be an outstanding subject. “He’s willing to try something new,” says White, “and he understands the science and statistics behind what we’re doing.”

A year ago, Saucony began shipping new models to Ward. He takes them straight to Hunter’s lab for personalized, on-the-treadmill testing, subjecting himself (and the new shoes) to both a max test and an efficiency test. So far, the experience has made him a believer in “the preferred movement paradigm” proposed by veteran running biomechanist Benno Nigg.

“When I try new prototypes, the ones that feel the best on my feet and body almost always produce the best lab results,” Ward observes.

Erica Lopez will be running the Chicago Marathon to honor her husband

Asking for help, let alone money is not something Erica Lopez is comfortable or accustomed to doing. Yet as her life changed drastically in the fall of 2017, she learned to ask for help.

Now, with an opportunity to participate on the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivor (TAPS) Team at the Bank of America Chicago Marathon, the Navy widow is looking for sponsors.

A man in uniform was the reason she laced up a pair of sneakers for the first time in 2001 and come this October, he is the reason she will do it again.

Little did she know at the time 18 years later she would run to honor the memory of her husband, Ernie. He lost his battle with a rare form of lymphoma on May 3, 2018.

He was 47 years old. “I started running for physical looks, but then when we got married we moved 3,000 miles away,” Lopez confided. “I didn’t have anybody and a week after moving to Virginia he got deployed. To keep my sanity and not cry from missing my family (we’re very close) and my new husband, I started running.”

This fall the widow and mother to four-year-old daughter Carsyn, will lace up and run not one but two Full Marathons in honor of her late husband, Chief Petty Officer, Master at Arms, Ernie Lopez.

The Bank of America Chicago Marathon is scheduled for Oct. 13, 2019 and two weeks later Lopez will travel to Washington, DC to run the Marine Corps Marathon on Oct. 27, 2019.

The two events will mark marathons number six and seven for the runner. “From date of diagnosis to his passing away it was exactly seven months,” Lopez said of her late husband. According to the Valley native and Oakdale High graduate, concerning symptoms for her husband began in May of 2017.

“In September we were told he didn’t have cancer from his first biopsy,” Lopez shared. “So we lived a whole month as though he had lupus. That’s what they diagnosed him with.”By early October they learned different and the battle to save her husband’s life began.

Both natives of the Central Valley, the couple were stationed in Oklahoma at the time of his illness. Oklahoma University Cancer Center very quickly became their home away from home.

“It was very difficult to be away from friends and family during that time,” Lopez said, noting that her mother visited for extended periods to help with their young daughter. His diagnosis came as a complete shock.

As his health quickly deteriorated, the couple held tight to their faith, as well as belief that he would beat the cancer. Shortly following the passing of her husband, Lopez left Oklahoma and returned to Oakdale.

As she and daughter Carsyn worked to create a new “normal” way of life, she would periodically receive notifications from varying resources to aid with the grief process. In late 2018 she received an e-mail from Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivor (TAPS) with an opportunity for her to run the B of A Chicago Marathon as part of the TAPS Team.

Not one to spend tons of money on registration, air travel or hotels for races, Lopez shared she tabled the idea – at first.

Ooredoo yesterday announced its national partnership for the IAAF World Athletics Championships Doha 2019, which will bring together thousands of fans from 213 countries across the world

The IAAF World Athletics Championships will be the biggest sporting event to take place in the Middle East when over 2,000 of the world’s best athletes compete in the Khalifa International Stadium for the ten-day event being held from September 27 to October 6, 2019. 

“We’re very excited to be supporting this major sporting event and contributing to its success by enhancing spectators’ experience and providing world-class technology that will ensure everyone at the stadium stays connected and enjoys the Internet,” said Waleed Al Sayed, Chief Executive Officer, Ooredoo Qatar at the press conference held yesterday at Ooredoo headquarters at West Bay. 

“We recognise how important this event is, and are very happy to be working with the IAAF to bring such a world-renowned tournament to Doha. We’re looking forward to some incredible athletics and a successful event for all involved,” he added. 

Dahlan Al Hamad, Vice Chairman and Director General of the Organizing Committee of IAAF World Athletics Championships Doha 2019, said: “Sport is about connecting people and bringing everybody together, sharing their love for the game. The IAAF World Athletics Championships will see more communities come together than ever before in Doha, which is an exciting milestone.”

“As a specialist in communications, it is the perfect collaboration to have Ooredoo as a partner for the competition, telling the story of athletics to more people, connecting fans directly to the Championships this September,” he added.

Fans can buy tickets online now to ensure that they don’t miss out on any of the action of the IAAF World Athletics Championships Doha 2019.

Rwandan Felicien Muhitira, is aiming to set new record at Marvejols-Mende

Felicien Muhitira, Rwanda’s finest middle and long distance runner, has vowed to continue tormenting rivals at the Semi-marathon Marvejols-Mende in France after winning it back-to-back since his 2017 debut.

This year’s edition of the annual 22.4km race is set for July 21 and Muhitira, 24, has started intensive preparations in Ngoma District, Eastern Province, in a bid to retain his gold medal for a third successive time.

Muhitira, who was also decorated as Rwanda’s best performer in men’s half-marathon during the 15th Kigali International Peace Marathon last month, will also represent the country at the 2019 IAAF World Championships in Qatar, in September.

Speaking to Saturday Sport on Friday, Muhitira said: “Since the Kigali Peace Marathon, I didn’t take any break. I have since been in intensive training for Semi-marathon Marvejols-Mende because I want to retain the title.

But; most importantly, I want to set a new record for the race.”

Kenyan Luka Kanda, currently banned after testing positive for performance-enhancing substances, is the only runner to have won this race three times in a row between 2010 and 2012 and also holds the current record time of one hour, ten minutes and nine seconds.

Last year, during its 46th edition, which attracted over 5000 participants from across the world, Muhitira successfully defended his title after clocking 1 hour, 11 minutes and 22 seconds to defy odds against Kenyan, Ugandan and Ethiopian athletes.

He crossed the finish-line a whopping 89 seconds ahead of Kenya’s first runner-up John Liotang.

Two more Kenyan runners have been suspended for doping

The 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth and Africa 10,000m champion Joyce Chepkurui and long distance runner John Jacob Kibet Kendagor are the latest Kenyans to be suspended for doping offences.

Chepkirui, who also won the Amsterdam and Honolulu marathons in 2015 besides finishing 10th in Boston Marathon the same year, has been suspend by Athletes Integrity Unit (AIU) after some discrepancy in her Athletes Biological Passport (ABP).

Chepkirui, the 2011 African Games 1,500m silver medallist and 2012 Africa Cross Country senior women champion, has not competed this year.

Chepkirui, who grew up in the then Buret District of the Rift Valley Province, made her first international appearance at the 2007 African Junior Athletics Championships, where she came fifth in the 1,500 metres.

The 30-year-old made her debut in the half marathon in Benidorm that November and finished second. She tried the 3,000 metres steeplechase in 2008, but managed only a fifth place finish at the national junior championships.

