Running News Daily

Ethiopian Worknesh Degefa took command of the women's Boston Marathon race by the 7 mile mark and built it to over two minutes by half way and held on to win as America's Jordan Hasay finished third

Worknesh Degefa, 29, built up a commanding lead and even through Kenya's Edna Kiplagat closed the gap in the last few miles Degefa went on the win clocking 2:23:31 at the 2019 Boston Marathon.  Edna Kiplegat of Kenya started to break away from the rest of the chase pack at about 30K, trying to run the Ethiopian leader down, but the gap was too wide. Edna Kiplagat finished 44 seconds back clocking 2:24:14.  Jordan Hasasy from the US finished third clocking 2:25:20.    

Going into the race Degefa was ready to run well.  This January in Dubai, Worknesh Degefa set an Ethiopian national marathon record with her 2:17:41 second place finish. With that result she became the fourth fastest women’s marathoner in history.

Historically a half marathon specialist, Degefa’s top ten half marathon times (2013-2016) were run with an average time of 67:30. Her personal best was recorded at the 2016 Prague Half Marathon where she finished second in 66:14. She earned the silver medal at the 2015 All African Games Half Marathon. Degefa made her debut in the marathon in 2017 with a win at the Dubai Marathon, which she says is her proudest accomplishment. 

Degefa trains in the Oromia region of Ethiopia in Arsi and Assela because of its altitude and good weather for training. Her coach is Gemedu Dedefo. Her favorite foods are rice and pasta and she enjoys traveling in Europe.

Jordan Hasay finished third again this year.  Choosing Boston to make her debut in 2017, Jordan Hasay ran 2:23:00 to finish third. She set an American women’s debut record by three minutes and recorded the fourth fastest time ever run in the race by an American woman behind Shalane Flanagan, Desiree Linden and Joan Benoit Samuelson.

After Boston, Hasay ran the Bank of America Chicago Marathon and once again finished third, but improved her time to 2:20:57, becoming the second fastest American woman marathoner of all time. Besides making the podium in both the Boston and Chicago Marathons, Hasay set a half marathon personal best time of 67:55 with her sixth-place finish at the 2017 Prague Half Marathon.

During the race she set a 15K personal best of 48:21 and a 20K personal best of 64:32. She also won the 2017 U.S. national titles in the 20K, 10 Mile and 15K. Hasay was injured during 2018, but after surgery on her foot has made a complete recovery.

Hasay has been running since she was 12 years old and grew up in Arroyo Grande, California. 

Last year's winner Desiree Linden finished fifth clocking 2:27:00.  The weather was not a factor this year unlike last year.  

Lawrence Cherono wins the 2019 Boston Marathon Elite Men's race by two seconds

It was a sprint to the finish at this year's Boston Marathon.  A three-person race down the stretch on Boylston Street turned into a two-man, all-out sprint and Cherone of Kenya emerged in front of Lelisa Desisa.  Cheroono's time was 2:07:57, best time since 2011, while Desisa clocked a 2:07:59.  Kenneth Kipkemoi faded in the final 300 yards and placed thired in 2:08:06. 

Scott Fauble, in seventh, and Jared Ward, in eighth, were the top American finishers, crossing in 2:09.10 and 2:09.25, respectively.

Going into Boston Lawrence was the winner of six marathons and was the fastest man in the 2019 Boston Marathon field, Cherono brought both speed and strength to his Boston debut. His personal best was earned with a course record win at the 2018 Amsterdam Marathon (2:04:06). He also won the 2017 Amsterdam Marathon, the 2016 and 2017 Honolulu Marathon, the 2016 Prague Marathon and the 2015 Zurich Marathon. In his first Abbott World Marathon Majors event, he finished seventh at the Virgin Money London Marathon in 2:09:25.

Cherono’s coach is 2007 Boston Marathon runner-up James Kwambai. He says winning the Amsterdam Marathon in a course record time has been a career highlight.

Last year Geoffrey Kirui was intent on defending his Boston crown, but after pulling away from the front pack and leading many of the closing miles, he was caught by Yuki Kawauchi and had to settle for second in 2018.

This year at 20 miles Geoffrey was leading clocking 1:38:37 but in the end he faded to fifth about a minute behind the winner.

For the first time in 27 years, a local runner has taken the top overall spot in the Vancouver Sun Run

Burnaby runner Justin Kent had the top time in the men’s 10K race, finishing in 29:30, followed by Calgary’s Trevor Hofbauer just a fraction of a second behind.

Natasha Wodak of North Vancouver topped the women’s category with a race time of 32:38. The 2016 Olympian has previously won the women’s category in the 2012 and 2013 Sun Runs.

“It’s beyond words. I’ve dreamed about this. I grew up in Vancouver. It’s always been such an iconic event. I’m speechless,” Kent said at the finish line.

The last local to win the race was Paul Williams in 1992.

“I can’t believe it’s happening. You dream of moments like this, it puts everything in perspective, all the hard work. I can’t thank my family and coach enough,” said Kent.

It’s the first time Kent has ever competed in the Sun Run, saying he is more of a track runner and that the event had previously not lined up with his race schedule.

A 10-year-old fifth-grader, Esperansa Morales won the women's division of the 10-mile Pear Blossom Run

In one of the most remarkable stories in the 43-year history of the Pear Blossom Run, Morales, a 10-year-old fifth-grader from Klamath Falls, won the women's division of the 10-mile race Saturday in front of Medford City Hall.

Although documentation of the ages of all previous winners wasn't readily available, there's little question Esperansa Morales is the youngest women's victor.

“That's crazy,” said Desiree Piter, the 28-year-old runner-up who captured the women's 5K last year before entering the 10-mile for the first time in seven years in the event. “She's super fast. She's got a lot of potential. I'm really proud of her.”

Morales' father, Sergio, himself a renowned distance runner in the Klamath Basin and a coach and constant training partner of his daughter's, was no less impressed.

As he often does, Sergio raced alongside Esperansa.

“Yeah, that’s incredible, right,” he said, referring to her winning the Pear Blossom at such a young age. “We didn’t expect that. That’s a big surprise.”

It was a performance for the ages.

