Running News Daily

This year Cape Town Marathon will aim for IAAF Platinum Label status

This year’s Sanlam Cape Town Marathon will be under close scrutiny by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), as the annual event aims to better its already-strong participant and spectator appeal by applying for the federation’s new Platinum Label status. 

The marathon, which takes place on Sunday 15 September, is currently the only IAAF Gold Label-status marathon in Africa.

“When you run in an IAAF Road Race Label event, you get to experience an event run on truly world-class best-practice principles,” says Olympian long-distance runner and race ambassador Elana van Zyl-Meyer.

“Not only does an IAAF Road Race Label event offer an excellent runner, spectator and media experience, it also yields great benefits for the development of the sport and helps fight the scourge of doping in sport.”

The new IAAF Platinum Label will be granted from 2020 to races meeting a full set of new requirements and regulations.

These range from the inclusion of a quota of international elite athletes, validation of the course, and photo-finish devices, through well-staffed refreshment stations and sound electronic-timing data-processing and results reporting, to sufficient medical services and local and international television-broadcast support.

With international support for the South African springtime festival of running quickly ramping up, organisers of the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon will this year need to increase marathon entries and further extend its international reach to 12.5% from the 82 countries represented last year.

Lee Lucas, 41, was diagnosed with stage three throat cancer in November 2016 and devastated to learn the disease had spread to his tongue and the lymph nodes in his neck, now he is preparing to run his first Asics 10k

"I started treatment shortly after my diagnosis and it was one of the most harrowing things I have endured to date. I was unable to eat for six months and lost the ability to speak for a period during my treatment."

Lee's wife, Heather, had heard about the Hunts Community Cancer Network (HCCN) and decided to contact them to see if they could offer Lee any support.

HCCN is made up of specialist nursing staff who work with people from the point of diagnosis, through their treatment, providing support to enable them to take back control of their lives. HCCN also has a charity arm that works to provide resources and equipment for people.

"My wife contacted the team and the nurses came to visit within a few days," said Lee.

"Immediately they gave me advice about the medication I was taking, talked about helping me recover both physically and mentally. They visited me regularly helping with prescriptions, looking at solutions for the continuing side effects I was facing. "For a time during my recovery I was unable to get out of bed. Having the HCCN nurses available to visit was invaluable. Nothing we asked was ever too much for them, and they were always there to help. Their support has continued long past my all clear two years ago and still does to this day. Without HCCN my cancer journey would have been much harder, and I am eternally grateful for their help and support."

Lee is now determined to raise as much money as he can for HCCN and has signed up for the Asics London 10k on July 21. He will be joined by Heather and HCCN lead nurse Karen Moseley.

Lee said: "HCCN is an amazing and incredibly worthwhile charity and I am doing this not just to say 'thank you' but to ensure the invaluable work of the team can continue to help other cancer sufferers. It might not seem like a huge distance, but it will be huge to me.

"My treatment has left me with a chronic dry mouth and I cannot leave the house without a bottle of water in my hand as my mouth dries up within minutes. So running 10k with my condition will be a challenge, but I'm determined to do it. I'm hoping there will be lots of water stations and toilets on the route."

HCCN lead nurse Karen said: "On a daily basis, I meet patients who are going through such difficult times. These people always amaze me with how strong they are. Truthfully, when I started the job I didn't do much exercise myself, but we are always promoting the importance of exercise for people with cancer as we know it has an impact on effectiveness of treatment and their emotional and physical well-being.

CAS asked to add women's 50K race walk to '20 Olympics

World champion race walker Ines Henriques is aiming for gender equality by asking the Court of Arbitration for Sport to add the women's 50-kilometer event to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

CAS said Thursday that it will hear her appeal against the International Olympic Committee and the IAAF on July 29-30.

On the Olympic track and field program, the 50K walk is the only men's medal event with no female equivalent. The IAAF has said the women's 50K walk currently lacks the depth and quality to justify Olympic status.

When Henriques won the first world championship title in 2017, only seven athletes from four countries started the race.

Only four finished as Henriques set a world record of 4 hours, 5 minutes, 56 seconds. Liu Hong of China has since lowered the record below four hours, pending official ratification.

39-year-old Portuguese walker won the 2018 European Championship title in a 19-athlete race.

In an interview published on the IAAF website last year, Henriques said her dream was to compete in Tokyo with more than 30 women.

"I hope that the IOC and the IAAF allow me to realize this dream," she said last year.

A brain cancer patient is set to take on the Great North Run, just months after finishing his treatment

Simon Lindsley, 24, from Houghton, is running to raise funds for the Teenage Cancer Trust charity, which provides specialist nursing care to 13-to-24-year-olds with the disease and supported him during his treatment.

Simon was diagnosed with a brain tumour in December 2017 after experiencing memory loss and confusion. After brain surgery, he received radiotherapy on the charity’s unit at the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle, followed by a year of chemotherapy.

The charity’s nurses helped him by explaining his condition in simple terms, while youth support coordinators organised activities to take his mind off treatment.

During his final week of treatment Simon was inspired to sign up for the half-marathon on September 8, despite not having been able to exercise for 18 months.

Simon said: “I have never done anything like this before. But after this last year-and-a-half, I have such a drive to push on through this. As soon as I get over that finish line in September, I’ll know I can still do anything I put my mind to.

“So far I’ve raised over £900 for Teenage Cancer Trust through my Great North Run fundraising.

“I hope that this donation helps Teenage Cancer Trust provide the same help and support that I received and helps others that are going through the same thing.”

Kenyan Rhonex Kipruto, 19, won the men's elite race with a record-breaking time of 27:01, the Atlanta Track Club said, not only that, he ran the fastest time ever on American soil

Spurred on by the chance to pocket $50,000 course record bonuses, Kenyans Brigid Kosgei and Rhonex Kipruto broke the women’s and men’s course records, respectively, at today’s 50th AJC Peachtree Road Race 10-K in Atlanta.  Kosgei, the reigning Chicago and London Marathons champion, clocked 30:22, ten seconds under Lornah Kiplagat’s 2002 record of 30:32.  Kipruto, the reigning world U20 10,000m champion, ran 27:01, just three seconds under the late Joseph Kimani’s 1996 standard of 27:04.  Both athletes were also awarded $8,000 as race champions.

Kosgei had to fight for her victory right to the line.  She was one of four women in contention at the four-mile mark (19:36), all Kenyans: Fancy Chemutai, Agnes Tirop, Caroline Chepkoech Kipkirui and Kosgei.  The quartet was still together through 5 miles (24:44), and appeared to be too far behind the course record pace to achieve the bonus.

“I think the race for the record is gone on the women’s side but we have an outstanding race,” said commentator Craig Masback on the NBC SportsGold broadcast.

Tirop was the first to be dropped when Kosgei accelerated with 26 minutes and 45 seconds on the race clock.  Looking back a few times, she continued to press the pace and appeared to break away to try for the record alone. But less than two minutes later, Kosgei appeared to have blown up.  Chemutai, the winner of the B.A.A. 10-K nearly two weeks ago, passed Kosgei.  Seconds later, Tirop also passed her.

Gritting her teeth and clearly in pain, Kosgei found some extra energy and rejoined the fight.  Using the downhill section of the course before the finish, she upped her pace and as the finish line came into view, and she and Tirop were shoulder to shoulder and running all out.  Kosgei angled to the right just before the tape causing Tirop to cut left behind her losing a step.  At the line Kosgei had a step on Tirop, but both women were given the same time of 30:22.  Chemutai ended up third in 30:32.

Kipruto mostly raced the clock today.  He passed through the one-mile mark in 4:21 (the lone pacemaker Brandon Lasater had already dropped out), and by two miles (8:25) only his younger brother, Bravin Kipkogei Kiptoo, was able to stay with him.  Kipruto blasted through the 5-K in 13:12, and four miles in 17:19.  His 5-mile split was about 21:50, which put him slightly behind course record pace.

But like Kosgei, Kipruto took full advantage of the final downhill section into Piedmont Park.  Sprinting full-out to the line with his unique toes-out running style, he got the record.

“Wow, this guy is a sensation,” said Masback.

Kipruto’s brother got second in 27:31 and Kennedy Kimutai, another Kenyan, finished third in 27:56.

The top Americans on the day were Colin Bennie on the men’s side in 29:10 (8th place) and Emily Sisson on the women’s side in 32:03 (7th place).

About 60,000 runners entered the race today which was founded by the Atlanta Track Club in 1970 when only 122 athletes finished.  It is now the world’s largest fully-scored 10-K.

Three-time world half marathon champion and former two-time world cross-country champion Geoffrey Kamworor will compete at the CPH Half Marathon

Over the past five years or so, Geoffrey Kamworor has been absolutely dominant on the half marathon scene. It all started in Copenhagen, where he – a bit surpringsingly – won the 2014 world half marathon championships.

On September 15, he is back in the Danish capital for the 5th edition of the Copenhagen Half Marathon with a clear mission: to run fast.

“Over these past few years, Kamworor has become the biggest name in the world of running, if we leave the marathon distance out of account. His achievements speak for themselves. The only thing missing on his resume now is probably a world record. Therefore we are very excited that he has announced that he will be coming to Copenhagen to achievement a fast time,” says Henrik Paulsen, director of Sports at the organizing athletics club, Sparta.

Two-time defending champion Kamworor was pre-favourite at the world cross country championships in Aarhus, Denmark, earlier this year.

However, he had to settle for third at that occasion, however, but in May he once again clearly demonstrated his current strength winning a big city race in Bern, Switzerland.

Now he is turning his focus towards the CPH Half – one of his season highlights for 2019 – so sports director Henrik Paulsen:

“Apart from the CPH Half, Kamworor will also be lining up for this year’s New York Marathon. These two competitions are top-priorities to him, so we should expect to see Kamworor in super shape and with the capacity to run really fast. This was evident at the world half marathon championships in Valencia last fall, where he ran the last 5 kilometres in 12:58minutes, which is just insanely fast. In comparison, the Danish record over 5,000 metres is 13:25:39.”

It is no secret, that for the organizers of the CPH Half, getting Kamworor to Copenhagen is a dream come true:

“This is what we have been working for ever since we started this. To see it succeed, is just fantastic.”

The Run The World Global 52-week Challenge has finished. The team logged 122,123 miles or 335.5 daily. Michael Wardian was first American and Kenyan's Eliud Esinyen ran the most miles averaging 15.7 miles daily logging 5,738

Run The World Global Challenge is a world-wide celebration of running.  The program was started by Bob Anderson one year ago, July 4, 2018.  Since that time 281 runners around the world ran or walked and then logged 122,123 miles.  This equals 335.5 miles daily or 2,348 miles weekly for 52 weeks which equals 4.9 times around the world. 

"One of the key reasons we started this program," says creator Bob Anderson, My Best Runs and Runner's World magazine founder, "was to motivate people, bring together runners from all over and to run miles all over the world." 

That all happen. Runners from 20 countries participated, miles were run in 75 countries and it certainly motivated many runners to run more miles than they were running before. 

53-year-old James Kalani had not run much over the last few years and then he entered the RTW Challenge.  After getting in good shape over several months, he started pushing it for Challenge #5 which started March 31. Over the last 94 days he ran and logged 1536 miles.  That's 114 miles weekly.  It was not just covering miles, many were quality. On June 16 he ran 30.6 miles at an average pace of 6:41 per mile.

Before the RTW Challenge creator Bob Anderson was running on average 20 miles weekly.  "I got so motivated by this challenge," says Bob.  "I looked forward to running not just one time daily but often I would run two or three times.  I took a photo everyday and posted it in our Runner's Feed.  I also read every post and commented on each for the whole year.  I have been running since 1962 and have run nearly 1,000 races.  I am an addicted runner but I needed something new and this was it."