She changed her focus to road races the following year. She travelled to Spain and had top five finishes in a number of races, highlighted by a win in Almodóvar del Río with a time of 1:11:47 hours. At the end of the year, she placed fourth in the 15K at Kenya's Baringo Half Marathon.

Jerry Turner, a pioneer in the athletic footwear business died on Tuesday in Los Angeles at 84

Jerry Turner introduced EVA foam into running shoes and created some of the first stability shoes.

Turner, a pioneer in the athletic footwear business who helped drive the industry’s explosive growth over a 60-year career, died on Tuesday in Los Angeles. Turner, 84, passed away peacefully in his sleep surrounded by family members.

Turner was both a leading business executive and transformative product innovator in the footwear business, stretching back to the days when athletic shoes were far more rudimentary and less common than today.

As President of Brooks Athletic Shoe Company (also known as Brooks Running Shoes) in the 1960s and 1970s, Turner helped build the company into a household name, rising to one of America’s top three selling brands. In 1977, the Brooks Vantage was ranked #1 in the annual Runner’s World shoe issue.

In one of the field’s most significant breakthroughs, in 1975, Turner introduced the first shoe to use EVA (ethylene vinyl acetate), an air-infused foam that replaced rubber and became a mainstay of running shoes throughout the industry to this day. 

Turner was credited with inventing the stability running shoe category, introducing the varus wedge in 1977, which helped runners who overpronated. Such wedges are one of the proven effective methods of guiding the stride and still popular today.

Following his tenure at Brooks, Turner founded American Sporting Goods Corporation, which developed the Turntec brand of running shoes and the Nevados line of hiking shoes. Over time, the Company acquired the Avia, And1, and Ryka brands. In 2011, Turner sold the company to Brown Shoe Company of St. Louis, Missouri.

A diligent and industrious worker accustomed to 70-hour workweeks, Turner emerged from retirement in 2017 to launch Turner Footwear, a performance footwear company with the tagline “Legends Evolve.”

Though not a runner himself, Turner said he was a keen listener who understood what athletes needed and was willing to experiment and borrow from other industries to invent new solutions. In a story well-known in the field, in 1974 Turner had a conversation with famed distance runner Marty Liquori in which Liquori requested a better midsole material than the rubber used in running shoes at that time.

Turner turned to a chemical engineer at the Monarch Rubber Company in Baltimore, who helped develop EVA as a lighter, waterproof, and durable alternative.

Race results for the 2XU Compression Run Singapore 2019 held April 7 have not been released due to payment issues

Runners are frustrated with the organiser of the recent 2XU Compression Run Singapore 2019 for withholding race results because of payment issues. 

The run, organised by Pink Apple Events, was held on Apr 7.

Participants expected race results to be published on the event's website three working days later (Apr 10).

However, runners are still unable to access their results.

The race results page on their website features an announcement saying that the results have already been tabulated but will only be posted "upon fulfilment of a contractual obligation by Key Power International.”

It also directs participants to contact the performance sporting goods distributor and retailer for queries.

In response to a Stomp media query, Key Power Sports said: "For the 2XU Compression Run result, there are technical issues and we are doing our best to update as soon as we can."

Pink Apple Events posted a statement on their Facebook page on Wednesday (Apr 17) to "provide some clarity on the situation.”

We understand the frustration and disappointment of not being able to retrieve your race results, especially after months of training and the hard work put in to complete the race," the statement said.

"However, we seek your kind understanding and patience as we continue to work out an amicable solution, with regards to the contractual payment obligations between our client - Key Power International Pte Ltd (KPI), the distributor for 2XU in Singapore, and the respective service providers."

The run involved three races; 5km, 10km and 21.1km, with runners paying up to $70 to participate.

The top prizes ranged from $100 to $700.

"None of the competitive prize money has been paid neither.”

The races drew about 10,000 to 15,000 runners.  

London Marathon runners who claimed they were called fat and slow during this year’s race will receive free entry to next year’s race, according to organizers

Runners who competed in the marathon in April said at the time they were taunted by contractors and volunteers as they race to the finish line of the 26.2-mile race.

“I had runners that were crying — ones saying they were going to go home and quit,” Liz Ayres, an official race pacer, previously told the BBC.

Some runners were allegedly told, “If you weren’t so fat, you could run,” and “This is a race, not a walk.”

Organizers for the London Marathon investigated the situation, apologized and recently announced that those who were taunted will receive free entry to next year’s event, the BBC reported on Saturday.

Ayres claimed that as early as 3 miles into the race, the water stations along the course had been packed away and that one runner was injured by a cleaning solution used by crews who allegedly told the group to “hurry up” so that they could clear the streets quicker.

Race organizers said that, in response, they’ll start cleaning up at a later time, will look into when water was provided throughout the race and will have a senior staff member monitor the event from the back of the race.

More than 42,000 people participated in the 39th running of the London Marathon earlier this year.

Norwegian Marathon superstar Ingrid Kristiansen will be heading the Kosice Peace Marathon in October

Kosice Marathon organizers are honored that Ingrid Kristiansen, one of the best distance runners in history, will visit Kosice in October as a special guest of the Kosice Peace Marathon.

She was the first woman to become world champion – on the track, road and cross-country. She broke many world records and took many victories at great marathons around the world.

She set a world record for 5000m in London in 1985 to become the first woman to run under 15 minutes.

That same year her winning time in the London Marathon, 2:21:06, stood as a world record for 13 years. She won the London Marathon four times, the Boston Marathon twice as well as the New York and Chicago marathons. Her greatest success on the track was becoming world champion at 10,000m in Rome in 1987.

She attends the Kosice Marathon, founded in 1924 and second only to the Boston Marathon in longevity, as part of the “In the Footsteps of Marathon Legends” project.

Everything you need to know about 2020 US Olympic Marathon trials

The selection policy for the 2020 US Olympic marathon team, cloudy for months after the IAAF announced in March that the qualification process for the 2020 Olympic Games is changing, is quietly beginning to take shape. For those wishing to preserve the best thing about the US Olympic Marathon Trials — top three across the line make the team — there was some good news, but there remains work to be done. After speaking with sources at the IAAF and USATF, here’s where we stand eight months from the Olympic Trials, which will be held in Atlanta on February 29.

The first bit of news trickled out on June 25 in the IAAF Athlete Representative Newsletter, which was promptly shared by agent Dan Lilot on Twitter. The update? After lobbying from USATF, the IAAF Council approved that “national Tokyo 2020 Olympic selection championship/trials in the men’s and/or women’s marathon, held in 2019 or 2020, may be granted Gold Label status if requested by the Member Federations and if the race can meet the Gold Label requirement for number of Gold Label athletes.”

Normally, Gold Label status is awarded to a marathon based on the previous year’s field. So to attain Gold Label status in 2020, the 2019 edition of the race would have to have six men and six women with Gold Label status that year, or seven athletes if it’s a single-gender race (Gold Label status is awarded to an athlete based on their world ranking at the end of the previous year; a marathoner has to be ranked in the world’s top 200 to earn Gold Label status). The 2019 edition of the US Olympic Marathon Trials would normally be the 2019 USATF Marathon Championships, but USATF isn’t holding a marathon championship this year.