Morales, who attends Mills Elementary School and will celebrate her birthday May 31, completed the slightly revamped course in 1:03:24 which is 6:21/mile.   

The last time she ran a 10-mile race was last year, when she was the first entrant as young as 9 to finish Pear Blossom’s marquee race, collecting that age-group record with a time of 1:14:59.

“I do remember there were a lot of people (running) around me,” she said.

Not so this time for the youngster with Olympic dreams.

Morales set out to break the 10-14 age-group mark. She did so by 7 1/2 minutes.

Winning the race was sweet, sweet icing on the cake.

“It’s a great honor, to be honest,” she said.

A cancer survivor Pete Alsop will be showing that age is no obstacle by taking on the London Marathon in his eighties for Cancer Research UK

Pete Alsop will be 83 when he puts on his trainers for his first marathon attempt later this month. The 82-year-old, who had prostate cancer, is taking on the challenge in memory of his wife, Val, who died from bowel cancer.

The octogenarian is a familiar sight pounding the pavements in St Neots, power walking three times a week. Residents in his retirement complex have pledged support, but Pete is paying the first £3,000 himself to say 'thank you' to the charity.

On April 28 he will tackle the Virgin Money London Marathon. And he's urging other runners, with a confirmed place, to raise money for Cancer Research UK too.

Pete said: “On my 80th birthday I decided I wanted to do something special and I walked 25 miles – but the London Marathon will be my first full marathon. I really wanted to walk it for my Val and in memory of my mother and nan. But I also wanted to do it as a 'thank you' to Cancer Research UK.”

It's something he could not have imagined doing more than 22 years ago, when he sat watching a news item on TV about prostate cancer. His wife suggested he went for a check.

Pete said: “I knew a normal prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level was anything below four, but my reading was six, so the doctor decided to keep a close eye on it.”

He received his cancer diagnosis later that year in 1997.

Around that time, the couple moved to a retirement home in St Neots. Twelve years later, Val began to get stomach pains and was diagnosed with bowel cancer, which had spread to her liver. Despite deciding against surgery and chemotherapy, Val lived for a further two years.

Pete said: “Val died on March 18, 2008, and it still gets me to talk about it. Not many people were as fortunate as we were to have such a happy marriage; we were married for 47 years.”

He continued to get his PSA level checked. When the levels kept going up, Pete had injections into his stomach every three months for five years, followed by radiotherapy seven years ago. His reading went down to zero and he is now in remission.

Pete then joined a local cancer support group – Acorn – and started fundraising by doing walks for charity.

Pete said: “Since then I've done eight or nine sponsored walks of up to 10 miles – but I started to add another 10 miles on top.

“I would like to help other people who have had cancer and share my view with them that you need a positive attitude, a determination to get fit – and to decide you are going to get over it.

“I have known a lot of men who have had cancer and just decided to die, whereas my belief is that with all the research going on, you have a chance – and you have got to take it.”

Danielle Glavin, Cancer Research UK's spokesperson for the East of England, said: “We are so grateful to Pete for taking on this challenge for us at the age of 82. We wish him all the best with his training and also on the day of the marathon.

“It's thanks to the support of amazing people like Pete that we're able to continue our research into kinder and more effective treatments for cancer. A great deal of progress has been made, but there's still so much work to do.

“Anyone who already has a place in the Virgin Money London Marathon can still join our team of runners. Or if a marathon is one step too far, why not try one of our other runs or sporting events instead and get involved to help support vital cancer research.”

The weather is going to be so much better we hope than last year for the Boston Marathon unlike the previous forecast

While the weather will not be as dismal as what runners faced in 2018, unsettled conditions will still provide less-than-ideal conditions for the 123rd Boston Marathon on Monday.

The dry weather that dominated the Boston area on Sunday is not expected to last into Patriots' Day.

The same storm unleashing a severe weather outbreak across the South will cause a band of rain and a thunderstorm to sweep through Boston just prior to the start of the race on Monday morning.

The rain can fall heavy at times, and there can be a period of stronger winds that may rip away any banners that are not fully secured. Runners and spectators setting up before the race may have to find shelter for a time if a thunderstorm accompanies the rain.

Hundreds of thousands of spectators are set to cheer on the 30,000 runners of the 123rd Boston Marathon.

Meet Cactus the dog who just ran one of the world’s toughest races, the Marathon des Sables

A dog has become the first canine to cross the finishing line at one of the world’s toughest ultra marathons.

The hound, nicknamed Cactus, wandered onto the course on day two of the Marathon des Sables in Morocco.

He began following competitors in the 251-kilometre, six-day endurance race in the sweltering Sahara Desert.

‘Cactus’ finished the second stage, then the third and fourth. Organisers tweeted on Friday to say he had crossed the finishing line.

Runners welcomed their four-legged competitor and cheered him on as he trudged with them on his self-inflicted jaunt. He also rested with them and ate and drank in their company.

Owner Karen Hadfield took to social media to say that he is a nomad dog and regularly runs 40-km a day in the area.

Pictures emerged on Saturday of organisers and competitors bidding ‘Cactus’ farewell as Karen came to collect him.

Ethiopian runners Gelete Burka and Abrha Milaw win 2019 Paris Marathon

Ethiopian’s Gelete Burka (women’s race) and Abrha Milaw (men’s race) won the 43rd edition of the Paris Marathon on Sunday, leading a record 60,000 participants to the finish line through the French capital.

Milaw clocked 2:07:05, while Burka was the fastest woman with 2:22:47. Kenyan Paul Lonyangata, a two-time Paris Marathon winner finished third clocking 2:07:29. 

Runners from around the world set off from the Champs-Élysées at 8am on a cold (2°C) and cloudless Sunday morning in Paris. This year’s course ran east through the French capital to the Bois de Vincennes, around that vast forested park, and then west again through the heart of the city, along the Seine on the Right Bank, past the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower, and through the Bois de Boulogne. Two landmarks, the Opéra Garnier and the Place Vendôme, were added to the 2019 route.

Over 250,000 spectators lined the marathon’s route and 3,000 volunteers helped things run smoothly.

Women made up a record 27 percent of those signed up for the 2019 race.