In the end Bob averaged 5 miles daily or 35 miles weekly for a total of 1830 miles for the year.  With the added miles he also improved his racing performance.  He ran 7:54 pace for 10k and placed third 70 plus at the London 10,000 in May.  A race with nearly 20,000 runners.

The RTW Challenge team did some amazing things during the year.  69-year-old Brent Weigner lives in Cheyenne Wyoming but many of his 2036 miles were run outside of the United States.  In fact Brent ran miles in 30 different countries. 

The most miles were run and logged in the United States.  The top five countries were: United States (64,899 miles), Kenya (24,066 miles), Palau (8,242 miles), India (7,423 miles) and South Africa (6,765).  The amazing story here is that the little country of Palau has less that 22,000 inhabitants and placed third.  Their team leader Aaron Salvador logged 1,584 miles himself and encouraged his team to run and log. 

The team leader for South Africa, Liz Dumon, is the key reason why her country placed fourth.  She herself ran and logged 1000 miles.  Liz encouraged people to sign up.  In fact our youngest members were twins she recruited along with mom and grandma. The 7-year-old twins Jonathan (logged 118 miles) and his sister Michelle (logged 100 miles) had loads of fun and posted regularly in the Runners Feed.  Their dogs joined in on the fun too. (Third photo of twins with Grandma)

Their 56-year-old grandma (Johanna Fourie) logged 672 miles and placed 10th for females.  Right behind her was mom (Erika Fourie) with 625 miles. 

Who said age is just a number? The top three overall females were 65 plus.  Placing first was 68-year-old Kat Powell (USA).  She logged 1271 miles.  Not far back was 69-year-old Linda Robinson (USA) with 1145 miles followed by 65-year-old Carmella DiPippa (PW) with 1040 miles.  Sixth female was 71-year-old Karen Galati (USA) who logged 835 miles.

On the men's side there were so many stars.  35-year-old Kenyan Eliud Esinyen averaged 15.7 miles daily or 110 miles weekly (second photo).  Many times he ran three times daily.  On April 21 he ran a marathon on a tough course at high altitude clocking 2:22:46 which is 5:27/mile pace.  On January 27 he ran a 10k clocking 31:05.  Eliud ran and logged the most with 5,738 miles. 

Kenya's team leader Willie Korir (27) placed second overall with 5195 miles.  He also posted images regularly in the Runners Feed along with comments.  He also wrote several stories for My Best Runs Running News Daily column including finding inside information about the king of the marathon, Eluid Kipchoge.

The first American and third overall was 45-year-old Michael Wardian with 3618 miles (frist photo). This ultra star pulled off many amazing feats during the year.  Most recently on June 29 he ran 89.9 miles around Washington DC.  On May 4th he ran 62.14 miles at 7:14/mile average pace in Sacramento.  He ran the Big Sur Marathon in 2:35:18 making the podium.  He had run the Boston Marathon earlier a little faster clocking 2:33:23.

In March he travelled to Israel and posted the fastest known time on the 631-mile Natoinal Israel Trail.  He covered this distance in 10 days, 16 hours and 36 minutes.  Earlier he not only ran seven marathons on seven continents in seven days (winning them all) he tacked on three more marathons when he got home.  That's ten marathons in ten days.  He is the complete runner with a wide range.  On Feb 10th he ran a 5k in 17:01. 

"Michael is one amazing versatile runner and we were happy when he decided to join our team," says Bob Anderson.

Second American and fifth overall was 75-year-old Frank Bozanich who logged 3523 miles. Frank has run many ultra races over the years and have won many.  Lots of these miles were not real fast compared to what he has done before.  But on July 30th last year he ran 20 miles in Reno in two hours and 43 minutes.  That is an 8:09/mile pace. 

Finishing in seventh place was 72-year-old Paul Shimon who logged 2835.  Like so many of our team, Paul had to deal with a lot of bad weather in Kansas during the winter.  But he layered up and got in the miles.

Michael T Anderson (61)  placed eighth overall logging 2,798 with lots of fast times along the way.   He has run over 130,000 miles in his lifetime so far.  On June 8th he ran 19:13 for 5k in Atlanta where he lives.  On April 28 he clocked 39:25 for 10k.

"The fastest runner on our team was Joel Maina Mwangi," says Bob Anderson.  This 34-year-old Kenyan placed 13th overall with 1,953 miles logged.  On March 10 he ran a 30:14 10k in Torino Italy.   He ran six half marathons under 1:05.  His fastest was run in Aosta, Italy where he clocked 1:02:50 on September 30. 

"There are as many amazing stories," says Bob Anderson. "I am glad our event is helping motivate runners all over the world.  I am looking forward for year two." 

What's next?  Run The World Global Challenge #6 will be a 10-week program.  There is no entry fee.  You just need to have a free My Best Runs (the sponsor of this program) account and sign up for Run The World. 

Huawei Technologies has renewed its commitment to the Safaricom Marathon by giving $100,000US in support of this year’s event

For the past 10 years, Huawei has contributed over 1,000,000 USD to Lewa Conservancy, becoming one of the top corporate donors of the marathon and contributing significantly to efforts to conserve wildlife, reduce human/wildlife conflict and provide clean water and education to communities in and around Lewa Conservancy.

The marathon which is in its 20th year saw about 1,400 runners from 30 different countries around the world participate.

Huawei had over 50 runners participate. As is the tradition, the Marathon had three categories of runners; 5 km children’s fun race of between 10 to 14 years and 15 to 17 year olds, the 21 KM half marathon which will include team races and the 42 KM full marathon.

“We take corporate responsibility very seriously, not only in our operations and our world-leading ICT products, but also in supporting community development and environment conservation. Throughout our 21 years in Kenya we have contributed to conserving the wonderful flora and fauna in Kenya, and supporting the communities surrounding those areas.

We strongly believe and support the mission of the Lewa Conservancy and Tusk Trust whose impact has been across the world as a successful model for fundraising and conservation awareness. We are happy to see the transformation that the funds raised from marathon has brought to the community,” Stone He, CEO Huawei said.

Funds raised from Huawei and other donors have helped to run and operate Lewa Conservancy, support education projects around Lewa, provide water to over 20,000 people in communities around Lewa, support NgareNdare Forest Trust, support Northern Rangelands Trust and support projects across Kenya including Mount Kenya Trust, Lamu Turtle Conservation project, Borana Conservancy, Big Life Foundation, Bongo Surveillance project, Local Ocean Trust, Tsavo Trust, The Maa Trust For Rangers, Grevy’s Zebra Trust and the Mara Elephant Project.

Huawei has been active in Kenya for 20 years building voice, broadband and mobile money telecommunications infrastructure across the country, providing the most innovative and highest quality smartphones, and enabling leading ICT solutions for safety, transportation, energy, finance and health.

Nike has launched a video starring Caster Semenya that calls for acceptance and echoes its recent films featuring Raheem Sterling, Colin Kaepernick and Serena Williams

The Olympic 800m champion recently won a legal battle with the athletics governing body, the International Association of Athletics Federations, after it had banned the middle-distance runner unless she took hormone-suppressant medicine to control her testosterone levels.

Semenya has naturally elevated testosterone levels as a result of a condition known as hyperandrogenism and had lost a landmark legal case against the IAAF, something that she successfully appealed in the Swiss supreme court.

Nike's film promotes Athlete in Progress – a women's apparel collection by Off-White designer Virgil Abloh that debuted in September 2018 in Paris.

It follows Semenya running through the streets of Johannesburg in her native South Africa, talking about inspiring progress on and off the track. The theme centres on respect, love and acceptance.

Semenya closes with the powerful words: "I have learned to appreciate people for who they are, but first it comes with me appreciating myself and loving myself."

She has accused the IAAF of using her body "as a human guinea pig experiment" and has received support from the South African government and several global sports bodies, including the International Working Group on Women & Sport, WomenSport International and International Association of Physical Education for Girls and Women.

However, not everyone has stuck in her corner. British distance-running legend Paula Radcliffe has been a vocal supporter of the IAAF's position, while noting it was unfair on Semenya.

Addi Zerrenner, 23, made her debut at Grandma's Marathon and qualified for the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials

Addi Zerrenner, 23, made her debut at Grandma's Marathon in Duluth, Minn., and completed the 26.2 miles in 2 hours, 37 minutes, 51 seconds. The time met the qualifying standard (2:45) for the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. It also was the ninth fastest time in the women's field finisher and the 145th overall.

But more than anything else, the race established her as a marathoner.

"It’s been a long time coming," she said. "I always wanted to be a marathoner since high school." 

She used to tell people she was a marathoner and the first thing she'd be asked was what was her best time. Sheepishly, she'd reply, "Well, I've never run one."

That all changed when she crossed the finish line at Grandma's.

"It was like the day was finally here. I’m finally the person who I always thought of myself as." she said.

Zerrenner expected to run close to 2:45, "but I was also going into the race with no expectations because I heard so much about the marathon and that you can never underestimate it. I went through every different type of emotion in the race." 

Her coach, Terry Howell of Santa Barbara, saw Zerrenner's potential as a marathon runner.

“I definitely saw her potential fairly quickly, not only her physical potential but her mental toughness. Addi is super focused and when she gets locked in on a task or goal she just gets it done,” he said.

“The plan all along was to move her up to the marathon distance,” he said of her training. “But I thought it might take us 12-18 months of training before we even thought about running one. Her training, however, accelerated fairly quickly and she responded well to the added distance and harder training sessions.”

Michelle Brownlie is set for half marathon after battling advanced bowel cancer

A dedicated Kilmarnock woman is putting on her running shoes after battling advanced bowel cancer for two years.

Michelle Brownlie had been a runner for most of her life but after receiving a devastating cancer diagnosis in 2016 the 45-year-old became unable to do the thing she loves most.

“It was like a part of me was missing,” she told the Standard.

“I had been running for about 10 years and in fact one of the reasons I didn’t notice symptoms like weight loss was because I thought that losing weight was just part and parcel of life as a runner.

“During the treatment I wanted to run but my body just wasn’t able.”

Michelle battled through a gruelling six months of treatment including radiotherapy, chemotherapy, surgery to remove part of her bowel, a further operation after part of her bowel twisted and an ileostomy.

In July 2017 she received the all-clear but a scan in January 2018 found that cancer had spread to both her lungs.

She said: “I felt healthy, I was getting back to a really good fitness level and when I found out it had spread to both my lungs it was such a shock - but I always try to stay positive.”

She added: “When I was given the all-clear the first thing I did was get back into training. When I was told that the cancer had spread the training ground to a halt once more as I underwent surgery to remove the tumours. .”

By October Michelle was again recovering and returning to her running shoes. She is now on track to complete the Scottish Half Marathon, running for Bowel Cancer UK.

She said: “There needs to be more awareness of the fact that bowel cancer can affect younger people too.

“Being able to go online and see others who had shared their story with the charity made such a difference.”

South African Caster Semenya ran the fastest 800m ever run on American soil at the Prefontaine Classic at Stanford clocking 1:55.7

Caster Semenya was almost four seconds ahead of Americans Ajee Wilson and Raevyn Rogers, who crossed the line in season’s best times of 1:58.36 and 1:58.65. This was Caster’s 31st straight victory over this distance clocking 1:55.7 and the fastest time ever on US soil.  

Semenya continues to race well despite the controversy surrounding the IAAF’s efforts to prevent her from racing without taking medication to lower her naturally-high testosterone, something she has consistently said she will not do.

The Swiss Federal Tribunal ruled that she must be allowed to race while it is considering her appeal of the IAAF’s testosterone rule, upheld in a May 1 ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

In other results, Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands won the women’s 3,000m in a new European record of 8:18.49, in a race that also featured Konstanze Klosterhalfen (who finished second with a new PB of 8:20.07), Genzebe Dibaba (fourth, with a new PB of 8:21.29) and World Cross Country champion Hellen Obiri(who finished sixth).