So what the IAAF is saying is that USATF doesn’t have to worry about the field at the 2019 USATF Marathon Championships; as long as the Trials has enough Gold Label athletes, it can be granted Gold Label status.

This is good news for American women. Remember, an athlete automatically achieves the Olympic standard by finishing in the top five at a Gold Label marathon. And the women’s race at the US Olympic Trials should have no problem hitting the minimum Gold Label requirements; 11 American women had Gold Label status in 2019, and as of the most recent world rankings, 10 are on track to earn it in 2020. That means that on the women’s side, the Olympic Trials will be able to use the “top three make the team” model. (Also note that Japan, which is holding its first Olympic marathon trials in September, will easily meet the criteria on the men’s and women’s side).

That may not sound like a huge deal, considering nine American women already have the Olympic standard. But consider two women who do not have the standard: Amy Cragg and Shalane Flanagan, both members of the 2016 Olympic team. If it’s a bad weather day on the hilly Atlanta course, it’s not out of the question that third place could be slower than the Olympic time standard of 2:29:30 (Flanagan finished third at the ’16 Trials in 2:29:19). Achieving Gold Label status puts any of those worries to bed. That’s a win for USATF.

On the men’s side, USATF still has some work to do. Only one American man, Galen Rupp, qualified for Gold Label status in the marathon in 2019. And right now, Rupp is the only American man on track to earn it again in 2020 (Scott Fauble and Jared Ward are just outside, at #205 and #210 in the current world rankings).

That means that, based on the criteria the IAAF announced on June 25, there’s no way that the men’s race at the Olympic Trials will qualify for Gold Label status. And the men are the ones who need it: Fauble and Ward are the only Americans with the Olympic standard, and the time standard of 2:11:30 could be tough to hit on the day in Atlanta.

The 55-year-old San Silvestre Vallecana 10k has achieved the IAAF Gold label

Its recognition by the International Athletics Federation (IAAF) with the prestigious Golden Label running, which recognizes the best races in the world on the road.

In Spain, it is the only 10K race that has the Gold Race Running Label while in the rest of the world, only another three 10K have this same recognition: the Ottawa 10K (Canada), the Tata Consultancy Services World 10K Bengaluru( India) and the Birell Prague Grand Prix(Czech Republic).

Among the aspects that the IAAF takes into account when awarding this distinction is the level of the brands, which logically implies having international athletes of the highest level.

It is also important that the international media echo the news and, therefore, that the test has an important impact outside of Spain. The race must also be broadcast live.

Finally, the race must have a high organizational level, so that it meets the demanding quality standards established by the IAAF itself.

The family of marathoner Frank Meza Says He Was Cyberbullied and then committed suicide

The family of Frank Meza, the 70-year-old marathoner who was found dead Thursday amid cheating allegations, spoke exclusively to Inside Edition about his death.

Authorities say a 70-year-old man has died by suicide after he was disqualified from the Los Angeles Marathon over cheating allegations.

Frank Meza of South Pasadena was found in the Los Angeles River last Thursday after reports that someone may have jumped from a bridge.

The Los Angeles County coroner’s office says Meza died from multiple blunt force traumatic injuries and ruled his death a suicide.

Meza, a retired physician, was a longtime marathon runner.

Days before his death, the Los Angeles Marathon disqualified his finish in the March race. Officials said he left the course and came back from a different position. His time of 2 hours, 53 minutes 10 seconds had been the fastest ever for a man his age.

Meza said he only stopped to relieve himself.

Asked whether the allegations against him killed her husband, Meza's wife, Tina Nevarez, replied, "Yes, I do believe that." He was found dead Thursday in the LA River.

The family said they didn't anticipate he would take his own life but believe cyberbullying led him to do it.

Kenya's Gladys Cherono wants to improve on her Berlin marathon course record and win fourth Berlin marathon title

Gladys Cherono, who clocked 2:18:11 to win last year's race, is burying herself in training hoping to emerge stronger in September to fend off her rivals from her crown as she seeks the fourth win in Berlin.

"Last year, my target was to break the course record and run under 2:19:00 time. I was happy to have set a new course record. The weather conditions were good and it made me run fast. Hopefully, I will get similar conditions and be strong enough to shade off some seconds from my personal best time," Cherono said on Tuesday in Nairobi.

However, Cherono will face her fellow Kenyan Vivian Cheruiyot, who beat her in London in April and Olympic bronze medalist Ethiopian Mare Dibaba.

Last year, Cherono won the Berlin Marathon in a world-leading time of 2:18:11 and went on to finish fourth at the London Marathon in 2:24:10.

In April, she returned to London and still held on to finish fourth clocking 2:20:52.

"We are delighted to have the defending champion Gladys Cherono on the start line. With three very strong contenders in the line-up, the race could be center stage in September," said Race Director Mark Milde.

After victories in 2015 and 2017, Cherono secured her third triumph in Berlin last year.

The 36-year-old, who won the World Half Marathon title in 2014, also broke the course record of the Japanese Mizuki Noguchi of 2:19:12 which had stood for 13 years.

Cherono, a former world 10,000m champion from Moscow in 2013, must be at her best to beat Cheruiyot, who has marathon wins in Frankfurt, London and second place finishes in New York and London. But she believes she has the strides to take on any rival.

"My goal is now to win for the fourth time in Berlin," said Cherono.

2020 Big Sur International Marathon Random Drawings offer runners multiple opportunities to secure an entry into this iconic race

Registration to enter a series of random drawings for the April 26, 2020 Big Sur International Marathon, will begin on Monday, July 15th.

The Big Sur International Marathon has sold out for years and is a “bucket list” race for runners from around the globe. To increase accessibility to this popular event, the Big Sur Marathon Foundation offers various drawings and entry categories to earn a spot in the late-April race.

The Groups and Couples drawing will be held first, followed by Loyalty, Locals, First-Timers, and finally, the Last Chance drawing. Prospective participants wishing to bypass the random drawings can enter through one of four first-come, first-served categories: Big Sur VIP presented by HOKA ONE ONE®, Marathon Tours, Boston 2 Big Sur, and JUST RUN Charity Entries.

“This is the fifth year for us to use a random drawing for the majority of Marathon entries,” said Doug Thurston, Executive Director and Race Director for the Big Sur Marathon Foundation. “Our system provides multiple opportunities and has helped thousands of new and returning runners enjoy our race.”

The schedule to register for the various categories is as follows:

GROUPS & COUPLES: Registration takes place 7/15 – 7/23 with results announced on 7/25. This category is for groups of two to 15 people who want to participate only if everyone in the group is chosen.

LOYALTY: Registration open from 7/26 – 8/5; results announced 8/6. For those who have finished one or more 26.2-mile Big Sur Marathons.

LOCALS: Registration open from 7/29 – 8/7; results announced 8/8. For both veteran and first-time marathoners whose primary residence is in Monterey County, CA (939XX zip code).