Among the elite women running, one athlete won a late battle to take part. France’s Clémence Calvin, the European marathon silver medallist, was provisionally suspended by the French anti-doping agency (AFLD) on Wednesday for allegedly obstructing a doping test in Morocco last month. The 28-year-old has denied the allegations. France’s top administrative court, the Council of State, issued an emergency ruling late on Friday that lifted her provisional ban.

Calvin crossed the finish line in fourth place on Sunday with a time of 2:23:41 to set a new French record for the distance, pending official validation.

Blind marathon runner Yoko Aoki hopes to represent Japan at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games

A decade ago, Yoko Aoki would never have been able to imagine the current life she has.

Without any major sports experience, her day-to-day lifestyle used to be far from that of an average athlete. Now she runs long distances every day, supported by a team that allows her to compete in blind marathon races with the hope of representing Japan at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics. 

“My life has changed a lot. I never expected this,” the 42-year-old Aoki said. “I don’t think I’ve changed. But I can do a lot of different things that I couldn’t do before because I have a goal I want to achieve.”

Aoki’s vision was impaired by an injury she suffered after graduating from high school. She attended a vocational training school and learned how to use computers while training to walk again. Aoki said she has no problems in her daily life, including working in an office.

One day, her co-worker told her about a blind marathon club, which opened the gate for her to become a para athlete.

“I just wanted to run or walk with an assistant as exercise,” Aoki said. “I could not run or walk by myself, but I could easily find a person to escort me by joining the club.”

Since then, blind marathons have become a major part of her life, and four years ago the Japan Blind Marathon Association chose Aoki to receive special training. She clocked her career-best 3 hours, 13 minutes and 36 seconds at the Hofu Yomiuri Marathon in Yamaguchi Prefecture last December, recording the all-time third-best race in a Japanese women’s blind marathon.

The International Paralympic Committee defines three categories of blind marathon according to the severity of impairment: T11 (very low visual acuity and/or no light perception), T12 (0.03 or lower eyesight and/or a visual field radius of less than 5 degrees) and T13 (from 0.04 to 0.1 eyesight and/or a visual field of less than 20 degrees radius). For T11 and T12, to which Aoki belongs, blind marathoners must be accompanied by an escort runner.

During a race, the pair hold opposite ends of a meter-long rope as the escort runner helps to set the pace and shares information on upcoming obstacles and the status of other runners.

“The most important thing for the escort runner is caring about the runner’s safety,” said Yoshihide Fukuhara, the head coach of Aoki’s Team OYO (the initial “O” refers to the first character of Aoki’s maiden name, Otokozawa, and “YO” is from her first name), who himself is also a blind marathon runner.

“The escort runner’s vision has to synchronize with the runner’s mind. Good escort runners provide the necessary information and know when to spurt.”

Aoki, however, claims anybody can become an escort runner. According to Fukuhara, a blind marathoner will use several different escort runners between starting their daily practice and taking part in competitive races.

For example, Aoki runs about 10 kilometers every morning with a rotating set of running partners. For daily training, escort runners do not require the ability to run a marathon.

“What I want from them is that they want to run with me at daily practice. I have about 15 running partners to support my daily practice. They are all volunteers,” said Aoki. “Of course, we need fast and experienced guides in the competition, but for daily practice, the priority is people who can come to my house and run with me early in the morning.”

A blind athlete can have up to two guides in a race. Exchanging is allowed once, at either the 10-, 20- or 30-km point. If the escort runner retires at any point during the race, the blind runner is also disqualified.

Any rule violation by the escort runner, such as doping, results in the disqualification of the blind athlete. Escort runners are not allowed to help their blind athlete, even when they fall down, or to cross the finish line first.

Kenyan Monicah Ngige took the victory honors at the B.A.A. 5K women’s clocking 15:16

The women’s title went to Kenyan Monicah Ngige, who earned her second road win in as many weeks after claiming the Cooper River Bridge Run in South Carolina last week.

Though Ngige trailed Violah Lagat by 20 meters at the two-mile mark (9:41 for Lagat), she made up that deficit and then some over the final 1.1 miles, coasting to victory in 15:16, 13 seconds ahead of runner-up Lagat.

Two-time Olympian Kim Conley finished as the top American in fourth, running 15:36.

Emma Knight says she wanted to fight the disease with everything she had and her care was second to none is running the Brighton 10k

Emma Knight found a lump in her chest last year and visited the doctors to have it checked.

The 44-year-old said: “About four weeks later I was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer.

“I have two daughters, so the worst part of receiving that news is thinking of the impact it will have on my children.

“It’s heartbreaking and a really frightening thought.”

Emma decided she wanted to fight the disease with everything she had.

She said: “I knew if I let my head go to a bad place then I couldn’t expect my body to recover.

“I also knew I had to have a clear head to explain this to my children. That this would be difficult but I would be OK.

“They know enough to make the link between cancer and death. I wanted them to see that I was strong and that wasn’t always the case.”

Emma, who lives in Hanover, England with daughters Georgie and Nancy, began to write down her feelings in a blog online called Queen Emma Knight and said it “became a type of therapy.”

“It is very honest. I talk about everything very bluntly,” she said.  

“Somebody told me reading it was like white water rafting, I go from swearing to sharing my emotions, talking about getting a positive outcome from a pretty grim situation.

“People began reading it all over the world. It created quite a community and people I didn’t know were giving such positive feedback.

“One woman direct messaged me and said the blog was like somebody else was articulating exactly how she was feeling. Before that she felt like she had lost her voice, and I had given it back.”

Emma received 19 weeks of chemotherapy treatment at the Sussex Cancer Centre in Brighton and said her care was second to none.

So tomorrow she will be leading the charge as part of Knights Army, a team of 24 friends and family members who Emma says will be “running, jogging, walking and crawling” the Brighton 10K to raise money for the Sussex Cancer Fund.

She said that she is not going to win it, but is “celebrating the fact that my body is able to achieve this after the serious beating it’s taken.”

Ben True, Justyn Knight and Ben Flanagan, Two three and four at B.A.A 5K

Justyn Knight was third Saturday at the B.A.A 5K in a time of 13:46. He was third in a very respectable field, losing to Hagos Gebrhiwet of Ethiopia (13:42) who’s an Olympic bronze medallist in the 5,000m and Ben True, one of the best American distance athletes on the roads.