Also on Sunday, Canada’s Mo Ahmed set a new personal best of 8:15.76 in the 2-mile event, good enough for fourth place. Justyn Knight finished ninth, in 8:19.75. The race was won by World Cross Country champion Joshua Cheptegei of Uganda in a world-leading time of 8:07.54. Ahmed broke his own Canadian 5,000m record at the Oslo Diamond League last month.

Georgia Tech coach Geoff Collins has a fondness for the AJC Peachtree Road Race

His connection to the world’s largest 10K race, which celebrates its 50th running Thursday, goes deep.

Not only has Collins himself run it, but his father, Billy, ran in the first Peachtree in 1970. Billy Collins, who died in 2015 at the age of 64, loved the Peachtree, Geoff Collins said.Beyond that, Collins grew up in a family of runners for whom the Peachtree was an annual event. 

Collins, himself a runner growing up who has one marathon to his credit, has memories that may sound familiar to many Atlantans. Members of the Collins family ran the 6.2-mile race in the morning, “and then we would have a huge family barbecue in the Briarcliff area,” he said. 

“That was a great tradition for our entire family for a long, long time, centered around the Peachtree Road Race.” Billy Collins was no mere casual jogger, an identity that hardly existed in 1970 before the running boom took hold in the U.S. To be a competitive runner at that time required a different outlook and mindset, according to Jeff Galloway, the winner of that first Peachtree. Galloway went on to compete in the 10,000 meters in the 1972 Olympics and become an esteemed elder in the Atlanta running community.

“Even though the highly competitive, focused runners are still looked on as a little obsessive – or a lot obsessive –the bottom line today is that there are a lot of people who are running and understand the benefits of running,” Galloway said.Back then, there was no such consensus, at least among non-runners. It makes Billy Collins, then 19, stand out all the more.

Collins, in fact, blazed through the first Peachtree, finishing in 40 minutes, seven seconds, good for 19th among the 110 finishers, a group that has earned prized status as pioneers in a cherished event.

British athlete Kristian Morgan is aiming to set a new world record for running the iconic 2,189-mile Appalachian Trail

Starting on July 1st, the inov-8 ambassador hopes to break the highly sought-after speed record of 41 days, 7 hours and 39 minutes, set last year by Belgian dentist Karel Sabbe, and held previously by ultramarathon running legends like Scott Jurek and Karl Meltzer. If successful it will be an official Guinness World Record.

To do this, the 42-year-old aims to run and fast-hike about 55 miles a day, sleep between 5 and 7 hours a night and consume approximately 8,000 calories a day.

His “secret weapon” will be revolutionary inov-8 graphene shoes, giving him the world’s toughest grip for the world’s toughest trail running challenge.

The Appalachian Trail (AT) is hugely popular with thru-hikers, most of whom take 5 to 7 months to complete the route, which climbs the equivalent of 16 times Mount Everest. Kristian hopes to do it all in less than 6 weeks.

To put it into perspective, Kristian will attempt to run back-to-back marathons, plus a little more, every day, covering a distance equal to two-and-a-half completions of Land’s End to John o’ Groats (the length of Britain).

Running northbound from Georgia to Maine on the Eastern side of the United States, Kristian will pass through 14 states and be supported throughout by his mum and cousin, who will drive ahead and set up overnight camps at scheduled stops.

“I decided long ago that I wanted to live a life rich in experiences over possessions, and I can think of no better experience than running the AT. It’s going to be the adventure of a lifetime,” said Kristian, who has run 120+ marathons and ultramarathon events.

“I supported Karel when he set the record last year, spending 15 days on the trail with him. I also spent another 5 days on the trail earlier this year. I feel all this experience, coupled with the help I’ve had in planning from AT veterans, stands me in good stead to have a go at the world record.”

Living out of a camper van in the heart of London for the last eight years and working as a self-employed ultramarathon coach, Kristian has done most of his training in and around England’s capital city, often running 100+ repetitions of a small hill near Crystal Palace.

He added: “Life on the AT will be very different to life in London, but I can’t wait to get going. I’ll start running at 4am each day in the dark and push on until reaching the overnight camp. I’m really looking forward to the peace and tranquillity, but less so the prospect of encountering bears and snakes. Meeting a bear in the dark is my biggest fear!”

The AT speed record is one of the most high-profile in the sport of ultramarathon running. Kristian has been able to gain advice from legends like Jurek and Meltzer, plus invaluable support from Warren Doyle – a man who has thru-hiked the AT 18 times.

KBC Dublin Marathon bosses have confirmed that October's race is now officially sold out with a record breaking 22,500 entries

An additional 2,500 tickets went on sale for the marathon this morning and over 8,000 runners were vying for a place.

Earlier today, Dublin Marathon bosses apologized to members of the public who were experiencing difficulties while trying to book a place in the popular race due to a technical malfunction with their website.

The team said that an issue with the EventMaster database was causing problems for those trying to login to the site during peak demand.

Organizers confirmed the additional entries back in February, bringing the event to a field of 22,500 for the first time.

Dublin Marathon tweeted this morning: "The #KBCDublinMarathon is now sold out with a record 22,500 entries.

"We know that many of you are disappointed not to have secured an entry.

"We had over 8,000 vying for 2,500 entries which led to some technical difficulties with Eventmaster often encountered during peak demand."

The KBC Dublin Marathon will be celebrating its 40th anniversary this year.

The popular race completely sold out of the first 20,000 entries back in December - a whopping ten months before the big event.

The 42km race will take place on Sunday, October 27 at 8.45am across Dublin city center.

A Strong Elite women´s Field is set to attempt to lower the course record of 30:32, set by Lornah Kiplagat in 2002 at AJC Peachtree Road

Leading the way is Brigid Kosgei, 25, whose 29:54 on a downhill course in Madrid on New Year’s Eve ranks #2 all-time. Kosgei, winner of both the 2018 Bank of America Chicago Marathon and 2019 Virgin Money London Marathon, hasn’t lost a race since last September.

She will have her work cut out for her, however, with Kenyan compatriots Fancy Chemutai and Caroline Chepkoech Kipkirui, a late addition, in the field.

Chemutai, 24, owns the fourth-fastest 10K in history (30:06) and the second-fastest half marathon (1:04:52), just one second off the world record. On June 23, she broke the course record at the B.A.A. 10K, running 30:36. Kosgei, however, won in their most recent matchup, the Aramco Houston Half Marathon in January, by 22 seconds. The 25-year-old Kipkirui, meanwhile, has a 10K personal best of 30:19, the sixth fastest in history.

Edna Kiplagat, the two-time IAAF World Champion at the marathon and 2016 Peachtree Champion, and late addition Ruti Aga of Ethiopia, the 2019 Tokyo Marathon Champion who finished third behind Kosgei and Chemutai in the Houston half, could also contend, along with Kenya’s Agnes Tirop (30:50)

The top American in the field is Emily Sisson (Scottsdale, AZ), who will be racing for the first time since running 2:23:08 in London, the second-fastest American debut at the distance. Sisson, 27, is the 2016 USATF 10 km Champion and in January ran just five seconds off the American record for the half marathon.

The footrace fields will be aided by pacemakers for the first three miles down Peachtree, as the men's field will look to set out at 4:17 per mile pace and the women's field will attempt to average 4:55 per mile in an attempt to eclipse the event records.

Sifan Hassan runs 8:18.49 for the win at the Women’s 3000 Prefontaine Classic

Fans at Stanford didn’t get to see the fastest women’s 3000m ever, but they may have seen the greatest clean women’s 3000m race ever as Sifan Hassan of Netherlands ran 8:18.49 for the win, Konstanze Klosterhalfen of Germany ran 8:20.07 for second, and Letesenbet Gidey of Ethiopia 8:20.27 for third, the three fastest non-Chinese outdoor times ever.

Shannon Osika rabbitted the field the first 1000 (2:45.75) and then Mary Kuria took over through 2000 (5:36.15). Kuria picked up the pace as she went down the backstretch to hit 2000, and once she stepped off the track Gidey kept the pace going.

Gidey went from running 67- and 68-second laps to 65.03 with two laps to go as only Genzebe Dibaba was within a second of her. A 65.88 penultimate lap gave Gidey a 1.14-second lead at the bell over Hassan, who had passed Dibaba just before the bell as Dibaba was fading.

However, Gidey was slowing too. She stumbled around the first turn and took a step on the inside of the rail before regaining her balance.

Hassan would pass her on the backstretch and continue on to the dominant victory. Klosterhalfen would pass Dibaba on the final turn and Gidey right before the finish for 2nd as Klostehalfen’s last lap was 64.40 to 66.31 for Gidey.

Mark Messmer repeated as the champion of the Missoula men's marathon, breaking his personal best time with a 2:23:59, the second fastest in course history

The 13th annual running of the Missoula Marathon had nearly 4,000 participants from all over the country came out to run either the full or half marathon.

"It's awesome, hometown for me, I went out and did Boston this year and that was really cool, definitely a whole different atmosphere," Messmer said. "But this is just as cool, coming across the bridge, there's nothing like that with all the people cheering and as you pass people in the half everybody's cheering for you, yelling your name. It's really cool."

Messmer won by nearly eight minutes, but the women's race was much closer. Kayla Brown of Edwardsville, IL. won the race by less than a minute.

"I kinda risked it a bit in the middle, so i wasn't sure if that was the right move at the time, it seemed right," Brown said. "I was a little nervous near the end but, you gotta take risks."

Polson native Cynthia Arnold broke the record for fastest marathon while pushing a stroller. The previous record was 4:06, and Arnold broke the record by nearly an hour with a time of 3:11, good for 8th place in the women's race.

"I'm happy, I'm glad, I think the kids had fun. I think it went really well." Arnold said. "The Missoula Marathon is beautiful and fun and it was a really good experience, and a lot of my friends are here, so we're happy."

Kenneth Kosgei of Oregon and Bigfork's Mackenna Morley won the men's and women's half marathon's.

America’s Biggest Road Race Is Atlanta’s Fourth of July Tradition

Thursday will be the 50th running of the Peachtree Road Race, a 10K that has become an Atlanta Fourth of July tradition. The idea for the race came in 1969 when Tim Singleton, then Georgia State University’s cross-country coach, and a few friends were driving back to Atlanta after running a Fourth of July race in Fort Benning, Ga. They thought, why not create one ourselves?

“July 4, 1970, was that first Peachtree with 110 finishers. We call those our original 110,” said Rich Kenah, executive director of the Atlanta Track Club, and Peachtree’s race director. (Singleton died in 2013.)

Now the event is the largest race in the country, with 54,570 finishers in 2018, and Kenah expects the number to be closer to 60,000 this year. (For comparison, the New York City Marathon had 52,813 finishers last year.) It’s a draw for pros, too, with $200,000 in bonus prize money up for grabs. The race has also doubled as the U.S. 10K women’s championships three times, and the men’s 10K championships four times. It even has its own shoe.

But what about the heat?, I asked Kenah.

“If you live in the southeast, you’re accustomed to hot, humid conditions through the summer,” he said. “It is what in part keeps Peachtree special.”

If you’re thinking of hopping in this year — too late. The race is sold out. You either need to be a member of the Atlanta Track Club, or gain entry through a lottery to make it in for 2020.

Would You Run 400 Meters Up A Ski Jump?

Picture running one time around a track. But instead of flat 400-meter lap, take that track to 6,870 feet above sea level and ramp up the grade to 37 percent. Now you’ve got the course for the Red Bull 400 in Park City, Utah, an uphill sprint race to the top of an Olympic ski jump.

As the highest altitude event in Red Bull’s global 17-race series, this steep jaunt up the 2002 Olympic Winter Games jump is not for the faint of heart—a fact reinforced by the collection of oxygen tanks waiting at the top. More than 1,000 athletes from all walks of athletic lives lined up for the race on September 15 at the Utah Olympic Park.