FIRST TIMERS: Registration open from 7/31 – 8/11; results announced 8/12. For those who have never finished the 26.2-mile Big Sur Marathon.

LAST CHANCE: Registration open from 8/12 – 8/20; results announced 8/21. For anyone not selected or who didn’t participate in earlier drawings.

There is no fee to enter any of the drawings.

2019 Boston Marathon raised a record $38.7 million for charity through this year

Boston Marathon participants who ran on behalf of 297 non-profit organizations raised a record $38.7 million for charity through this year's race.

The fundraising total represents an approximate 6-percent increase, or $2 million, over 2018 results. The 2019 race surpassed the previous fundraising record of $38.4 million, which was set in 2014 with an expanded total field size of 36,000 athletes.

The 2019 total field size was 30,000 athletes, including over four thousand fundraising runners. Total funds include $20.3 million raised through the Boston Athletic Association's Official Charity Program, $14 million raised through John Hancock's Non-Profit Program, and $4.4 million from other qualified and invitational runners.

Most of the fundraising athletes gained entry through the B.A.A. and John Hancock programs, which provide non-profits with guaranteed entries that are used to recruit athletes to fundraise for their organizations.

"This year's record-setting fundraising totals are just the most recent example of how our athletes continue to raise the bar at the Boston Marathon," said B.A.A. CEO Tom Grilk. "We are immensely proud to be associated with the athletes and organizations participating in our charity programs.

Each dollar raised through these athletes will have a profound impact on our communities. And we're very thankful to our friends at John Hancock, with whom we proudly reflect on another great year of fundraising."

"This fundraising record is a significant achievement that helps make our city and region a healthier, more equitable place," said Marianne Harrison, President and CEO, John Hancock. "I am proud that John Hancock's longstanding Boston Marathon sponsorship continues to drive meaningful social impact, and I thank our non-profit partners and everyone who ran, donated, and volunteered.

It is especially meaningful to set a new record this year given the Marathon was on One Boston Day for the first time since 2013."

Over the past 30 years, the official B.A.A. Charity Program and John Hancock's Non-Profit Program have combined to raise more than $372 million for community-based organizations.

Michael Johnson suffered a stroke last August and now he talks about his recovery

Michael Johnson is recalling the unusual physical sensations – involuntary movement of his left foot, numbness, “a sort of tingling sensation” in his left arm – that came over him moments after finishing his daily workout in his home gym in August last year. “I hobbled over to my weights bench and thought, am I having a cramp or something? I called my wife Armine over and said: ‘Hey, something feels weird. Something doesn’t feel right.’”

The cause wasn’t a cramp, though, overexertion or an infection. The legendary athlete – a four-time Olympic sprint champion, just 50 years old at the time – was having a stroke. As he tweeted soon after: “It seems these things can affect anyone, even the once-fastest man in the world!”

The confusion he felt was fairly typical, he points out now, eight months later. Many stroke victims do not realize at first that they are experiencing an event that could leave them dead or seriously disabled, potentially for life. 

After half an hour spent wondering what to do, Johnson decided to go to hospital. Armine drove him to the Emergency Room at UCLA Medical Center in Santa Monica. It was a wise call. A CT scan, then an MRI confirmed the ER doctor’s diagnosis of a stroke.

Initially, Johnson was angry; angry that someone as determinedly clean-living as himself, with no obvious risk factors – he didn’t smoke, ate healthily, kept fit and had no family history of cardiovascular disease – had suffered a stroke. “I did feel like: ‘Why did this happen to me, when I was doing all the right things?’” But within 24 hours he had gained a different perspective. “It’s natural for anyone to go through that period of anger. I was pretty fortunate to get past that situation [the stroke], with an opportunity to completely recover, which is what I hoped to do.”

Johnson decided to put the same determination that he had brought to his athletics career into recovering from his stroke. 

It was an arduous process, both physically and mentally. The first stage of his recovery involved a physiotherapist helping him to learn to walk again using a walking frame. 

How did a legendary athlete, a champion, deal with being so helpless? “I think about looking at myself in the mirror, struggling to hold a balance position for more than 10 seconds or struggling to coordinate my body when I used to be one of the best athletes in the world.”

He learned – impressively quickly – to walk, then to walk in a balanced way, and then to be mobile, and then to get up and down stairs. Then he succeeded in eliminating his limp, although that took a month. Then he began working on regaining his strength, power and fine motor skills on his left side. He drew on a key lesson of his path to sporting glory: often progress comes in small, incremental steps. In one of his early progress reports, he tweeted that, while his recovery was going well, relearning the very basics of movement was “gruelling.” But by December he said, “I was almost back to what I would consider my normal. And now, eight months on, I’m 100% recovered.”

Going to the ER might have saved him from a future of dependence and life in a wheelchair. 

His advice on how to minimise the danger of stroke is what any doctor or nurse would say. “Be your own case manager. Understand your own health, understand the risk factors and understand how you can take control and minimise the risk. Stop smoking if you are a smoker. Being overweight increases your risk so keep your weight down. Eat a balanced, nutritious diet. Stay active.” 

Johnson now takes aspirin, a statin, a blood-thinner and a drug to keep his blood pressure in healthy range. He is is acutely aware that, having had one stroke, he could easily have another. After eight months and a host of medical tests, neither he nor his doctors know what caused his stroke – 30% of strokes have no obvious cause, he explains. Is that frustrating? “No. I mean, I can’t force an answer where there isn’t one. All I can do is do what I do, so I’m OK with that. I kind of have to be.”

The movie, Forrest Gump was released on July 6, 1994, it won six Oscars and became one of the most popular running films of all time

It was 25 years ago Saturday that Robert Zemeckis’s film Forrest Gump opened to wild acclaim and became one of the world’s best-loved running films.

Based on a novel by Winston Groom and adapted for the screen by Eric Roth, the movie concerns a simple-minded but wise man (played by Tom Hanks) who overcame childhood polio to become an endurance runner, on a whim, and went on to participate in some of the most significant events of the 20th century.

One day Forrest just starts running, and ends up running from his home in Alabama to the California coast, then back across America to the Atlantic. He runs back and forth across America for three years, two months, 14 days and 16 hours. And he inspires others to run, as well.

The movie most likely appeals to endurance runners in particular because of Forrest’s stripped-down approach. When asked by reporters if he was running for world peace, or the homeless, or women’s rights, or the environment, or for animals, Forrest replies, “I just felt like running.”

“They just couldn’t believe that somebody would do all that running for no particular reason,” he narrates.

Of course, Forrest eventually gets tired of running, and quits as suddenly as he started, possibly having fulfilled his purpose of outrunning the past.

Forrest Gump won Academy Awards for directing, best picture, best actor, best adapted screenplay, best film editing and best visual effects.

Victor Williams 92-year-old was the oldest finisher for 10k at Gold Coast Marathon Festival

A Townsville WWII Veteran has crossed the finish line of his first ever Gold Coast Marathon event. He ran the 10k and clocked one hour, 40 minutes flat. 

Victor Williams says exercising everyday is what has maintained his fitness physique to conquer the 10km course on the Gold Coast. 