True was sixth at the 2015 World Championships in the 5,000m.

After what Knight describes as a lack-lustre indoor season, he’s had a very solid opener. Knight only ran one race in the 2019 indoor season and says he wasn’t in his ideal race shape through the winter.

“My indoor season was what everyone saw, I was out of shape. I knew I wasn’t as fit as I would’ve like to be, but I still wanted to race and see where I was at relative to my fellow competitors. I wasn’t ready to run fast then, but I feel I’m in a completely different spot now.”

Training partner Ben Flanagan was fourth in Saturday’s race just behind Justyn in 13:49. Flanagan and Knight train together with the Reebok Boston Track Club. Knight’s next race will be Payton Jordan on May 2 in Palo Alto, California.

Because of wet and cool weather forecasted the Boston Marathon organizers are making some changes

The Boston Marathon are making changes to the scheduled start times for runners.

The Boston Athletic Association said it is planning for conditions similar to last year's race. StormTeam 5 meteorologists is forecasting rain and temperatures below 50 degrees at the starting line in Hopkinton.

Runners assigned to the fourth wave will start their race immediately after those in the third wave. Originally, a 25 minute gap was scheduled between those two waves.

Under the new plan, Wave 3 will start at 10:50 a.m. and Wave 4 will follow immediately afterward.

BAA organizers said the goal is to reduce the amount of time runners spend waiting in the Athletes' Village prior to starting the race.

Additionally, the BAA said it is adding additional medical aid capacity along the course, adding things like walls and heaters to tents and distributing ponchos to volunteers.

"Our race history has shown that the forecasted conditions will cause unique challenges for athletes whose participation requires specific equipment that limits contact with the ground.

“This includes participants in the wheelchair division, handcycle program, duo program, and runners competing with prosthesis. Eligible athletes who elect deferral will receive a complimentary entry into the 2020 Boston Marathon. For those athletes, qualifying standards will be waived if a deferment is selected," the BAA wrote in a statement.

After years of struggling with the aftermath of the 1999 Columbine shooting, Laura Hall and Sarah Bush have used running as a method to overcome the anxiety, and now are set for Boston

It was a regular school day. Laura Green, a 14-year-old freshman, threw on a powder-blue tank top, a matching cardigan, a khaki skirt and a pair of Doc Martens. She had two weeks left in the school year at Columbine High. After months of cold days, the sun was finally out. Her town, Littleton, Colorado, looked bright and majestic.

As she sat down in the passenger seat of the car her older sister, Sarah Green, 16, was driving on April 20, 1999, Laura thought to herself, "It's going to be a good day."

Three hours after they left their house. That's all it took for their lives to change forever when one of the school's janitors yelled, "Run, somebody is shooting." Laura dropped her pizza and sprinted up the stairs from the cafeteria. She stood shoulder to shoulder with 40 other kids in the choir office. She fixed her eyes on the ceiling, hoping the space above them might help her breathe through the intense claustrophobia. They had barricaded the door with two desks and a cabinet.

During the same time, Sarah was taking a math test. She dropped her pen in fear when baseball coach Robin Ortiz slammed the door open and told them to "get the hell out; somebody is shooting." She ran out the main entrance and stopped only when she found some classmates in the field across from the school. She watched as the SWAT team members arrived 47 minutes later and positioned themselves behind their vehicle just as bullets began to fly toward them.

Chaos ensued, and it wasn't until four hours later that the SWAT team kicked down the door of the choir office and ordered the kids to place their hands on their heads and walk out in a single file.

They were taken out through the back entrance, the glass windows shot in, the doors unhinged. With her hands on her head, Laura had to step over the dead body of a classmate she had grown up with since second grade. She was hyperventilating, and tears poured down her face.

That was 20 years ago. The 1999 Columbine High School shooting, in which 12 students and one teacher were killed, changed the Green sisters' lives forever, robbing them of a normal high school experience, of being able to sleep in their own rooms at night, of feeling safe at school. But through the uncertainty of it all, they found one thing -- one common thing -- that saved them. Running.

Running gave them a sense of purpose and focus -- it gave them a chance to slowly heal. On Monday, Laura and Sarah will tackle their ultimate goal and compete in the Boston Marathon.

Training together for Boston has been special for Sarah and Laura. They ran the Orcas Island 32-miler together in February, finishing hand-in-hand. When Laura needed a water break, Sarah waited for her, and when Sarah needed to catch a breath, Laura held her hand as they slowed down. They found an emotional release, a sense of accomplishment, especially after a long race.

Finishing the Boston Marathon together a few days before the 20th anniversary of the April 20, 1999, shooting would be their way of showing the world that it's possible for survivors to move forward and find a sense of serenity after a life-altering event. Not to mention tackling one of the toughest and most prestigious marathons in the world.

"When we see the famous Citgo sign, we know we will only have 1 mile left," said Laura, referring to the iconic image near the end of the Boston Marathon.

"And I asked Sarah, 'How am I supposed to keep it together?' She said, 'You won't, you just have to allow yourself to cry.'"

Kylie Osborn is running the Brighton Marathon this weekend to raise money for a charity in memory of her daughter

Kylie Osborn is taking on the marathon on Sunday to raise money for Darcie’s Wish, a charity she set up to support bereaved parents after her own daughter died at 20 weeks.

“Darcie’s Wish was formed in 2014 when our daughter Darcie passed away from Edwards’ syndrome while I was pregnant,” explained Kylie.

“It is now a registered charity and has raised more than £25,000 to help support the maternity unit at Lister Hospital.”

Kylie will be running with five others, and each mile of Sunday’s marathon will be dedicated to a different angel baby – whose names will be on the back of each running top.

Mile 26 will be in memory of Darcie.

Edwards syndrome, is a chromosomal condition associated with abnormalities in many parts of the body. Babies have slow growth before birth and a low birth weight. Affected babies may have heart defects and abnormalities of other organs that develop before birth.

Due to the presence of several life-threatening medical problems, many babies die before birth or within their first month. Five to 10 percent of babies with this condition live past their first year.