Given that scrambling up ski jumps isn’t a sport you can practice on the regular, the Red Bull 400 is somewhat of an equalizer between athletes. During the multiple heats that took place throughout the day, you could spot everyone from hardcore CrossFit athletes and Olympic Nordic skiers to recreational runners and adaptive athletes—including Misty Diaz, a female athlete born with the most serious form of Spina Bifida.

“Everyone who’s going up this hill is doing it for a different reason—for time, to see if they can do it, or because they have an obstacle in life and they think, If I can do this, then I can get through that,” Diaz says. The 34-year-old pushed her way to the top using a pair of pink crutches and impressive upper-body strength, with the goal of inspiring other “#spinabeautiful” athletes.

The steepness of the course is one difficult aspect; the surface is another. The jump is covered in slippery hula-skirt-like grass, topped by a grid of ropes. Although you could run up the first 100 to 150 meters, you will inevitably be forced into an awkward bear crawl. (Insider tip: Wear gloves for extra traction and try not to look up too often.)

The final stretch narrows to a wooden ramp with small steps to reach the finish line mats, where athletes collapse to catch their breath. Your heart rate will skyrocket and your calves will scream, but you’ll feel as though you just summited a miniature mountain in a matter of minutes. A combination of high-end aerobic fitness, mental toughness and upper-body strength all come into play during this short sufferfest.

At the final showdown—where the top athletes from all the individual heats go head-to-head—men’s winner Miles Fink-Debray came across in a record-setting 3.45.6, and professional triathlete Megan Foley defended her title in 5.14.4.

“I really love the fast and furious events, so I kind of love this,” Foley said after the race. “It’s shorter than what I normally get to do, but it’s so hard and so fast, it’s just a fun event. I was really nervous because of the high caliber of the athletes that are here this year, so I was stoked to be able to just hold my own against them.”

A Marathon With Ten Wine Breaks Is Coming To London This Year

If your marathon of choice isn’t a wine marathon, you’re doing life all wrong.

Keen runners and oenophiles may recall that we’ve written about the Marathon du Medoc before: France’s bafflingly brilliant wine marathon. Well, you can scrap the Eurostar trip, because the UK’s very own wine marathon takes place on September 8th, a stone’s throw away from London – and entries are open now!

Boasting gorgeous scenery, an undulating route, and ten glorious wine stops, the Surrey Bacchus Marathon is Right Up Our Street. To be fair, anything named after the notorious party-lovin’ Greek god of “wine, fertility, and ritual madness(!)” was always going to play well with us – but this exceeds even our wildest hopes.

The wine marathon takes place on the grounds of the Denbies Wine Estate, set amongst the rolling fields and woods of the Surrey Hills – and with it being just outside the M25, we can almost claim it’s in London. Come September, the tranquil estate will be filled with the sights of sweaty runners sipping on a refreshing Chardonnay before jogging on their merry way. And with ten wine stops and twelve wines on offer over the full marathon, it’s going to get very merry indeed…

You’ll be sampling the finest English wines during your run, as the decidedly boozy drinks stations give you a combo of runner’s high and nice daytime drunk. Fancy dress is very much encouraged, and there will be bands playing at various points of the course too. Thankfully, if you don’t feel you can hack a wine marathon just yet, the event also offers a wine half-marathon and – new for 2019 – a wine 10km. It’s important to build up to it, you know.

At the finish line, your presumably rather wonky run will be rewarded with a medal, t-shirt, hog roast, and – because you’re clearly not already sozzled by this point – a complimentary drink. We’ll see you at the start line, praying to Bacchus to see us through…

Peter Kline has completed 45 marathons pushing young people with disabilities

Peter Kline has run over 100 marathons — an impressive feat in itself. But what makes him so remarkable is that he has finished 45 of those marathons while pushing young people with disabilities in front of him. Kline wants them to know the joy of running too.

Kline started hitting the pavement when he was in his early fifties after running a 10k with his nephew. Eventually, he began running marathons — with the goal of qualifying for Boston's famous race. And, years later, he did. But, the Boston Marathon turned out to be special for many reasons.

His friend Scott Patrick was diagnosed with glioblastoma, a deadly brain cancer, and asked Kline to run the race to raise money for cancer research. Kline helped Patrick and other volunteers raise about $60,000. Patrick passed away the same year, but not before Kline gifted him the finisher's medal.

Being able to help others through his beloved sport made an impression. Kline, now 66, told CBS News he knew of a father-son duo who would run races together — the father pushing his son with disabilities as he completed the course. But, he wondered, "What about kids who don't have a dad to do that?"

After being connected to a woman with two daughters who have cerebral palsy, he decided up to run the Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon in 2012 with one of the girls. The little girl loved it, and Kline said his mission to share his love of the sport "just started rolling."

He has dubbed the mission, "Marathons with Meaning."

"I have a business card that says marathons with meanings and if I see them at a Starbucks, or airport or store, I just go up to the parents, and say, 'If your kid ever wants to run a marathon, let me know,'" said Kline.

Kline said he pays for everything having to do with the race himself out of his own pocket. "It feels better that way," he said. "I just feel like that is the way of giving back to society."

he young people he pushes have ranged in ages from eight to 32 and have many types of disabilities, from cerebral palsy to traumatic brain injuries.

"They love it. It's like their Super Bowl," Kline gushed. "They absolutely love the sounds, the noises, the feelings. The other runners, they're always very generous. They give them high-fives."

Kline said he runs about seven marathons per year with rider-athletes, which can lead to a grueling training schedule. "They're my training motivation. If I stop running, I may never start again. They give me inspiration," Kline said. "When I look around and see what these kids and these families are dealing with, my problems are so small."

One of the runner's favorite athletic shirts has the saying,"Keep moving, love unconditionally and give it away" written on it. And, that is just how he has chosen to live his life.

"I don't want to stop. I certainly want to keep my body healthy enough to keep doing it," he said. "I think I can maybe make it to my 80's. My goal is to keep doing this and inspire other people to take up the mantle when I can't do it."

Running Revolutionary Kathrine Switzer's Life Is Being Made Into a Movie

Kathrine Switzer's best-selling memoir, Marathon Woman, is set to be adapted into a film by Chastain Film Capital. Switzer, now 72, is best-known for becoming the first woman to officially register and run the Boston Marathon. She also played a key role in establishing the first women's Olympic Marathon in 1984.

The Missoula Marathon will bring an estimated $2 million to the Garden City economy

It’s not just the sound of pounding feet when the Missoula Marathon returns this weekend.

The event is also bringing the beeps of debit card readers and opening cash registers, with new estimates saying race weekend could be worth as much as $2 million to the Garden City economy.

More than 6,000 racers, plus all their families and friends will be in Missoula for the 13th annual running of the marathon, and its associated races, starting on Friday night.

And that means no small bump in Missoula’s business, from hotels to restaurants and retail.

Our news partners at The Missoula Current did some number crunching and are reporting today the economic impact of the Marathon this year should hit $2 million, if not more.

Most downtown hotels are sold out or expecting to be, and with 40% of the participants coming from outside Montana, that means expenditures have the most impact locally.

It’s not just business that are helped economically — local charities, running programs and Missoula Parks and Rec are expected to receive upwards of 40-thousand dollars of the proceeds.

Jim Walmsley wins Western States 100 smashing his own course record

Jim Walmsley wins the 2019 Western States 100 in a course record 14:09:28, breaking his own course record of 14:30:04 set last year.

“I made up a lot of time pushing pretty good up Robinson, Devil’s Thumb as well, then things began to relax,” he said on the finish line, adding there were a few aid stations when he was not so fresh. “Things started rolling again when I crossed the river.”

“It was a big goal just to come here and try and win. It’s one thing to win at Western States, it’s a once in a lifetime thing, but to do it twice, puts you a bit more ‘two time guy right here.”

Jared Hazen took second at the 2019 Western States 100 in 14:26:46, also under Jim Walmsley’s previous course record.  

Before this year’s race Walmsley said his mindset and approach to the race have changed little, and with favorable weather and decent course conditions, a push to again break the record could be in play.

“I might kind of pull things back (from) maybe not running as risky, but at the same time, counter to that, there’s pretty good weather predictions right now,” said Walmsley. “This will be my fourth time racing, fourth year in a row, and it’s by far the coolest year. There’s also that tempting side of it of like, ‘I always want to see what I can run here.”

Walmsley was on a record-breaking pace in 2016, but strayed off course with less than 10 miles to go. He fought through exhaustion to finish 20th with a time of 18:45:36. In 2017, which had a similar amount of snow on the course as this year, Walmsley was several minutes ahead of his 2018 record time during the early portions of the course, but as the day wore on, temperatures climbed past 90 degrees and exhaustion knocked him out of the race with a little more than 20 miles to go.

“Ultimately, it’s about listening to my own pace and just putting everything out there regardless,” he said. “As long as I end up giving my best effort and going to the well to get there, I’m always happy with it. Whether it’s the DNF in 2017 or the course record last year. I’m pretty proud of both days and the fact that I know I gave everything at both races. You can always live with that.”

Coming into this year’s race, Walmsley said he feels he’s matured as a runner, which has given him the confidence to overcome the mental and physical hurdles that arise during a 100-mile race.

The Guinness World Record for the Largest Pride Charity Run Has Been Shattered

The streets of New York City were undeniably colorful this weekend: On Saturday, June 29, the New York Road Runners (NYRR) and Front Runners New York (FRNY) teamed up to host the 38th annual five-mile LGBT Pride Run.

This year, they had a special mission in mind: to set the Guinness World Record for largest Pride charity run.

To break the Guinness Record, more than 6,000 participants had to compete in the race. As of Thursday, the amount of people registered for the race—which sold out—was around 10,000, according to a press release issued to Runner’s World from NYRR.

Then on Saturday, NYRR announced that 10,236 people completed the race, shattering the record. There was a Guinness World Records adjudicator onsite to verify the record once the final finisher crossed the line, a spokesperson for NYRR told Runner’s World.

The race served as a finale for LGBTQIA+ Pride Month, officially recognized in June. It also complemented WorldPride, an international event hosted by New York City that welcomed LGBTQIA+ members from around the world to engage in special events, parties, and performances throughout the month of June.

This year is especially noteworthy for the LGBTQIA+ community, because it marks the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots, a series of protests in Manhattan in 1969 that initiated the gay rights movement in the United States.

Each year, an LGBT charity organization is chosen to be beneficiary for the funds raised from the Pride Run. This year’s recipient was The Center (The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center) located in the West Village, which provides career advice, family guidance, as well as health support to the gay community in New York City.

The five-mile race began on the East Drive at 67th in Central Park, ran north around the park’s upper loop, then finished on the 72nd Street Transverse. Early birds who made it before the 8:30 a.m. were treated to a special surprise: limited-edition rainbow pairs of Goodr sunglasses, which were sold until they ran out.

While there were only a limited number of sunglasses, all participants received a rainbow-themed technical tank along with their race bib. Prizes were also awarded to the top four men and women, as well as the five largest participating teams. The men’s winner was Kedir Figa of Ethiopia, who finished in 25:19. The women’s winner, Lindsey Scherf of New York, finished in 28:06.

For those who couldn’t make it to New York City for the race, the NYRR Virtual Pride Run 5K continues until Sunday, June 30. So far, more than 5,000 runners from across the world have completed the virtual Pride race, according to a press release from NYRR.

Your guide to this year's Prefontaine Classic

The Prefontaine Classic relocated, temporarily, and it brought the best fields of the Diamond League season with it to Stanford, California on Sunday June 30.

That includes the world’s fastest man and woman this year (Christian Coleman and Elaine Thompson), the athlete who has made the most worldwide headlines this season (Caster Semenya) and a bevy of other reigning Olympic and world champions.

Notably, Olympic 10,000m champion Almaz Ayana of Ethiopia and Olympic 1500m champion Faith Kipyegon will compete for the first time since 2017. World 100m champions Justin Gatlin and Tori Bowie are in their first Diamond League meets in more than one year. It’s the first Diamond League in two years for 2008 Olympic 400m champ LaShawn Merritt. It’s also the first race of 2019 for Olympic 1500m champion Matthew Centrowitz.