The almost 93-year-old admits to jogging almost 20km a week around Townsville, with part of that time spent doing the iconic Castle Hill. 

The running enthusiasts says he has no plans of stopping anytime soon and will run until his last day. 

Victor will celebrate his 93rd birthday on Tuesday.

Christopher Gondwe was first to cross the finish line at Victoria Falls men's Marathon clocking 2:25:36

Christopher Gondwe won the Victoria Falls Marathon. Gondwe is a seasoned runner who has participated in other marathons like the Liquor Hub Charity Race finished the marathon in 2 hours 25 minutes and 36 seconds.

A zambian by the name of Costern Chiyaba came second, Lyno Muchena came third.

For the ladies, Olivia Chitate came first.

Gondwe’s teammate Sibanda was way short of clinching a possible sixth title as he only managed to finish in two hours 27 minutes and three seconds, six minutes slower than his last year’s two hours 21 minutes and eight seconds finish that won him the race.

The 38-year-old Sibanda who ran in the 10km race at the recent Tanganda marathon, said it was not his day.

“Days are different and sometimes you don’t get to win but I will be around again next year,” he said.

In second place was Zambian Costern Chiyaba who finished eight seconds slower than Gondwe in two hours 25 minutes and 44 seconds.

Tokyo 2020 National Stadium is nearing completion with the opening set for December 21

The National Stadium being built for next year's Olympic Games in Tokyo is 90 per cent complete and is set to be opened on December 21, it was revealed today.

Members of the media were given the chance to tour the 68,000-capacity stadium, which will be the centrepiece of Tokyo 2020.

According to news agency Reuters, National Stadium development director Takeo Takahashi said almost all the buildings had been finished and they were "now working on the interior and facility equipment inside the stadium".

"The grass and track have yet to be laid but this is expected to be completed in the next month," he added.

Around 45,000 seats have so far been installed at the stadium, being built at a cost of ¥149 billion ($1.3 billionUS).

An inauguration event is set to take place on December 21, Takahashi said, which will be open to the public.

It will give people the chance to have an inside look at the venue which will be the focal point of next year's Olympics Games and will hold the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, athletics (track and field and football (soccer).

The stadium features a roof with wood collected from all of Japan’s 47 prefectures.

The National Stadium is one of eight venues being constructed for next year's Games, which begin with the Opening Ceremony of the Olympics on July 24.

Ice-baths, foam roller and stretching will aid in your post-marathon recovery

Plunging into near-freezing water might sound like a kind of torture after running a marathon, but a Gold Coast sports scientist says research shows that you’d be doing your body a massive kindness.

It speeds up the the recovery process, says Southern Cross University exercise scientist Dr Luke del Vecchio.

“Immersing the body in cold water, for 10-15 minutes reduces body temperature, blood flow and inflammation in tissues of the muscles,’’ he said.

In layman terms, ice-baths change the way blood and other fluids flow through the body.

“When you sit in cold water, your blood vessels constrict; when you get out, they dilate – much like the effect of wringing water out of a rag or towel. This process helps flush away metabolic waste post-exercise,” he said.

Similar to the ice-bath, using the foam roller after exercise speeds up the recovery process by improving blood flow to the muscles, relieving muscle tension, joint stress and increasing the range of motion or flexibility in the body.

“Importantly, these benefits are not anecdotal. Research has concluded that foam rolling is an effective tool in recovery after exercise,” he said.

“The current body of research demonstrates that stretching may have several beneficial effects including decreasing muscle soreness, increasing flexibility, blood flow and decreasing neural excitability or nervous tension in the muscles,” he said.

Bernard Lagat sets new Master American marathon record clocking 2:12:10 in Australia

44-year-old Bernard Lagat ran 2:12:10 in the Gold Coast Marathon in Australia, which averages out to 5:02.5 per mile for 26.2 miles on Sunday. The result placed him 7th overall and more importantly broke Meb Keflezighi‘s US masters record (40+) of 2:12:20 in the men’s marathon. 2:12:10 represented a massive personal best of more than 5 minutes for Lagat as the two-time Olympic medalist in the 1,500 ran 2:17:20 in his only other marathon last November in New York.

He was happy to share this moment with his son (first photo).  He wrote that he was pleased to be able to finish strong.  

The only negative about the race was Lagat came up 40 seconds short of the Olympic qualifying standard of 2:11:30 for the men’s marathon (if he’d placed the top 5, he also would have been credited with the standard but 5th was 2:10:29).

He has been training in Colorado (photo). 

Zane Robertson sets new national New Zealand marathon record clocking 2:08:19 at Gold Coast Marathon

Zane Robertson was off to find a juicy steak to eat after setting a new New Zealand men's marathon record on his debut at the distance.

Robertson finished third in the Gold Coast marathon on Sunday in a time of two hours eight minutes and 19 seconds.

That time qualifies Robertson for next year's Tokyo Olympics and this year's world track and field champs in Doha. The previous NZ record was set by his brother, Jake Robertson, in March last year.

The men's race was won by Japan's Yuta Shitara in 2:07.50, with Kenya's Barnabas Kiptum second, 17 seconds ahead of the Kiwi.

"Gave it everything out there today," Robertson wrote on Instagram after the race.

"Pushed the pace and set us up to run a 2.06 sadly failed to hold it together with Kiptum in the last 5k with the headwind gusts.

"We got caught by the dropped off Yuta Shitara and he destroyed us the last 2.5km.

"91% humidity, headwinds first 16.5km and last 5k, rained on us, oh and the shoe lace came undone at 5k into the race.

"So overall pretty happy with a NR (new record).... For now I'm off to have a hot shower, lay down and some dinner at the steak house with good friends.

Zane and his twin brother Jake Robertson moved to Kenya several years ago and have been training there.  

Yuta Shitara sets new course record at the Gold Coast Marathon even when weather conditions were not ideal

The second fastest Japanese marathon runner in history became the fastest runner in Gold Coast Marathon history when Yuta Shitara won the IAAF Gold Label race in 2:07:50 this morning.

The 27-year-old had an exciting duel with placegetters Barnabus Kiptum of Kenya and Zane Robertson of New Zealand over the final 12km before making his move with 2km remaining.

It was the eighth win by Japanese men in the 41-year history of the event and bettered the race record and Australian all comers record previously held by Kenyan Kenneth Mungara (2:08:42).

Shitara takes home $20,000 in victory prize money and an additional $10,000 time bonus for his record-breaking effort today.

Kiptum, the winner of the Hong Kong Marathon in February, finished second in a personal best 2:08:02, while marathon debutant Robertson placed third in 2:08:19.

It was an extra special result for Robertson as his time was a New Zealand record, bettering the previous mark of his brother Jake (2:08:26, Lake Biwa, 2018), and he was crowned the IAAF Oceania Area Marathon Champion for 2019.

The first Australian across the line was Victorian Liam Adams in sixth place clocking a pb 2:11:36 – a bittersweet result for the 32-year-old as it was an agonising six seconds outside the 2020 Olympic qualification standard.