Two-time Schneider Electric Paris Marathon winner Paul Lonyangata will seek a record third consecutive victory this weekend

The 26-year-old Kenyan set his lifetime best of 2:06:10 when winning in the French capital two years ago. He came close to that mark last year when he retained his title in 2:06:25, the second-fastest time of his career.

He hasn’t raced since then, however, and he picked up a slight injury last week when he slipped and fell in training, but he insisted that it shouldn’t affect his ability to compete on Sunday.

Lonyangata faces a tough challenge, though, as he will line up against fellow Kenyans Augustine Choge, Hillary Kipsambu, Ishmael Bushendich and Barselius Kipyego, plus a duo of Ethiopian men with sub-2:05 PRs: Asefa Mengistu and Yemane Tsegay.

Choge, one of the most versatile distance runners in the world over the past decade, has won global medals indoors, outdoors and at cross country. The 32-year-old has moved to the roads in recent years and clocked 59:26 for the half marathon in 2017. His marathon debut in Chicago last year ended with a DNF but he is aiming for a better result in Paris.

With a best of 2:04:06, Mengistu is the fastest man in the field. A past winner in Seoul, Cape Town and Bloemfontein, he set his PR when placing fourth in Dubai in 2018. He finished third in Dubai this year and came close to his best with 2:04:24.

Tsegay’s PR of 2:04:48 dates back to 2012, but the 34-year-old is still highly competitive and won in Ottawa last year. More recently he finished runner-up in Fukuoka four months ago.

Nicolas Navarro, the second-fastest marathon runner in France last year, leads the domestic charge and will aim to improve on his PR of 2:12:39.

Almost all of the leading contenders in the women’s race set their PRs in 2018, so will be heading to the French capital in good form.

Gelete Burka – who, like Choge, has won global medals across a range of distances – is the most decorated athlete in the field. Winner of the 2006 world cross-country short course title and 2008 world indoor 1500m title, the 33-year-old Ethiopian finally conquered the marathon distance in 2018, clocking a PR of 2:20:45 in Dubai and then going on to win in Ottawa in 2:22:17, the first marathon victory of her career.

Kenyan athletes have won the past three women’s races at the Paris Marathon and 2014 world half marathon bronze medallist Sally Chepyego leads their charge this year. The experienced 33-year-old set her marathon PR of 2:23:15 when finishing second in Ljubljana last year.

Kenya's veteran road runner Mathew Kisorio and Bornes Kitur will lead the elite group at the Prague Marathon

Kenya's Mathew Kisorio, who ran his best time of 2:04:53 in finishing third in Valencia last year, could challenge the Prague Marathon course record of 2:05:39.

"I am in top form and will first seek to shake off the opposition and secure the victory, then see if I can run faster time. The course record is not hard to challenge, I will take it in my strides," said Kisorio.

Morocco's El Mahjoub Dazz, who was just behind Kisorio in Valencia in 2:05:26 and Kenya's Amos Kipruto, who has a best time of 2:06:23, could also challenge.

Kisorio's brother Peter Kimeli Some, a former Paris marathon champion, Yego Solomon Kirwa and Paul Maina are others to watch for.

European runners are led by Oleksandr Sitkovskyy, who has run 2:09:11.

In the women's race, Kenya's Bornes Kitur is back to defend her title, which she won when she ran her best time of 2:24:19.

However, she must give her best show in order to beat Israel and European 10,000m champion Lonah Salpeter who is two seconds quicker than Kitur.

Salpeter, who switched from Kenya to Israel after marriage, had pitched camp in Iten to train.

Deborah James is running the Vitality London 10k to prove she is not dead yet

BBC presenter Deborah James, aka the Bowel Babe, has revealed that she won't stop running despite having stage 4 bowel cancer - because it proves she's "not dead yet." 

The 37-year-old, from London, who was diagnosed with the disease in 2016 and has undergone countless rounds of gruelling treatment and operations, says she even got out her running shoes just before an operation despite being "nil by mouth" and gagging for water to "feel alive." 

Stripping down to her underwear as part of a new campaign to encourage others to get active and raise money for charity, the deputy head, who's taking part in the Vitality London 10k on May 27th, says she hopes others will see "If I can do it, so can they."  

She told her 61,000 followers: "I run (when my dodgy ankle allows!) because it makes me feel alive. 

"I have even run to have an operation (it’s the whole “not dead yet mentality!”), although that was a bit silly when you are nil by mouth and gagging for water!' James wrote on Instagram.

She added, "You know I have really rubbish days when I don’t want to do anything, but in the days I feel well I try to get my trainers on and do what my body allows me to do - then I push it a bit more and hope I don’t break my ankle again! If I can do it when I have stage four cancer, then anyone can do it!'

Kellyn Taylor, the seventh-fastest USA marathon woman will run her next marathon at the Volkswagen Prague Marathon

Kellyn Taylor, the seventh-fastest USA marathon woman under all conditions with a 2:24:29 personal best, will run her next marathon at the Volkswagen Prague Marathon on Sunday, May 5, her HOKA Northern Arizona Elite coach Ben Rosario told Race Results Weekly.

Taylor, 32, who finished fourth at the 2016 USA Olympic Trials in the 10,000m and sixth in the marathon, sees running on Prague’s flat, fast course as an opportunity to lower her personal best and get a 2020 Tokyo Olympic qualifying mark (sub-2:29:30).  She last ran the 42.195-kilometer distance at Grandma’s Marathon last June in Duluth, Minn., where she clocked her personal best.  The mark was also an event record.

“After a season off of marathoning, I think Prague is the perfect fit for my next go at 26.2,” Taylor said through a statement. “The field looks fantastic and I’m heading there to compete with the best in search of a win and a new PR.”

Under Rosario’s training, Taylor has moved solidly into the first tier of American marathon women.  She made a very good debut at the Chevron Houston Marathon in 2015 clocking 2:28:40 before finishing sixth at the 2016 Olympic Trials in Los Angeles in hot conditions (2:32:49).  In 2017 she finished 13th at London (2:28:51), 8th at New York (2:29:56) and was the ninth-ranked American marathon woman for 2017 by Track & Field News.  Nearly a year ago, Taylor was unable to finish the 2018 Boston Marathon, held in heavy rain and near-freezing temperatures, but bounced back with her fast run at Grandma’s less than two months later.  Taking last fall off, she will be running Prague on fresh legs.