NBC and NBC Sports Gold air live coverage Sunday from 1-3 p.m. Pacific.

The Pre Classic has been held annually since 1975 in Eugene, Ore. But Hayward Field’s reconstruction ahead of the 2020 Olympic Trials forced a move to Cobb Track and Angell Field at Stanford.

Here are the Pre Classic entry lists. Here’s the schedule of events (all times Pacific):

Here are 10 events to watch:

Men’s Pole Vault — 12:43 p.m.The Big Three of the event meet for the first time this season: 2012 Olympic champion and world-record holder Renaud Lavillenie of France, 2017 World champion Sam Kendricksand 2018 and 2019 world leader Mondo Duplantis of Sweden, who just turned pro after his freshman year at LSU. Lavillenie has competed just once this season due to injury. Duplantis was beaten at NCAAs by Chris Nilsen (also in the Pre field). But Kendricks has been hot, winning the first three Diamond League pole vaults this season (though Lavillenie and Nilsen weren’t in any of those fields and Duplantis just one).

Women’s High Jump — 1:08 p.m.U.S. champion Vashti Cunningham takes another crack at Russian Mariya Lasitskene, who has just two losses in the last three years. Cunningham is 0-7 versus Lasitskene but has this spring already bettered her top clearance of 2018. Lasitskene, though, appears in top form after taking three attempts at a world record 2.10 meters in Ostrava last week.

Women’s 3000m Steeplechase — 1:11 p.m.Six of the eight fastest in history, headlined by world gold and silver medalists Emma Coburn and Courtney Frerichs. The only time either Coburn or Frerichs won a steeple that included any of the four fastest Kenyans in history was at those 2017 Worlds. Another chance Sunday.

Women’s 100m — 1:27 p.m.NCAA champion Sha’Carri Richardson would have been the favorite here in her pro debut if not for what happened Friday. Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, a two-time Olympic 100m champion, clocked her fastest time in six years (10.73 seconds) to become the fastest mom in history and No. 2 in the world this year behind Rio gold medalist Elaine Thompson. Also watch reigning world champ Tori Bowie, who is coming back from a quad tear and coaching change.

Women’s 800m — 1:47 p.m.Caster Semenya races her trademark event for the first time since a Swiss Supreme Court ruled her eligible while it deliberates on her appeal against a Court of Arbitration for Sport decision to uphold an IAAF rule capping testosterone in women’s events from the 400m through the mile. The Swiss court ruling applies only to Semenya and not the other Rio Olympic medalists, Francine Niyonsaba and Margaret Wambui, who are also affected by the new rule. So Semenya’s closest threat at Pre is American record holder Ajeé Wilson, but Semenya has won 30 straight 800m races dating to 2015.

Men’s Shot Put — 2:01 p.m.Olympic champion Ryan Crouser had a sterling record at Hayward Field, taking NCAA, Pre Classic and Olympic Trials titles. He’s pretty strong in California, too, recording his personal best (22.74 meters) in Long Beach in April. Nobody has been within a foot and a half of that this season, but the last two world champions (New Zealand’s Tom Walsh and American Joe Kovacs) will try to snap his undefeated 2019 on Sunday.

Men’s 400m — 2:19 p.m.Lost some sizzle with the withdrawal of 2012 Olympic champion Kirani James, who has missed time with Graves’ disease and, more recently, his mother’s death. Instead, the three fastest Americans of the last decade line up — 2018 and 2019 world leader Michael Norman (43.45 from April 20), 2017 world No. 2 Fred Kerley and 2008 Olympic championLaShawn Merritt.

Women’s 200m — 2:25 p.m.Strongest sprint field of the meet: 2016 Olympic champion Elaine Thompson, 2015 and 2017 World champion Dafne Schippers and 2018 world leader Dina Asher-Smith. Should produce the fastest time in the world this year, which is currently 22.16, and the favorite for world champs.

Men’s 100m — 2:39 p.m.Justin Gatlin and Christian Coleman go head-to-head for the first time since the 2017 Worlds, where Gatlin took gold, Usain Bolt silver and Coleman bronze. Coleman is the world’s fastest man this Olympic cycle (9.79) and this year (9.85). Gatlin, 37, hasn’t broken 10 seconds since beating Bolt but has a bye to defend his title in Doha in September.

Men’s Mile — 2:51 p.m.Olympic 1500m champ Matthew Centrowitz races on the track for the first time since July 22, eyeing his first win in the Pre mile in his sixth try. The foes are formidable, including the top two milers since Rio — Kenyans Timothy Cheruiyot and Elijah Manangoi — Norwegian brothers Filip and Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Ethiopian Yomif Kejelcha, who on March 3 broke the 22-year-old indoor mile world record. Nobody has been within four seconds of the outdoor mile word record (Hicham El Guerrouj‘s 3:43.13 in 1999) since 2007.

Two of Canada's fastest-ever marathoners Cam Levins and Reid Coolsaet are going to battle it out at this year's Edmonton lululemon 10K

Natasha Wodak, Cameron Levins and Reid Coolsaet are leading the field for the 2019 Edmonton lululemon 10K. The three Olympians and previous lululemon 10K winners will line up against a strong elite field in the sold out event.

The 2019 race sold out in a record time of 10 hours and will host 7,000 runners.

Wodak is on a tear this season. The B.C native has won five races in 2019 alone and come away with two Canadian championship titles. Wodak has been named to the World Championship team for the 10,000m following a huge run at Payton Jordan in early May where she hit world standard and narrowly missed her own Canadian record, and a win at the Canadian 10,000m trials in June.

Coolsaet had a slightly later start to his 2019 season following a setback in training which meant he wouldn’t be prepared for the Hamburg Marathon where he initially intended to open his season. He instead ran his spring marathon in Ottawa, 10 years after debuting on the same course. Following Ottawa, he’s lining up for the Edmonton 10K and will race Canadian marathon record holder Levins.

Levins had to withdraw from the London Marathon earlier this spring due to injury, but he’s back in good form and using a series of summer races to gear up for the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon this October. At STWM Levins hopes to lower his own Canadian record.

He told Canada Running Series, “My training since [the Toronto lululemon 10K] has been great. It has taken a step forward and I think there is a tendency to do that once you get your first race out of the way.”

Race race goes at 7:30 a.m. on July 7 starting at the Alberta Provincial Legislature.

Kenya´s Rhonex Kipruto will be the man to beat at AJC Peachtree Road Race

On July 4, Kipruto will be chasing an even-larger bonus at the AJC Peachtree Road Race —$50,000 in honor of its 50th Running - for breaking the event record of 27:04."I wouldn't put it past him," said Sam Grotewold, director of professional athletes at New York Road Runners, which puts on the Central Park race. 

"You could tell (in New York) that you were watching something special even from the first mile or two." And that New York race wouldn't even be Kipruto's fastest 10K of 2018: In September, he won the Birell Grand Prix Prague 10K in 26:46, just two seconds off Komon's world record.

Set by Joseph Kimani in 1996, the Peachtree event record of 27:04 still stands as the fastest 10K ever run in the U.S. and is tied for ninth-fastest in the world. (The net downhill elevation of the Peachtree course means that times here are not eligible for official U.S. or world records.)  

Kipruto said recently that his training is going well, declaring: "I am ready to tackle the race."Coached by the famed Brother Colm O'Connell, an Irish missionary at St. Patrick's school in Iten, Kenya, Kipruto finished sixth in the IAAF World Cross Country Championships earlier this year and is coming off a victory at the Stockholm Diamond League meet on May 30 in 26:50.16. 

That's not only the fastest 10,000 meters on the track since the 2017 World Championships, but one of the fastest in almost eight years.  And he's only 19 years old.  "Distance runners run better as they get into their late 20s," said Jeff Galloway, winner of the inaugural Peachtree in 1970.

Kenyan Maiyo Kipkurui and Emma kiruki won the 2019 Safaricom Lewa Marathon

Kipkurui, the two time Brighton Marathon champion clocked 2:20.04, three minutes ahead of Samson Lemaiyan (2:22.52) who took the second position while Edward Nderitu finished third in 2:24.31.

“I have been in training for the past two months preparing for this particular race, it felt like I was running in London, the support was massive.” Kipkurui told Citizen Digital.

“I did not even now that I was leading because I was with the 21km runners but they dropped one after the other until I was left alone,” he added.

In the women’s category, the 2008, champion Emma Muthuni Kiruki returned to her winning ways 11 years Later, clocking 2:50.31, 13 minutes ahead of Daisy Kipsugut (3:03.03) and Mary Wairimu 3:18.50.

The 36-year-old finished third in 21km in 2017 after a nine-year sabbatical from the competition.

“The heat was too much and the track very difficult, following the half marathon runners helped me a lot in increasing my pace.

“I had prepared very well but the race got difficult towards the end now am going back to the drawing board to prepare for the next race,” Kiruki said.

In the 21km race Morris Munene easily defended his title in a time of 1:06.06 ahead of John Elimlim (1:06.29) and Mike Boit (1:06.53)

“The competition was stiff but I had prepared well, I wanted to use the race to prepare for the year’s Berlin marathon.” Munene told citizen digital

In the women’s category, fresh from pacing assignment in China Miriam Nakitare won the 21km women’s race in a time of 1:15.11.

“I had prepared well for the race although when I started it was a little difficult but after 10km I saw the weakness in other competitors who could not take the hills easily and that is where I won the race.” Said Nakitare

Paulin Wangui (1:16.14) was second while Coroline nyaguthii (1:17.30) was third.

With the first lady Margaret Kenyatta being the chief Guest she joined over 1400 participants who took part in the event celebrating 20 years since inception on 2000. She took part in the 5km race.

Three-time Berlin Marathon champion Kenya’s Gladys Cherono has predicted that the Women-only World Record could go down at the next London Marathon

Cherono, who made her London debut last year to finish fourth, disclosed on Wednesday that Mary Keitany’s Women-Only World Record of 2 hours, 17 minutes and 01 minute set at the same course in 2017 could be broken owing to the favorable weather and strong field in the English capital.

“It has been forecast that the weather in London will be warmer on Sunday and that, coupled with a strong field featuring the top five marathon entrants each of whom has run sub-2 hours and 20 minutes in the last one year with the exception of one, Keitany’s Women-only World Record in 2017 could be lowered,” said the 35-year-old Cherono, whose three World Marathon Major victories came from Berlin.

Cherono completed her hat-trick of victories in Berlin last year in 2:18:11, the sixth fastest time in the history of the marathon.

However, it’s Keitany who boasts the fastest time in the rich field for London Marathon from her trail-blazing victory in 2017, followed by Cherono’s 2:18:11 from last year’s Berlin Marathon. Defending champion Vivian Cheruiyot also weighs in with her triumphant time of 2:18:31 from last year’s race.

Kenya’s Brigid Kosgei has the fourth fastest time in the field of 2:18:35 from her victory at Chicago Marathon last year and is followed by Ethiopian Birhane Dibaba, who has a personal best of 2:19:51 from Tokyo Marathon last year.

Organizer Jim Ratcliffe says this about the sub two hour marathon attempt coming up: Nobody's been able to achieve this. It's not unlike trying to put a man on the moon.

Eliud Kipchoge will attempt to break the two-hour barrier for the marathon in Vienna in October after London was snubbed for the Ineos 1:59 Challenge.

The challenge - 65 years after Roger Bannister broke the four-minute mile - had been thought more likely to take place in the UK after the IAAF World Athletics Championships in Doha.

Instead, the Kenyan world record-holder will make his second bid to run the first sub-two-hour marathon in the Austrian capital on October 12.

"After an extensive worldwide assessment process, The Prater - the famous Viennese park - has been chosen by the INEOS 1:59 Challenge as the venue that will give Kipchoge the optimum conditions to write himself into the history books," Ineos said.