Dual world champion over 1500m and 5000m on the track Bernard Lagat (USA) improved his marathon pr to 2:12:10 for seventh place, while 2013 race winner Yuki Kawauchi (JPN) placed 13th in 2:15:32.

"It's definitely a confidence builder, and I have had a lot of things to make me confident, but this is a big one heading into the Japanese Olympic trials," said Shitara.

Shitara, who stayed with the lead group of four throughout the race, said although he was not aiming for a particular time or result, the win showed his training had paid off.

“We did a lot of training, and I think that helped," he said in a post-race interview.

Weather conditions on the Gold Coast were less than ideal, with athletes in both the full- and half-marathons battling headwinds and heavy rain.

"Honestly, I'd like to be able to run together with Yuta but I'm still not good enough," Kimura said.

Kenyan Rodah Jepkorir (KEN) held off a strong finishing burst from Tasmanian Milly Clark (AUS/TAS) to take the women’s Gold Coast Marathon.

The 27-year-old broke away from the 30km mark and then lasted to break the tape in 2:27:56, with Clark second (2:28:08) and Eritrea’s Nazret Weldu (ERI) third in 2:28:57.

This year’s eight Gold Coast Marathon races attracted a total of 26,287 entries, including 3,678 overseas competitors, as the event continues to achieve a long-term upward trend.

Austin Braithwait has accomplished his goal of completing marathons in all 50 states before the age of 50

A suburban Kansas City man has accomplished his goal of completing marathons in all 50 states before the age of 50.

The Kansas City Star reports that the final stop on Austin Braithwait’s quest was a June 22 race in Duluth, Minnesota.

It almost didn’t happen. The Lenexa, Kansas, man was 26 when he ran his first marathon in Kansas City, Missouri, during an ice storm. The experience was so miserable that he waited another eight years before running another.

But eventually he was hooked, fitting in races around his work travel schedule at UMB Bank. On a couple trips, he squeezed in back-to-back races, running in Mississippi on a Saturday and Alabama on a Sunday.

On another trip he ran in Pennsylvania and New Jersey during a single weekend.

Hagos Gebrhiwet thought he had won the Lausanne 5,000m and stops running one lap too early

Hagos Gebrhiwet, a former world champion, is proof that even the best runners make crucial mistakes. On Friday evening at the Lausanne Diamond League, Gebrhiwet crossed the line with 400m to go and pulled off the track, raising his hands.

The runner was under the impression that he’d won, but he’d miscounted his laps.

Indoor mile world record holder Yomif Kejelcha saw this mistake and continued, taking the win in 13:00.56. Gebrhiwet finished 10th in 13:09.59 — still very impressive considering his temporary celebration.

Brandon McBride got the Canadians started on the track on Friday. The Canadian record holder ran just off his season’s best of 1:43.90 and finishing in 1:44.14.

McBride was fourth, running smooth through the finish and narrowly missing out on a top three finish. First place when to Wyclife Kinyamal in 1:43.78 and second to Ferguson Rotich in 1:43.93.

Aaron Brown was doubling and started the night with a third place finish in the 100m and a season’s best of 10.07. He followed up his 100m with a fourth place finish in the 200m in a new personal best of 19.95.

Bonani Zuke will spend her 40th birthday running the Cape Town Marathon

There must be less painful ways of acknowledging a 40th birthday than running the 62,926 steps it takes an average woman to complete a marathon.

But that’s how Bonani Zuke – one of Fedhealth’s “Dream Chasers” participating in the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon – has chosen to “celebrate” the milestone. “I could have thrown a party but you can throw a party anytime,” she says.

“A party might have made everyone happy but this is for me as an individual. There’s a sense of achievement once you cross the line, so for me it’s not a painful way to celebrate.”

Bonani’s birthday run at the Cape Town Marathon forms part of the Fedhealth Dream Chasers project. Dream Chasers is SA’s hottest new reality web series, featuring the trials and tribulations of three everyday South Africans pursuing their fitness dreams by running the 10km race, the 12km trail run or the 42.2km distance. The contestants receive expert coaching, nutritional advice and gear to bolster their efforts.

In addition, all Fedhealth members receive free entry to compete in the Cape Town Marathon.

The mother of two’s 40th falls on September 15, which is coincidentally the same day the marathon will be run.

Not exactly a novice – she first began running four years ago to lose weight after the birth of her daughter Zimkhitha – Bonani is hoping to drop her time of six hours and five minutes from her maiden marathon (the Soweto Marathon) by more than half an hour.

Like most people turning 40, she is in two minds about how she feels: “I’ve got mixed feelings about it. I’m happy that I’m still alive but I’ve also got pressure from the things I wanted to achieve that I haven’t yet, so I’m a bit anxious about how I’m going to achieve them.”

Well, 42.2km is about long enough to work most of that out.

The 44th Espelette Ridge Race attracts 4,000 runners to breathe the air of the peaks and take in the country festive atmosphere

In the Basque Country this Friday, July 5 and Saturday, July 6, the ridges overlooking Espelette will see some 4,000 runners, many of whom will have traveled hundreds of kilometers to come breathe both the air of the peaks and a country festive atmosphere.

The festivities of the 44th Race of the peaks open this Friday night with a race of 8 km, disputed at night, on the slopes of the Mondarrain. The peloton will climb to the summit after dark, lighting up a small headlamp (departure at 22:30).

With the unexpected return of Thierry Breuil, the former French champion trail and 26 km record holder. Also to be followed by Éric Claverie, the champion of endurance events (24 hours and 100 km) without forgetting the Bayonne champion Guillaume Levoy, winner of the 2017 edition. But the organizers of the Napurrak club no longer run after the champions of the chrono . For them, the last one has as much merit as the first. It's the spirit of the Peaks.

What do you do if your car won’t start and you have a five hour journey to the start line of the Knysna Forest Marathon?

When the car, marathon runner Siviwe Nkombi borrowed from his friend wouldn’t start just hours ahead of a long distance race he wanted to participate in, he knew that he had to come up with a quick plan to get to the site. 

Siviwe, who’s also known as The Lion King, is no stranger to running hard and tedious distances. So when he signed up for the Knysna Forest Marathon he expected nothing short of a win.

“I was about to depart from Mfuleni, which is about five hours away from Knysna, when the car I borrowed from my friend wouldn’t start,” the 29-year-old says.  

After several failed attempts to jumpstart the car battery and desperate to arrive on time to register for the marathon, Siviwe knew that he had to hit the road running.

“I went on to Facebook and asked if anyone’s headed in the direction of Knysna and if there was, they’d find me hitchhiking on the N2,” he said.

The marathon enthusiast who was born in Idutywa in the Eastern Cape spent more than three hours trying to hitchhike a ride to Knysna. Until a man who was headed to George gave him a lift.

“My Facebook post went viral and then one of the marathon sponsors agreed to send someone to pick me up in George so I’d make it in time before the marathon registrations close,” Siviwe says.

But little did he know that his bumpy road was far from over. He had 4% battery life left and nowhere to sleep for the evening and this spurred him on to become even more determined to win the race.