“Kellyn wanted to try and build on her performance last year at Grandma’s by picking a race where she could battle for the win against a great field and have the opportunity to run a fast time as a result,” coach Rosario told Race Results Weekly in an e-mail.

In Prague, Taylor will face a quality field, including Ethiopia’s Amane Beriso (2:20:48 PB) and Mamitu Daska (2:21:59 PB), Kenya’s Bornes Jepkirui Kitur (2:24:19 PB), and Israel’s Lonah Chemtai Salpeter (2:24:17 PB).

The Volkswagen Prague Marathon is an IAAF Gold Label road race.  Under the new IAAF qualification system for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, a top-5 finish in a Gold Label marathon shall be counted as an Olympic Games qualifying mark regardless of the time.  Nonetheless, Taylor is hoping to run fast.

“Her training has, without a doubt, been as good as ever over the last few weeks and I am excited to see what she can do on the streets of Prague,” concluded Rosario.

76-year-old Benny Meier is blind, but it doesn’t keep him from competing in the Oklahoma City National Memorial Marathon

Benny Meier has a secret weapon. Her name is Frances Williams.

When Benny runs, Frances is his guide.  Frances uses her eyes and Benny provides the inspiration for this dynamic running duo.

"She's been a person who has been my guide, my right-hand person,” Benny says. “I just really appreciate what she's done for me to take her time to guide a blind person for all these many years."

Benny began losing his vision at age 11 and so many things have changed for him since then.  Simple things like different shades of colors.

When they run together, he has questions.  “Sometimes I ask Frances what is fuchsia? Or what is bone color or what is plum red,” Benny told us. “There are just so many colors I never saw when I was young.”

For what Frances has done for him as a running partner and friend, Benny nominated her for Pay It Forward. Frances is an art teacher at Piedmont Middle School and when we surprised her there with the 400 dollar cash reward, provided by Nova Kay of First Fidelity Bank.

Frances teared up in a smile and said in an emotional jest, “Benny what have you done?!

Benny told Frances, “I just really appreciate the time you've taken to guide this old blind guy for many years."

After a hug Frances told Benny, “You've been a best friend and we've been running together for 16 years and I hope we have another 16."

It doesn't matter where they finish in the Memorial half-marathon later this month, because in the event called friendship, Benny Meier and Frances Williams are both Gold Medal winners.

Mika Kawauchi the mom of Yuki Kawauchi is going to be running the Boston Marathon this year

The JapanRunningNews.com site reports that Boston Marathon defending champion Yuki Kawauchi’s mother, Mika Kawauchi, is also running the Boston Marathon this year. She will start in Wave four.

Mika is an accomplished middle distance runner, and according to a story in the New York Times last October, she was Yuki’s first coach.

The B.A.A. invited her to race at Boston this year. “We are excited to have her run this year,” says B.A.A. communications manager Chris Lotsbom, whom we reached by email today, “and believe it is the first time a parent of a defending champion has competed in the same race their son/daughter was racing in as defending champion.”

What few people know is that the Kawauchis are a running family. Yuki’s brothers Koki and Yoshiki are both runners. Mika ran her first marathon at Gold Coast in Australia in 2016 at age 52, finishing in 3:53.

Yuki runs the Gold Coast every year and has stood on the podium four times. (He has an ongoing rivalry with Kenyan runner Kenneth Mungara, who holds the course record and Australian all-comers record of 2:08:42, set in 2015).

The four Kawauchis all raced at the Gold Coast together last year, Mika and Yoshiki running the Southern Cross University 10K, and Koki the half-marathon. Mika finished in 46:27, for eighth in her age group. 

An army veteran who is suffering from sight loss is planning on running the London marathon with a white cane

Steven Waterson says running was a 'coping mechanism' after he suffered a brain hemorrhage.

Steven Waterson began to lose his vision after operations following two brain hemorrhages and other health problems.

However the 46-year-old is still a keen runner and his next challenge will be the London marathon.  The former army chef has received support from the charity Scottish War Blinded after losing his left field of vision following surgery, and reduced vision on his right.

In 2014, Steven ran part of the Queen's Baton relay in Midlothian for the Commonwealth Games.  Steven says, "There’s always something positive you can take out of a race.

“I was intrigued by marathons – every year I’d watch London and I knew one day I’d get to one.”  After a brain haemorrhage in 2003, Steven was found to have arteriovenous malformation – where high pressure arteries are connected to low pressure veins, risking rupture.

As well as sight loss,  Steven also suffered paralysis on his left side.  Steven said running was “a coping mechanism” after his first bleed.

Egyptian woman Manal Rostom, and first Nike Hijab model and coach is set for London Marathon

As the countdown for the 2019 London Marathon gets underway, international charity Penny Appeal has announced that the Egyptian mountaineer and marathon runner, Manal Rostom, will be running this year’s London Marathon for the charity.

Rostom is widely recognised as Nike’s first Hijab model and coach, but is also the first Egyptian woman to summit two out of the seven highest summits in the world.

On the running side of things, Rostom has completed five sprint triathlons, run over 13 half marathons, various full marathons and even one 50K solo run.

She is the first Egyptian woman to run the length of the Great Wall of China Marathon, and her mission is to be the first Egyptian to run all the World’s Six Major Marathons.

The Penny Appeal is an international humanitarian charity, which provides a range of life-saving solutions in over 30 crisis hit countries. Manal said, “So very proud to be running for Penny Appeal this year, for a good cause.

This is my first London marathon, I hope that we can make a big difference by raising funds to support the Dig Deep campaign, I also want young Muslim women in Britain to realise they can do anything they want in life as long as they believe in themselves.”

Haroon Mota, who is Head of Challenges at Penny Appeal said, “We are proud to have such an inspirational woman running with us.

Don't spend any energy worrying about the weather for this year's Boston Marathon says Marathon Man Gary Allen File 5

You can’t control the weather. Don’t spend any energy worrying about it. Instead prepare for anything and everything for this year's Boston Marathon.  