Kipchoge ran the marathon in a time of two hours and 25 seconds on the Monza race track in Italy in his previous attempt to break the two-hour mark. He was assisted by pacemakers who ran set sections of the course on that occasion, meaning it was not recognised as a world record.

The 34-year-old 2016 Olympic gold medal winner set the current world record in Berlin last September when running 2:01:39, beating the previous best by 78 seconds.

He also ran the second-fastest time in history when completing the London marathon in April in a time of 2:02:37.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the Ineos chairman, said: "Eliud Kipchoge is the greatest ever marathon runner and the only athlete in the world who has any chance of beating the two-hour time.

"Nobody's been able to achieve this. It's not unlike trying to put a man on the moon."

Wilf Leblanc 57-year-old smashes multi-Grouse Grind record on summer solstice

On June 21, Wilfrid Leblanc, 57, broke the Grouse Grind record, finishing 19 ascents in approximately 18 hours, and gaining 15,295 metres over 48K (almost double Mount Everest). The Grouse Grind trail ascends Grouse Mountain in North Vancouver. Every summer solstice, Grouse Mountain hosts the Multi-Grind Challenge, raising money for BC Children’s Hospital. Leblanc wasn’t the only vertical junkie breaking records. Brooke Spence, 37, and James Stewart, 40, each completed 18 Grinds. Spence, beat her previous record of 17 ascents, set in 2018.

The multi-grind challenge is unique as it relies on the Grouse Mountain tram system. For solstice, the tram is scheduled for every 10 minutes. Participants may begin as early as 4:00 a.m., and can begin their final Grind at 9:59:59 p.m. Leblanc met the legendary Spence a few weeks prior to the event, and determined that “19 was possible by doing 45-minute Grinds all day. 19 is not crazy.” Leblanc’s plan of attack was to “stay with Brooke. I know she’s strong. I’m just gonna stay with her, until I can’t.”

On June 21, Wilfrid Leblanc, 57, broke the Grouse Grind record, finishing 19 ascents in approximately 18 hours, and gaining 15,295 metres over 48K (almost double Mount Everest). The Grouse Grind trail ascends Grouse Mountain in North Vancouver. Every summer solstice, Grouse Mountain hosts the Multi-Grind Challenge, raising money for BC Children’s Hospital. Leblanc wasn’t the only vertical junkie breaking records. Brooke Spence, 37, and James Stewart, 40, each completed 18 Grinds. Spence, beat her previous record of 17 ascents, set in 2018.

The multi-grind challenge is unique as it relies on the Grouse Mountain tram system. For solstice, the tram is scheduled for every 10 minutes. Participants may begin as early as 4:00 a.m., and can begin their final Grind at 9:59:59 p.m. Leblanc met the legendary Spence a few weeks prior to the event, and determined that “19 was possible by doing 45-minute Grinds all day. 19 is not crazy.” Leblanc’s plan of attack was to “stay with Brooke. I know she’s strong. I’m just gonna stay with her, until I can’t.”

“More people did 15 [Grinds] this year alone than ever before,” says 2017 record-holder Ian Roberton. Robertson was planning on breaking his record of 17 ascents, until his stomach took a turn mid-day. Robertson, Leblanc, Spence, and Stewart were together for the first lap. But Stewart missed the first tram down at 4:45 a.m. due to a broken timing chip, which left him hiking solo until number 18. Leblanc and Spence hiked for 15 laps together, and had fun with friends joining the party for one to five Grinds.

The vertical master Spence says that “this year was a lot different than last year, because last year, I hiked alone. This year, there were four or five of us for a lot of it. It was tons of fun with pacers going in and out. You’re seeing all the other multi-grinders do it and everyone is so encouraging.” Leblanc said it was a highlight having his crew along with Spence’s hiking together.

Strong, talented and deepest field at Western States Endurance Run at this year race

More than 350 of the world’s best endurance athletes will emerge from the cold and dark Saturday morning to stand at the start line at Squaw Valley, eager to begin the Western States 100-Mile Endurance Run from the resort to Auburn.

This year’s field of runners is one of the deepest in the history of the race, featuring the return of both the men and women’s champions along with several top-10 finishers from last year.

After coming up short in two previous bids to set the course record at Western States, Jim Walmsley, of Flagstaff, Arizona, broke through last year, finishing with a record time of 14 hours, 30 minutes, 4 seconds. Walmsley, 29, is set to defend his title this year against a deep field in the men’s division, which features eight of last year’s top-10 finishers.

Walmsley will make his fourth appearance in the race on Saturday. His attempt to break the course record in 2017 ended due to exhaustion at around mile 78. He rebounded the following year by setting the course record, and said breaking that mark could be in play on Saturday.

Walmsley said he’s also been told the early stages of the course are in better shape than they were in 2017, which had a similarly large snowpack. During 2017’s race he was also several minutes ahead of the record-breaking time he set in 2018.

“Ultimately, it’s about listening to my own pace and just putting everything out there regardless,” he said. “As long as I end up giving my best effort and going to the well to get there, I’m always happy with it. Whether it’s the DNF in 2017 or the course record last year. I’m pretty proud of both days and the fact that I know I gave everything at both races. You can always live with that.”

Among those who could challenge Walmsley will be 2017 Western States winner Ryan Sandes. The 37-year-old South African broke through in his third attempt to win at Western States, and then ran as a pacer during last year’s event.

“I feel like it was a big thing for me to win Western States and a big achievement, so I feel pretty relaxed going into Western States from that point of view, but Western States is still one of the biggest 100 milers in the world, if not the biggest,” said Sandes. “I’ve still got that drive and hunger and I think that’s why I came back here. That’s a big motivating factor and I’m definitely hungry.”

Other top competitors on the men’s side include: Mark Hammond, Ian Sharman, Jeff Browning, Charlie Ware, Kyle Pietari, Paul Giblin and Kris Brown.

On the women’s side, defending champion Courtney Dauwalter, of Golden, Colorado, returns after winning in her first time out.

Dauwalter, 34, finished with the second fastest time ever for a woman last year, reaching Auburn with a time of 17:27:00.

Second-place finisher Katlyn Gerbin, 30, of Issaquah, Washington will also be in the field. Lucy Bartholomew, 23, of Melbourne, Australia, finished third last year and will be in this year’s field as well. Bartholomew has spent the past few weeks training in the area, and running with Truckee-Tahoe athletes at local races.

Kaci Lickteig, 32, of Omaha, Nebraska, who won in 2016, will race as well.

Other returning top-10 finishers from a year ago include: Amanda Basham, Cecilia Flori, Camelia Mayfield, Aliza Lapierre and Corrine Malcolm.

Sinister 7 Ultra is coming up and this ultramarathon continues to test runners strength, endurance, and willpower to keep running when everything in them wants to stop

The sold-out ultra consists of seven legs that wind around the Crowsnest Pass. The course covers 161 km with an elevation gain of 6321 metres.

Each leg features a unique part of Crowsnest Pass. Leg 1 runs through the Frank Slide, and then Leg 2 runs along Hastings Ridge and below Turtle Mountain back to Blairmore. Leg 3 runs around Pass Powderkeg, the local ski hill. Leg 4 summits Saddle Mountain before heading straight to the Visitor Information Centre. Leg 5 runs through the Chinook/Allison area below Mount Tecumseh ending at the McGillivray staging area. Leg 6 is perhaps the most scenic, though it is often run in the dark. This leg is a tour around the iconic Crowsnest Mountain and the Seven Sisters. The course ends with Leg 7, around Wedge Mountain, crossing Nez Pierce Creek and ending at the Coleman Sports Complex. 

The race attracts 1,600 registrants each year, including a few hundred soloists who run the full distance on their own. We have welcomed runners from across Canada, the USA, Europe, and as far away as Australia and Japan.

Many are drawn by the reputation of the race but most simply come for the unique challenge and the stunning scenery around Crowsnest Pass. 

A special thank you goes out to all the volunteers for Sinister 7. This event would not be possible if it wasn’t for the many dedicated volunteers who come out to support the runners. 

Inspirational Becca Anderson, 28, from Westcliffe Way, who overcame the odds to beat leukemia nine years ago is raising money for the charity that saved her life

Becca Anderson will run the Great North Run this year, in aid of the Anthony Nolan Trust, the blood cancer charity which helped her get a life-saving bone marrow transplant.

The trust matches individuals who are willing to donate their blood stem cells or bone marrow, with people in need of life-saving transplants. Just as Becca was nine years ago.

In May 2010, at just 18 years-old, Becca was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia. Her only chances of survival were three rounds of intense chemotherapy followed by a bone marrow transplant.

None of her family were a match, but after three months of searching, the Anthony Nolan Trust was able to find her a donor, and on December 3, 2010, she received her transplant. Becca was given the all clear from cancer six months later.

“It’s a slow process, it takes about a year to fully recover, but you are constantly living in fear,” said Becca who was nominated for Role Model of the Year in the Pride of South Tyneside Awards 2011.

“You have got to build up your immune system from nothing. It’s only been in the last two or three years I have thought, ‘I can start living a life and taking advantage of these years I’ve been given’.”

Now she is celebrating nine years of being cancer-free, by showing her appreciation for the charity that saved her life, and offering her support for those still waiting for a match.

She is aiming to raise £1 for each day of her life she has got back following her transplant, bringing the total amount to £3,201 by the day of the half marathon on September 8, 2019.

Kenyan Gladys Cherono will return to defend her Berlin marathon title

A top-class duel is in prospect in the BMWBerlin Marathon when Germany’s biggest marathon takes place on September 29. Gladys Cherono, both title and course record holder, will face Vivian Cheruiyot.

The two Kenyans are among an elite group of world-class women runners who have improved their personal bests to below 2:19 in the past year, winning high quality races in the Abbott World Marathon Majors (AWMM) series.

But they will both have to beware of a dangerous Ethiopian, Mare Dibaba, who has twice run under 2:20 and took the bronze medal in the 2016 Olympic Marathon in Rio.

“We are naturally delighted that we’ll be having the defending champion Gladys Cherono on the start line,” said Race Director Mark Milde and added: “Compared to the men, the women in Berlin have some ground to make up.

With three very strong contenders in the line-up, the women’s race on September 29 could be centre stage.” In the past twelve years the men’s race at the BMW Berlin Marathon has produced a string of world class times with six world records into the bargain. The presence of Gladys Cherono and Vivian Cheruiyot suggests that these two Kenyans could headline a show-stealing performance from the elite women in general.

After victories in 2015 and 2017 Gladys Cherono achieved her third triumph in the BMW Berlin Marathon 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’s time of 2:18:11 was a big improvement on her lifetime best and helped her join the exclusive company of women champions in Berlin with three wins apiece: Renata Kokowska of Poland, the home town favorite Uta Pippig and Ethiopia’s Aberu Kebede. “My goal is now to win for the fourth time in Berlin,” announced Gladys Cherono soon after she had completed the hat-trick last year.

Her return is a clear bid to go for the unique honour of a fourth title.

Gladys Cherono may well have to run another personal best to win title number four. Among her rivals will be her compatriot Vivian Cheruiyot who will be making her debut in the BMW Berlin Marathon. The 35-year-old Olympic 5,000m champion in 2016 won last year’s London Marathon, improving her best to 2:18:31.

This year in London she finished runner-up, beating Gladys Cherono on both occasions. Both Kenyans are in the women’s top ten of all-time fastest marathon runners with Cherono at number six and Cheruiyot at number eight, setting up what should be a fascinating clash.

Another who will be making her BMW Berlin Marathon debut will be Mare Dibaba. The 29-year-old Ethiopian actually has more marathon experience than either Gladys Cherono or Vivian Cheruiyot.