“Eventually I arrived at the venue, registered for the race and a Good Samaritan payed for my overnight accommodation.”

The marathon, which took place on 29 June, was filled with national runners who wanted to showcase their cross-country skills.

“When I arrived at the stadium I was extremely overwhelmed. Not because of all the competition that was there, but because of everything I had to endure to get there. It was one of the worst experiences I’ve ever had,” Siviwe says.

He admits that there was a point where he wanted to give up during his tremulous journey but with so many people garnering for him online, he simply couldn’t.

“I ran that marathon with all I had. I didn’t care about who else was there. I just thought to myself ‘The Lion King is here. I’ll see them at the finish line.’”

Siviwe, who one day hopes to participate in the European Trail Runs, won the 42km marathon with an outstanding time of 2 hours 33 minutes.

“I want to thank everyone who backed me all the way and continues to support me.”

He added that all of his prize money will go towards his dream of one day participating in the European races.

Kenyan Kenneth Mungara, Bernard lagat, Zane Robertson and Yuki Kawauchi are ready to compete at Gold Coast Marathon

Can the man dubbed ‘King Kenneth’ by race organizers, Kenya’s Kenneth Mungara, continue to hold back the years to achieve a fourth victory on the Gold Coast? Has Bernard ‘Kip’ Lagat learned enough from a humbling marathon debut in New York last year to mount a credible challenge? Can New Zealand’s Zane Robertson, who missed last year’s Commonwealth Games marathon on the Gold Coast through injury, atone with a victory this time and perhaps take the family record off twin brother Jake into the bargain?

First, let’s take Mungara, as befits an athlete who is the defending champion and holds the race and Australian all-comers’ records with his 2:08:42 in 2015. Sunday will be precisely two months before his 46th birthday, but he shows no signs of slowing down. Should he win again, Mungara will join Pat Carroll, who himself has the credentials to be considered king of the Gold Coast, and Margaret Reddan as four-time winners of the event.

He may not even be first in category. Bernard Lagat turns 45 in December. By any measure, Lagat is the best all-round distance runner to compete in the Gold Coast race. A silver and bronze Olympic medallist at 1500m and second-fastest ever at the event, world over 1500m and 5000m in Osaka in 2007 – he sits comfortably in any conversation of track distances up to, and including, the 10,000m. The marathon is another matter. His debut of 2:17:20 in New York last year was a harsh learning experience and left him with something to prove.

“One of the most important things I learned from running the New York Marathon,” Lagat said when his Gold Coast commitment was announced, “was the experience of ‘hitting the wall’. A lot of people warned me about it and told me to watch for it, but nothing quite teaches you like living through that experience… I panicked a bit, questioned myself if I could finish.”

If Lagat has conquered those doubts, he could be a big factor on the Gold Coast.

Zane Roberston believes he could have won the Commonwealth Games race. A half-marathon PB of 59:47 suggest that is more than just idle talk. He was happy to talk up his chances pre-race.

“First and foremost, I always target the win,’ Robertson said. “I want to run as fast as the pacemakers allow and once they step off the road anything can be possible. Perhaps a new Oceania record?”

Robert de Castella holds the Oceania record at 2:07:51, his winning time the first year the Boston marathon went open in 1986. Of equal note, Zane’s twin brother Jake holds the New Zealand, and family, record at 2:08:26.

The Gold Coast race also serves as the Oceania championships, so the Oceania champion will accrue valuable rankings points for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

Kenyan pair Ezekiel Chebii and Philip Sanga Kimutai both boast personal bests of 2:06:07, the former from 2016 in Amsterdam, the latter from 2011 in Frankfurt. But the man with the most recent 2:06-clocking is Japan’s Yuta Shitara who ran a national record 2:06:11 in Tokyo last year, a mark subsequently bettered by Suguru Osako’s 2:05:50 in Chicago. Along with the indefatigable Yuki Kawauchi, he gives Japan a strong hand in what has been traditionally a strong race for them.

Overwhelmed by unprecedented demand, Tokyo Olympic organizers said Thursday they hope to run another ticket lottery next month for residents of Japan who got nothing the first time

Millions of Japanese were let down last month when they came away empty-handed in a lottery for next year’s Olympics.

The bad news is that — despite a last-minute change of plans — most applicants will be disappointed again.

There simply aren’t enough Olympic tickets to go around with demand soaring in Japan and elsewhere as Authorized Ticket Resellers — the Olympic agents contracted to sell tickets outside Japan — have also opened sales worldwide.

Demand is being driven by the 35 million people who live in Greater Tokyo, and is in sharp contrast to the last Olympics in Rio de Janeiro where tickets were being given away or went unsold.

Takaya did not say how many tickets had been purchased in Japan so far. He said he would give the number on Friday.

Organizers say there are about 7.8 million tickets for all events. However, an estimate from one previous Olympics suggests that up to 25% of these are off the table immediately, going to sponsors, international federations, 200 national Olympic committees, dignitaries, and so forth. In addition, Tokyo says between 20-30% are set aside for foreign buyers.

An informal estimate by the AP suggests there may be 4-5 million tickets for Japan residents. And that’s probably generous.

Organizers said last month that 7.5 million residents of Japan registered to apply for tickets in the lottery. If each applied for only six tickets — and that seems low — demand would be 10 times over supply.

“This is probably going to be the most popular Olympics, and possibly one of the most popular events of all time,” Ken Hanscom, the chief operating officer of TicketManager, told the AP in an interview.

“The demand from the general public indeed exceeded our expectations,” Tokyo spokesman Masa Takaya told The Associated Press. He said organizers were “absolutely pleased” by the interest.

Takaya said another lottery — open to all Japan residents — would be held by the end of the year as organizers rejigger their plans.

Host and film superstar Anne Curtis is looking to add another feather to her cap with her official participation in the 2020 Tokyo Marathon

Curtis, 34, announced on Thursday that her application for entry to the 42.2-kilometer marathon in the Japan capital has been confirmed.

The Tokyo Marathon, which is scheduled on March 1, 2020, will mark Curtis’ third participation in the six-city World Marathon Majors. She previously finished New York in 2016, and London in 2018.

A runner who finishes all six marathons — which also include Boston, Berlin, and Chicago — is recognized with the Six-Star Finisher title.

Pointing out she “stopped running,” in a reply to a fan on Twitter, Curtis said she will “have to start training” early, with only eight months away until the event.

During the 2018 London Marathon, Curtis, an appointed Celebrity Advocate of UNICEF-Philippines, had on the organization’s banner as a cape as she approached the 42-kilometer finish line.

Running “For the Filipino Youth,” as imprinted on her shirt at the time, Curtis raised funds for the group’s emergencry response program for children in Marawi.

Urging her supporters to donate what they can to reach the P84,000 goal — or double the number of kilometers she ran — Curtis surpassed that by over three-fold, with nearly P300,000 gathered for the cause.

Curtis has yet to announce a charitable cause for her Tokyo stint.