1. Wear lots of throw away clothes to the start. Layers rule. Make sure your outer layer is a green trash bag to keep you dry. Hours of waiting to start being cold and miserable is not good.

2. Carry your race shoes and wear some old beaters to tromp around in the mud at athletes village. Change into your dry kicks in the corrals and toss your old shoes.

3. Bring some Mylar blankets to wrap up in and sit on in the corrals.

4. Don’t over dress for the actual race. If it’s raining you will be weighted down by sopping wet not needed gear. Remember the faster you run the more heat you generate and you can’t run fast if you have 15 lbs of soaked gear on.

5. Hat and gloves are key. Race singlet will work just fine, maybe arm sleeves. If below 40 I sometimes would wear two singlets.

6. If windy use the people around you to draft. In the infamous nor’easter in 2007 we had gusts of 30 mph right in our faces all damn day. I tucked in whenever I could conserving energy and would pop out when the gusts subsided. I ran 2:55:17 good for 9th OA AG.

7. Start with a 12 oz Poland spring water bottle in your hand and skip the congested mile 2 and 4 water stops. I found in big urban marathons I’d drink 6oz at mile 2 and then finish it at mile 4 but most importantly I skipped the crowded chaos of those first 2 stops.

8. Don’t follow the crowds. If village is insane you don’t need to go there. The hopkinton green right at the start is a fantastic place to wait. Plenty of Porto’s and you can head straight to your corrals when called. Lots of big trees to help shield you from weather.

9. Have fun and even if Mother Nature kicks you in the face Smile and yell, “yo bitch, BRING IT....IS THAT ALL YOU GOT!”

From Marathon Man Gary Allen who has run many Boston Marathons over many years. 

John Hancock 2019 Boston Marathon US Elite Open Team

Featured video: 2019 Boston Marathon John Hancock U.S. Elite Open Team for Monday April 15.

Abdi Abdirahman, a four-time Olympian, placed sixth at the 2017 Boston Marathon. He is a multiple national champion in the 10,000m, 10K, 10-mile and half marathon. 

Shadrack Biwott finished third this year in Boston. Last year, he was second American and fourth overall. Biwott placed fifth at the 2016 TCS New York City Marathon in a personal best time of 2:12:01.

Aaron Braun, 13th at the 2018 Bank of America Chicago Marathon, is a versatile road runner. Braun is a national champion in the 12K and was top American at the 2015 Houston Marathon.

Sarah Crouch has finished top-ten three times at the Bank of America Chicago Marathon, including this year where she was top American and ninth overall. She is a past champion of the Tallahassee Marathon and finished 11th at the 2016 Boston Marathon.

Jeffrey Eggleston has raced on three IAAF World Championships Marathon teams, placing as high as 13th in 2018. He has won the Pittsburgh, Woodlands, Lima and San Diego Marathons and has been runner-up in Brisbane, Pittsburgh and at Twin Cities.

Scott Fauble was the second American and seventh overall at the 2018 TCS New York City Marathon. Fauble placed fourth in the 10,000m at the 2016 Olympic Trials and represented the United States at the 2017 IAAF World Cross Country Championships.  

Lindsay Flanagan, the 2015 Pan American silver medalist in the marathon, finished 11th at the 2017 Boston Marathon and set her personal best of 2:29:25 at the Frankfurt Marathon this year.  

Sara Hall is the tenth fastest U.S. women’s marathoner of all time having set her 2:26:20 mark at the 2018 Ottawa Marathon. Hall has earned national titles in the marathon, 20K, 10-mile, mile and cross country. She is married to Ryan Hall, who is a John Hancock Elite Athlete Ambassador and holds the American course record of 2:04:58 at the Boston Marathon. 

Jordan Hasay set an American debut record of 2:23:00 with her third-place finish in Boston in 2017. She then ran the second fastest marathon of all time by a U.S. woman at the 2018 Bank of America Chicago Marathon, where she placed third in 2:20:57. Hasay is an 18-time All American and a national champion at 15K and 20K.  

Elkanah Kibet, a member of the U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program, has had two top-ten finishes at the Bank of America Chicago Marathon. At the 2017 IAAF World Championships Marathon, Kibet finished top American and 16th overall. He was 8th in Boston in 2018.

Desiree Linden, a two-time Olympian, returns to Boston as defending champion. A top-five finisher in eight Abbott World Marathon Majors, additional accomplishments include placing seventh at the 2016 Olympic Games Marathon, tenth at the 2009 IAAF World Championships Marathon, second at the 2012 and 2016 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials and second in the 10,000m at the 2015 Pan American Games. In addition to her 2018 win in Boston, she placed second in 2011.

Timothy Ritchie, the 2017 U.S. National Marathon champion, ran for the U.S. at the 2016 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships where he placed 23th. Ritchie is the head men’s cross country coach at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

Dathan Ritzenhein is the fourth fastest U.S. marathoner of all time with a 2:07:47 personal best. Career highlights for the three-time Olympian include finishing ninth at the 2008 Olympic Marathon, winning the bronze medal at the 2009 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships and finishing 13th at the 2012 Olympic Games 10,000m. 

Sarah Sellers ran through freezing rain and torrential wind this year to finish second behind Des Linden. In her 2017 marathon debut, Sellers won the Huntsville Marathon. In New York this year she finished 18th.

Brian Shrader is a versatile runner on the track and roads. He made his half marathon debut in Boston this year at the B.A.A. Half Marathon, running 1:05:26. He also made his marathon debut in 2018, running 2:13:31 at the USA Championships in Sacramento.  

Becky Wade, a champion of the California International Marathon, finished 11th at the 2018 Virgin Money London Marathon and tenth at the 2017 Bank of America Chicago Marathon. 

Jared Ward placed third at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials and followed with a sixth-place finish at the Olympic Marathon in Rio de Janeiro, less than a minute and a half out of medal contention. In 2017 Ward was tenth at the Boston Marathon and this year, he finished top American and sixth overall at the TCS New York City Marathon. 

The current weather forecast for the Boston Marathon is similar to last year but things can change by Monday

For the second year in a row, rain and wind could lead to sloppy conditions for the Boston Marathon next Monday, Patriots' Day.