She won the world title in Beijing in 2015 and one year later took the bronze medal at the Rio Olympics. She has a best of 2:19:52, achieving that time twice, in 2012 and 2015. Given Berlin’s renowned fast course, Dibaba will be aiming to run another very fast time and challenge the Kenyan duo.

Eliud Kipchoge’s second attempt to break the two-hour barrier for the marathon will take place in Vienna on October 12 event organisers INEOS said on Thursday

Kenyan runner Eliud Kipchoge's attempt to run a marathon in under two hours will take place in Vienna on Oct. 12.

The attempt will be on a multi-lap course in The Prater, a park in Vienna. If the weather is poor, organizers have reserved eight more days.

Kipchoge says Vienna offers "a fast and flat course, nicely protected by trees."

Kipchoge lowered the marathon world record to 2 hours, 1 minute, 39 seconds last year in Berlin. He has tried to break the 2-hour barrier before, running 2:00:25 at the Monza auto racing track in 2017.

That wasn't considered a world record because pacers entered mid-race and drinks were given to runners via mopeds.

Missoula’s running community creates many great athletes and many great volunteers during marathon week

Tim Mosbacher is a retired middle school teacher taking a break as he runs around the country to once again lend a hand to his hometown race.

Mosbacher started running because he didn’t have a better option.

“I was in middle school back in the day,” said Mosbacher. “One of the P.E. coaches said, ‘You have to do a sport.’ And I said, ‘Oh, I don’t know what do do. Well, I’ll go run.’ So I started doing cross country then, and I was really bad.”

The Billings native improved enough to earn a scholarship at Dickinson State University. He tried a couple marathons in the late 1990s, but then took a break. He hit the road again a decade ago, running his hometown Missoula Marathon, and pretty soon he had found something to chase.

“It wasn’t until probably my fourth one. I said, ‘Well, I’ve done four different states,'” said Mosbacher. “And then I started picking ones I liked. And so once I did my 10th one, then I said, ‘I’m all in.'”

Mosbacher has now run marathons in 47 states. After Portland, Maine in October, the New York City Marathon in November, and a run in Maui in January, the 53-year-old can claim all 50. He has seen most of the country and every kind of race on his trek.

“I’ve run Boston, and I’ve run Chicago, so you’ve got those big ones,” Mosbacher said. “And then I’ve run really small ones. I’ve run one that had, I think, 15 runners in it.”

Ironically, Mosbacher has not run the Missoula Marathon in a decade. For the past six years, he helps the event by organizing and recruiting the elite runners who come to town.

“I go to other people’s communities and take from their community, really, when you’re running there,” said Mosbacher. “And so it’s really neat to give back.”

He admits he wants to run the Missoula Marathon again some day, because he wants a better time. In retirement, he is running faster than ever. Mosbacher won the Eisenhower Marathon in Kansas this year in a personal best time of 2 hours, 48 minutes, nearly 50 minutes faster than his 2009 time in Missoula.

Mosbacher also wants to run Tokyo, London and Berlin to finish off the six majors in the marathon world. He is excited to watch others chase fast times at the Missoula Marathon this week.

Five-time Canadian record-holder Mohammed Ahmed and NCAA champion Justyn Knight are going head-to-head this Sunday in the Pre Classic two-mile

Both runners have had great 2019 seasons. Knight has already run a huge 5,000m personal best 13:09.76 at the Rome Diamond League to secure Olympic standard and one of the fastest 5,000m times in Canadian history.

In the same race, Ahmed became the first Canadian ever to go sub-13 in a 5,000m. He broke his own Canadian record by three seconds, running a 12:58.16 to finish sixth.

Ahmed had been hunting the 12:59 for a long time, but to run that fast takes a special day, and in Rome his time came.

Heading into Pre this weekend, both runners have an Olympic standard, which means they also have World Championship standard for this year’s championship in Doha. Ahmed has already been named to the team in the 10,000m.

Kenyan Vivian Cheruiyot will race this year’s Berlin Marathon on September 29 for the first time

Cheruiyot will face defending champion, three-time winner and fellow Kenyan Gladys Cherono and 2016 Olympic bronze medallist and 2015 world champion in the marathon, Mare Dibaba of Ethiopia.

Cheruiyot finished second at New York in 2018, and second again in London in April behind countrywoman Brigid Kosgei, reversing their 2018 finishing positions.

Her personal best and Cherono’s (who was fourth in London this year) are very close, at 2:18:31 and 2:18:11. Cherono is 36, and Cheruiyot will turn 36 just before Berlin.

Considering both Rio gold medallist Jemima Sumgong and silver medallist Eunice Kirwa are now serving doping suspensions,  Dibaba could realistically be considered the Olympic gold medallist (though neither Sumgong nor Kirwa has been relieved of their medals).

Her PB, 2:19:52, is from Dubai 2012, but at 29 she is somewhat younger than her competitors.

World leaders Christian Coleman and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce form part of two strong 100m fields at the Prefontaine Classic

n 2018 Coleman broke the world indoor 60m record, won world indoor 60m gold and ended the season with the fastest time in the world, 9.79. After finishing second at the Prefontaine Classic in 2018 in a wind-aided 9.84, the 23-year-old returns to this year’s edition off the back of two world-leading marks: 9.86 in Shanghai and 9.85 in Olso.

This weekend he will face a field full of sub-10-second performers, two of whom have bettered that barrier this year.

Cravon Gillespie recorded lifetime bests of 9.93 for 100m and 19.93 for 200m on the same day to finish second in both events at the recent NCAA Championships.

European champion Zharnel Hughes of Great Britain is undefeated at 100m this year and heads to Stanford with a season’s best of 9.97, just 0.06 shy of his lifetime best.

The field also includes world champion Justin Gatlin, prolific sub-10-second performer Michael Rodgers, 2018 NCAA champion Cameron Burrell, 2018 Jamaican champion Tyquendo Tracey and Italian record-holder Filippo Tortu.

The women’s 100m may not be a scoring discipline in Stanford, but that hasn’t affected the quality as all eight women in the field have previously bettered 11 seconds and four of them have sub-10.80 PBs.

Multiple world and Olympic champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, who became a mother in 2017, is back to her best. At the recent Jamaican Championships she posted times of 10.73 and 22.22 – her fastest times since 2013 and just a whisker away from her lifetime bests.

The 32-year-old won the Prefontaine Classic 100m in 2013 and 2015 so will be looking for a third victory this weekend.

But the experienced Jamaican will be up against one of the newest and most exciting sprint talents.

Sha’Carri Richardson, aged just 19, won the 100m in 10.75 and placed second in the 200m in 22.17 at the NCAA Championships earlier this month, breaking the world U20 records in both events (pending ratification).

The teenager has since turned professional and this will be her first race since her record-breaking feats at the NCAA Championships.

Double world silver medallist Marie-Josee Ta Lou, who won last year’s Pre Classic, will be back, so too will her Ivorian compatriot Murielle Ahoure, the 2018 Diamond League champion.

Two-time Pre Classic winner English Gardner, US champion Aleia Hobbs, world indoor bronze medallist Mujinga Kambundji and Olympic finalist Michelle-Lee Ahye are also in the loaded field.

Jessica Hull’s decision to turn professional and leave Oregon with a collegiate season of outdoor track eligibility remaining was thoughtful and ultimately bittersweet, she said

The times she was running, the way she was progressing in her training, and the big meets on the calendar over the coming year — including the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo — all indicated the time was right for the redshirt junior from Australia to move on.

“You don’t want the opportunity to slip free,” Hull said. “You want to make the most of all that there is out there. Hopefully, the transition will be with eyes wide open and I learn as much as I can the next 12 months leading to Tokyo.”

The 22-year-old middle distance runner, who signed with an agent last week but not yet a shoe sponsor, leaves the Ducks as a four-time NCAA champion, seven-time all-American and two-time record-holder who is coming off the most impressive year of her career.

She opened her indoor season by resetting her school record in the mile in 4 minutes, 32.03 seconds. In her second race, she broke Jordan Hasay’s school record in the 3,000 meters with an 8:53.91 at the Husky Classic.

She went on to win NCAA Indoor titles in the 3,000 and distance medley relay.

During the outdoor season, she was the national leader in the 1,500 during the regular season at 4:12.08 and then topped that with a 4:09.90 at the NCAA West Preliminary meet.

She also became the fourth-fastest performer in Oregon history in the 5,000 with her 15:34.93 at the Stanford Invitational and a two-time Pac-12 champion in the 1,500.

She went into the NCAA Outdoor Championships as the defending champion but finished in second place despite running a personal-record and World Outdoor Championship qualifying time of 4:06.27 — more than two seconds faster than what she ran in 2018 to win the title.

It was also that performance that gave Hull the last bit evidence she needed to turn pro.

“It kind of solidified it,” said Hull, who is entered in summer school at Oregon to finish the last class she needs to complete her degree. “It definitely showed I was ready to mix it up with that level of competition. It was a bit of a confidence booster to see that I could do it. The way training was going, we knew those kinds of marks were there, I just hadn’t really been in a race to see that I could do it.”

Hull will get tested right away in her first race as a professional when she takes on a star-studded field in the 1,500 during the Prefontaine Classic on Sunday at Stanford’s Cobb Track & Angell Field.

June 25 would have been Gabriele Grunewald’s 33rd birthday and the state of Minnesota has named June 25 Brave Like Gabe Day

Gabriele Grunewald was initially diagnosed with adenoid cystic carcinoma, a rare form of cancer affecting the salivary gland, in 2009, and thyroid cancer the following year.

She graduated as an NCAA All-American in the 1,500m, and pursued a professional running career despite dealing with several surgeries and chemotherapy. In 2014, she won the US indoor national championship in the 3,000m. Grunewald was sponsored by Brooks.

In late 2016 she learned the cancer had spread to her liver, and she had an operation that left a long and visible scar on her abdomen, which became a badge of courage as she continued to race and began to speak publicly about her cancer journey.

Two weeks ago Gabe lost her battle and passed away.  The world lost an amazing woman but she will never be forgotten.  

In her honor runners will gather on Tuesday (June 25) evening at 6:15 pm in B.F. Nelson Park in Minneapolis, Minnestoa to honour Grunewald.

If you’re not able to make the run in person, you can contribute via Strava. So far 6,693 participants have run a collective 8,735 miles.

The Strava challenge is open for the entire day today. Additionally, runners can photograph their runs and use the #BravelikeGabe or #Runningonhope to contribute. 

Glenn Sutton is aiming to break Kiwi record at Death Valley

Home to the hottest temperature ever recorded on the planet, Death Valley is not a place many Kiwis would pick for a mid-winter escape.

For Dunedin ultra-marathon runner Glenn Sutton however, he’s picked the soaring desert as the venue for his latest conquest.

Starting on July 15, he’ll run 217 kilometres in temperatures ranging from the low forties to the high fifties.

"They don’t call it the toughest foot race in the world for nothing," he told 1 NEWS.

Sutton will become the first Kiwi to attempt the race for a third time, after finishing it in both 2014 and 2015.

His goal this time though is to become the quickest Kiwi, aiming to cross the finish line in less than 36 hours and 32 minutes.

"If you complete the course in under 48 hours, you get a belt buckle and a t-shirt," he says.

His training involves running a 100km every week. While much of it is outside in the freezing Dunedin winter, a lot of it is done inside his custom-built heat-box.

Sutton powers the heavily-insulated box with three high-powered heaters, with temperatures getting up to the mid-forties.

The Dunedin runner has even managed to draw the attention of one of New Zealand’s biggest breweries, with Emerson’s creating a beer dedicated to Sutton’s mission.

Called - Into The Valley - the company have given the brew a low 2.17 per cent alcohol rating, to match the 217 km journey Sutton will be running.

But with temperatures at last year’s event getting up to an unofficial 58C, Sutton’s first choice of drink at the finish line, might just have to be water.

The secret to a healthier life may lie in the guts of athletes, Scientists who studied runners discovered a type of bacteria that flourished in their digestive tracts

The Veillonella bacteria produce a molecule that helps increase exercise endurance.