Olympic silver medalist Hellen Obiri is targeting qualification times to enable her to chase double gold at the World Championships in Doha, Qatar in October

Obiri confirmed on Friday that with a conducive program in Doha, she will try her luck in both 5,000m and the 10,000m races.

However, there is a small matter of qualifying in the 10,000m distance to confirm her slot in the Kenya team.

"I have shaken off the bruises from my fall in Stockholm and am back in good shape despite not running well at the Prefontaine Classic in California, USA, last Sunday," said Obiri on Friday in Nairobi.

The Africa champion in 5,000m says London leg of the Diamond League in two weeks' time will offer her a best chance to clinch the qualifying times.

"I will be running and looking for qualifying time in 5,000m at the London Diamond League on July 20-21 after the Stockholm mishap," she said.

On Thursday she won in the Kenya Defence Forces championships clocking 31:43.

On May 20, Obiri endured torrid time in Stockholm as she fell hard and eventually finished 12th in the 5,000m.

However, she will have to be wary of world half marathon record holder Joyciline Jepkosgei who was second to her in Nairobi.

Jepkosgei said she has shelved her marathon plans to focus on making Kenya team for the World Championships. Others are Agnes Tirop, Pauline Korikwiang, former World Champion Linet Masai and Commonwealth 10,000m champion Stella Chesang.

"The focus is always on getting in the best shape and going for the gold. But I have not competed in the 10,000m for a while and that is why I want to test and see how my performance will be in London and then I will decide," said Obiri.

As the defending champion Obiri has an automatic ticket for the 5,000m race. However, she must hit the qualifying mark in the 10,000m race and be among the top two at the Kenyan trials later in July.

70-year-old Frank Meza who was disqualified after clocking 2:53:10 at the Los Angeles marathon has been found dead

Firefighters found a body this morning in the L.A. River bed after they responded to a report of a possible jumper, said the L.A. Fire Department.  The incident was reported shortly before 10 am.  

The county coroner said the body was that of Frank Meza, 70, of South Pasadena. The cause of death has not been determined.  ABC 7  says that Meza was the retired doctor and marathon runner who was recently disqualified by the L.A. Marathon.

The Los Angeles Times had reported earlier that “it wasn’t until Frank Meza checked the internet that he realized so many people were talking about him. Hundreds of strangers from across the country had posted on message boards, branding Meza a liar and a cheat.

“All kinds of allegations were being thrown at me,” he said.  “It was pretty traumatic.”

To that point, the retired physician had forged a different sort of reputation. Soft-spoken and gray-haired, he had mentored Latino students while working to provide healthcare for low-income patients throughout Southern California.

Meza was also a devout runner who, late in life, began entering marathons. The problems began there.

Though he ran mainly around California, eschewing bigger races across the country, his unusually fast times for a 70-year-old caught the attention of the long-distance community.

Runners grew skeptical when he was twice disqualified for irregular splits, the times recorded at various points along the course. An impressive finish at the recent Los Angeles Marathon prompted officials to look closer as doubts erupted into online vitriol and a series of articles on a website called MarathonInvestigation.com.

Derek Murphy, an amateur sleuth who operates the site from Ohio, looked back at numerous races, compiling an array of data, photographs and video that he considered incriminating.

“At this point,” Murphy says, “I have no doubt.”

My Best Runs did not post his time because his splits did not add up.  “For sure Frank did cheat and did not run a 2:53:10 marathon at age 70,” says MBR Director Bob Anderson. “We are sad how this story has played out before he could prove to the world he could run that fast.”

Could a supplement from gut bateria help us be faster runners?

A new study of marathoners, mice and their respective intestines toys with that possibility. It finds that strenuous endurance exercise by human athletes increases the numbers of certain bugs in their microbiomes and that giving those bacteria to mice allows them to run longer.

But the study’s results and implications also raise many questions, including how fully we understand the intricate, entwined effects of exercise on our insides and our insides on exercise and whether, even if we can commercialize and provide athletes’ intestinal flora to other people, we should.

In recent years, of course, scientists, physicians and many of the rest of us have become fascinated by the makeup and potential impact of the gazillions of germs living within us. Accumulating evidence suggests that the composition of these microbes, our microbiome, affects our physical and mental health, weight, risk for various diseases and longevity.

Extrapolating from that evidence, some researchers have tried transferring bacteria from people or animals with health traits, such as leanness, into those without, in hopes of also transferring the desired traits. But results have been mixed. Some experiments have found that obesity-prone mice can avoid gaining weight or lose fat after receiving microbes from lean donors, for example, but people in similar experiments may not.

Still, interest in the impact of the microbiome remains high, including the biomes of active people. Some intriguing recent research has shown that people who exercise regularly tend to have different bugs in their guts than sedentary people and these differences could play a role in the health benefits of exercise.

So, could it be, the scientists wondered, that the extra Veillonella and propionate prompted by the strenuous exercise might create an environment inside runners that would enable them to run better and longer, thanks to improved fuel metabolism and lower inflammation? To delve into that question, the scientists, in the final part of the study, infused mice with Veillonella from one of the runners or a placebo and, separately, with propionate or a placebo and had them all run. The animals that received either the bacteria or propionate ran significantly longer than the other mice before tiring.

Kenyan World half marathon record holder Joyciline Jepkosgei hopes to secure qualifying marks and compete at this year's World Championships in Doha, Qatar, which is set to run from September 27 to October 6

"For now I want to train hard because I target to qualify for the World Championships. Then I will see how it goes on in Doha," said Jepkosgei on Wednesday.

The 25-year-old transited from half marathon to the ultimate distance at the London marathon in April, but could not withstand the pace and had to drop out.

But she is keen to make amends and will start from scratch with an attempt to win a medal in 10,000m race at the World Championships.

"The marathon program is on hold at the moment, but it is something I will certainly watch to return to and conquer," she said.

Jepkosgei on Wednesday took advantage of the absence of World 5,000m champion Hellen Obiri to win in the race when she clocked 15:19.3 ahead of Dorcas Kimeli and Sheila Chepkirui during the Kenya Defence Forces Championships in Nairobi.

Jepkosgei now targets making the Kenya team in 10,000m but has to face the final hurdle that is the national trials later this month to select the team to the World Championships.

"It was a tough race especially from my opponents who were as well prepared for the race. I now shift my focus to the trials with my main target is to make it to the national team," said Jepkosgei.

Jepkosgei last featured in the track competition back in 2015 when she won bronze medal at the Africa Games in the 10,000m race.

"I have to wait and see how my body reacts to the training. Once I'm certain I will see what kind of form I am in then I will determine my final goal for the season," she added.

Teacher Michael Smelser will carry the torch for the Crazy 8's run on July 13th

A Johnson City teacher and coach who suffered serious burns in an accident will now carry the torch for the Crazy 8's run on July 13th.

Michael Smelser spent eight weeks in the hospital in Augusta, Georgia, after a bonfire accident. Now, Smelser has recovered and will bear the torch for the race.

Officials say Smelser is an avid runner and has participated in most of the Fun Fest races. The Liberty Bell P.E. Teacher ran in every Crazy 8's race so far.