The results, published Monday in the journal Nature Medicine, could someday change the way we work out, said microbiologist George Weinstock from the Jackson Laboratory in Farmington, Conn.

“It starts to build the case that someday we may be able to take a Veillonella probiotic just before we are going to exercise, and we'll be able to exercise more” said Weinstock, who wasn’t involved in the study.

Our bodies are teeming with microbes, helping us digest the food we eat and providing us with nutrients that we can’t make ourselves. Studies of these microbes — collectively known as the microbiome — have led to insights into diseases ranging from obesity to arthritis.

Previous research has found that athletes have a very different composition of microbes within their guts compared to non-athletes, but it’s not yet clear how those differences contribute to an athlete’s health.

“It’s the notion of mining the biology of super-healthy people and translating that into nutritional interventions for everyone else,” said study leader Jonathan Scheiman, who began studying the microbiomes of athletes while working at Harvard’s Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering.

Almost every day for a week before and after the 2015 Boston Marathon, the Harvard researchers collected stool samples from 15 runners entered in the race as well as from 10 non-athletes, who served as controls. Those samples allowed researchers to see what kinds of microbes were inhabiting subjects’ guts.

When they compared the abundance of the different species of bacteria within those samples, one group in particular jumped out at them.

“We found this one bacterial genus, Veillonella, that was not only in higher abundance in athletes compared to controls, but almost immediately after the marathon there's this spike in abundance,” Scheiman said.

What was especially intriguing about these bacteria was their appetite for a molecule called lactate.

This discovery “was kind of a lightbulb moment because lactate is a metabolite that accumulates in the blood after strenuous exercise,” Scheiman said. ”When your ability to utilize it gets outpaced by your ability to produce it, it then starts to accumulate in the blood, and it tends to be a marker of fatigue.”

This connection between Veillonella, lactate, and exercise prompted the researchers to wonder whether giving Veillonella to mice might affect their endurance.

Kyle Robidoux is legally blind and will be making history as he takes on the Western States 100 this weekend

When 43-year-old Roxbury, Massachusetts resident Kyle Robidoux sets foot on the starting line at Squaw Valley Saturday morning, he will be making Western States history.

According to Race Director Craig Thornley, Robidoux will be the first known runner in the 45-year existence of the Western States 100-Mile Endurance Run who is legally blind.

With the help of a team of sighted guides, Robidoux will attempt the 100.2-mile trek from Squaw Valley to Auburn. But he is no stranger to ultra running. Since being declared legally blind at age 19, Robidoux has completed a number of premier running events, including five Boston Marathons.

"I've run in three 100-mile races, all with varied terrain, but Western States by far will be the most challenging," said Robidoux, who is being sponsored by Clif Bar. "There are a variety of conditions, so it'll be important for me to run really hard when terrain is runnable, knowing on climbs I'll have to walk. I'll have to make up my time during the runnable stuff."

Robidoux was diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa, a degenerative eye disease that affects night vision and typically leads to complete blindness, when he was 11. Though he still has an estimated 3 percent field of vision, his eyesight has gradually declined over time.

"I have very extreme tunnel vision, like looking through a paper towel roll," Robidoux said. "I have no peripheral vision, no up or down, no night vision at all. I'm not colorblind but I can't see contrast very well. When I'm running, I can't tell the difference between dirt, rocks or roots. I can't see elevation change and I can't see if I need to step up or down."

That's where his guides come in. Connected through an organization called United in Stride, which helps recruit sighted guides for visually impaired runners and vice versa, Robidoux's guides run side by side with him, bound together by a tether. The guides act as a sight coach throughout the race, giving various verbal cues to the visually impaired runner.

"Their goal is to keep me safe and keep other runners safe during races," Robidoux said. "They keep me moving forward and upright. That puts me in a position where all I have to focus on is running; not if I trip on something or run into someone else."

Among Robidoux's guides is seven-time WSER champion Scott Jurek.

"It will be fun seeing this course in a different light," said Jurek. "It's so cool to have an opportunity to be someone else's eyes."

After getting to know each other over the past several years, Jurek feels Robidoux is up for the challenge.

"Kyle's got a tenacity to him," Jurek said. "He might not be the fastest, but he's got an intense desire, something you have to have for Western States, whether you can see or not."

That desire sprouted from depression. Robidoux's initial resentment toward his diagnosis made him inactive, overweight and on a path toward Type 2 diabetes.

"I essentially dealt with it by not dealing with it," said Robidoux. "I was bitter and angry about my eyesight. I was convinced things were being taken away from me that I loved doing."

With the support of his family, Robidoux began seeing a therapist to help deal more effectively. Soon after, he started running again to improve his health and be able to play with his daughter, Lucy. He dropped 70 pounds and completed his first event – the Maine Half Marathon – by age 34 in 2010.

“I started to realize that things weren’t being taken away from me, I was giving up on them,” Robidoux said. “I still have days when I get really angry and frustrated. It’s a continuing process. There’s a strong likelihood that I’ll lose all of my vision. It’s scary, but I’m learning how to adapt and emotionally prepare for that.”

Robidoux has finished over 25 marathons and ultra marathons and plans to continue for as long as he’s able.

Quinlan Moll qualified for the United States Olympic Trials in the marathon after running a 2:18:50 on Saturday in the Grandma’s Marathon

The “B” Standard for qualification to the Olympic Trials is 2:19:00.

“I really wanted to get the standard. That was one of my big goals going in,” Quinlan Moll said. “I didn’t know what to expect because I had never run a marathon before. I knew I was in good shape coming off track season, but it is a marathon so you never know what to expect. It is such a long distance that pretty much anything can happen during it.”

Moll competed at UMKC the past five years and finished up his eligibility this spring. UMKC distance coach Brett Guemmer continued to advise Moll through his marathon training.

“He (Coach Guemmer) advised me to take it out slow the first couple miles. It is 5:18 (per mile) average to get under 2:19. He told me not to go out at that, but to start out at 5:30 or 5:25 the first few miles and see how it felt. I was right around low 5:20’s for the first few miles, and the plan was to cut down from there. I was feeling good early on, but it is a long race,” Moll said. “Around mile nine I started dropping closer to 5:18’s to 5:15’s. I wasn’t having any trouble clicking them off, so I (decided) to keep going at that (pace) for a while.”

The steady pace kept Moll feeling good through the half, but his half marathon time of 69:48 was not going to get him to the standard, so he had to pick up the pace.

“I saw I came through the half (marathon) at 69:48, so I knew that I would have to pick it up and start pushing a little more,” Moll said. “Once I started getting later in the race and I still had a little left in my legs, I figured I still had a shot so I just had to keep at it.”

Moll dropped his average mile pace to 5:15 from the half marathon to the 20-mile mark to get closer to where he needed to be to hit the standard.

Going into the event, Moll had never raced longer than a 10-kilometer race or done a training run longer than 20 miles.

“I got to the 20-mile mark and (thought) this is my normal race distance left,” Moll said. “At that point my legs were getting a little heavy, but I was still feeling good enough to where I could convince myself that I had come 20 miles, 6.2 miles isn’t that much further to go. It is just really a mental thing. That was the hardest thing was trying to convince myself I had less distance left than I did.”

After 26 miles, Moll still was in position to hit the standard to qualify for the trials, but it was going to be close.

“I was checking my watch the entire time. Towards the end of the race there are a bunch of curves you have to go around. I felt like my legs weren’t going to give out or anything, so I knew if I could push a little harder that last mile that I could get there. I kept looking at my watch and would pick it up a little bit. Coming down the homestretch, I saw the clock, saw my watch and saw where the finish line was and knew it was going to be close. Once I got toward the homestretch I knew I had it. That was a really good feeling,” Moll said. “I was just grinning across the line. I think I gave a little fist bump too because some of the guys in front of me were celebrating because they knew they were under the standard too.”

The Kickapoo alumus will now have the chance to compete with some of the best distance runners in the United States at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Atlanta on Feb. 29, 2020.

Cecilia Flori often smiles through pain, but now she’s hoping an injury doesn’t keep her from competing at the 2019 Western States 100-mile race

The gap between elites and amateurs can feel wide indeed, but one area of common ground is an injury that threatens the start line of an important race. That’s the relatable place elite ultrarunner Cecilia Flori finds herself as she struggles with a foot injury a few weeks out from the Western States Endurance Run, the 100-mile race on June 29, from Squaw Valley to Auburn, California.

Expected to be a favorite in this year’s event, Flori arrived in California more than a month before the race, hoping to train on the course. The 38-year-old Italian physicist, who currently calls New Zealand home, earned bib F5 and says she was feeling as fit as ever when her foot began to hurt.

“I’ve been working on my speed by running marathons this year,” she said. “I think the Western course suits my strengths and I was more than ready for it.”

Relatively new to the ultra scene—and running in general—Flori made a big entrance to the sport, nabbing a podium spot at the North Face Endurance 50-miler in Canada in 2015.

“I’ve always loved the outdoors and was a climber before a triathlete friend convinced me to run a half marathon with him,” she said. “I really enjoyed it and I was hooked.”

Flori says the flow of running is what drew her in. “The repetitive motion makes me feel alive,” she said. “It’s a primal feeling—I’m at one with nature when I’m on trails.”

Relocating for her research to scenic New Zealand in 2016, Flori migrated entirely from climbing to running, joining a running club for training. She took on some shorter distance trail races and then won the Taupo 100K. “I started thinking that maybe I was good at endurance,” she says. “In 2017, I entered the Tarawera 100 and took third behind [2008 U.S. Olympic marathoner] Magda Boulet and [2017 Comrades champion] Camille Herron. I was shocked but I realized I could compete on an international level.”

Herron has since become Flori’s coach, and it was that Tarawera race that made Herron take note.

“I watched her run neck-and-neck with Magda Boulet,” Herron said. “What I remember most as I looped around and saw her was the big smile on her face.”

Since then there have been few hiccups in Flori’s ascent to the upper echelons of ultras. She pulled off fifth at last year’s Western States in 19:44 and followed it up with a 10th place finish at the 101K CCC in the French Alps last September, which she admits, tested her. “It was a learning experience,” she said. “I was sick and had to stop at aid stations quite a bit. But I still managed 10th and I’m proud of myself.”

Herron says Flori has a bright future ahead of her. “I saw that same smile on Cecilia’s face at 62 miles into Western last year. For someone to look that good in fifth place tells me she has lots more to give.

Kara Goucher says the Leadville Trail Marathon was the hardest thing she'd ever done

Former elite US marathoner Kara Goucher was the fifth female across the finish line and first in her 40-49 age group at Leadville Trail Marathon in the Colorado Rockies. “Without a doubt, the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life,” she tweeted–quite a statement from a two-time Olympian, world championship silver medallist, and two-time Boston Marathon third-place finisher.

Goucher has blogged about the experience of transitioning from the roads to the trails on her sponsor Oiselle’s blog, where she also dispenses advice to those considering (or executing) a similar transition.

It seems road running and trail running are, well, quite different. For one thing, terrain and weather conditions play havoc with road runners’ expectations regarding time and pace, which are mostly beyond anyone’s control. (Goucher’s time was 3:54:07.)

"I pushed beyond any limit I ever have, thanks for making me find out what I’m made of when the going gets rough!” Goucher said in another tweet. Goucher told Runners World that she was vomiting repeatedly from altitude sickness throughout the race.

Tara Richardson of Glenwood Springs, Colo., Jana Willsey of Denver and Corinne Shalvoy of Castle Rock went 1, 2 and 3 for the top three females while Joshua Lund of Boulder, Pat Cade of Leadville and Chad Trammell of Anchorage stood on the men’s podium (which also happened to be the M30-39 podium).

The course runs through old mining roads and trails, reaching a maximum elevation of 13,185 feet (4,019m). This was the race’s 19th year.