Hundreds of thousands of spectators will cheer on 30,000 runners along the course from Hopkinton, Massachusetts, to downtown Boston.

During last year's marathon, over 1.50 inches of rain and chilly conditions led to a downright raw and miserable race with slower times than previous years.  Many elite runners had to drop out due to the weather.

Those participating in this year's event should make sure they have waterproof gear at the ready, as there is the potential for similar conditions to unfold.

"As a storm moves toward the area next Monday, soggy conditions are in store for the Boston Marathon," said AccuWeather Meteorologist Ryan Adamson.

Depending on the exact speed of the storm, the rain could pester the area for much of the day, affecting all waves of runners. The water on painted surfaces, such as pedestrian and motor vehicle lines, can make for slippery conditions for the runners.

The rain could be heavy enough to cause ponding of water on the course, like what occurred in 2018.

Timing is everything. The storm looks to bring Beantown its worst between sunrise and noon. The first batch of marathon runners departs Hopkinton at 9:02 a.m., with the remaining participants setting off in waves through 11:15 a.m. A chilly rain is possible and, if downpours develop, a half to three-quarters of an inch of water could fall by early afternoon.

As the race is six days away, however, the specifics of this forecast could change.

The official forecast is calling for temperatures around 50 degrees, though it’s likely an easterly wind off the water — coupled with cold air draining down from the north — could knock Boston back into the low to mid-40s.

The atmosphere can be fickle this time of year in southern New England. On Monday, New York City warmed to 78, while Hartford — a mere 100 miles away — held steady at 43 degrees.

Past Boston Marathons have seen all sorts of wild weather. In 2017, Logan Airport peaked at a balmy 75 degrees — just a day after a record-setting 86 degrees. But in 2015, temperatures struggled to hit 50, and 0.61 inches of rain fell. And if you’re looking for variety, try 2014 — the race began in the 30s, flirting with 70 in the afternoon.

Eric Fisher is the chief meteorologist at WBZ-TV in Boston, and has run the marathon a number of times. He said the rain predicted to drench this year’s race could be dangerous to runners.

“Heavy rain like last year can be tough,” he said in a message. “There were quite a few cases of hypothermia on the course.”

If the rain clears out sooner though, that could be good news for runners. Most athletes would prefer a cooler day over the summerlike weather that’s baked the course in years past.

“After a winter of cold training, the ideal day for runners is mostly cloudy and somewhere close to 50 degrees,” Fisher said. “That’s actually a pretty standard day for Boston in mid-April.” The average high this time of year is around 56 or 57 degrees.

Sara Sellers placed second at the 2018 Boston Marathon and is ready to run it again on Monday

When Sarah Sellers rises at 4 a.m., it’s not to sip coffee slowly in the still of the morning or head off to an early shift at the Tucson hospital where she works as a nurse anesthetist. Instead, Sellers hits the blaring alarm and gets out her shoes to tackle another early morning run.

Sellers is preparing for her second appearance in the Boston Marathon after a long love affair with running. The 27-year-old started in middle school with her parents on the trails behind their house in Ogden, Utah, and went on to run in college for Weber State from 2009–13.

For someone who has spent most of her life running, qualifying for the Boston Marathon came easy. But competing among the elites was another task all together. In 2018, Sellers arrived on the starting line in Hopkinton as a relatively unknown runner and had only competed in one marathon, in Huntsville, Utah, in Sept. 2017. She won her debut in 2:44:27—nearly 15 minutes ahead of the next woman.

“In some ways last year it was really nice to be totally naïve and do my own thing and not have anyone besides a few family members and my coach interested in how I did,” Sellers says.

The conditions at the 2018 Boston Marathon were anything but ideal. At the start of the race temperatures hovered around 37 degrees. A torrential downpour, which amounted to over a half inch of rain, soaked runners for the entirety of the race. The worst part, according to Sellers, who compared running in the heavy rains to being in a car wash, was the strong headwinds that reached up to 35 miles per hour. More than 2,500 runners visited medical tents during the race and 1,123 participants did not finish.

When Sellers crossed the finish line in 2:44:04 as the second runner in the women’s division behind two-time Olympian Desiree Linden, who became the first American woman to win the race in 33 years, her anonymity to the general public quickly vanished. Suddenly, the media was clamoring to talk to Sellers, who was in a state of disbelief over her second-place finish. “Who is Sarah Sellers?” started popping on search engines, running message boards and social media. The reality sank in after she found her husband, Blake, and he confirmed that the result was no fluke.

“It was the mixture of excitement and almost this daunting feeling,” Seller says. “It was a little bit scary because I knew it was going to be a big deal but I also asked myself ‘What did I just do?’”

Before April 16, 2018, not many people would’ve cared that Sellers ran track and cross country in middle school and high school before joining the teams at Weber State in her hometown. She was a nine-time Big Sky conference champion during her college career and was voted the university’s 2012 Female Athlete of the Year. After she was diagnosed with a stress fracture in the navicular bone in her foot during her senior year, Sellers didn’t know if she would be able to run again, because that specific bone doesn’t get much blood supply, which makes it hard to heal. She never finished her final year of NCAA eligibility at Weber State.

She went a couple of years without being able to run or could run very little,” says Paul Pilkington, Sellers’s coach at Weber State. “She wasn’t training a lot when in grad school but I think that helped her get healthy again. It’s the whole thing of ‘Hey I may never be able to run again’ that makes her appreciate it a lot.”

Sellers eventually did start running again as a graduate student at Barry University in Florida. She decided to target the 2018 Boston Marathon after her brother, Ryan, signed up. She earned her Boston qualifier in Huntsville and then reached out to Pilkington and asked him to help her train for the marathon.

Kenya´s Daniel Kipkoech will try to maintain Kenyan dominance at Vancouver Sun Run this weekend

Kenyans won the men’s division of The Vancouver Sun Run an amazing 16 of 21 times from 1994 through 2014.

If it’s going to happen in 2019 at the popular 10K event, it will be up to Daniel Kipkoech, the Kenyan-born runner who spends a good part of the year in Lethbridge, Alta. He’s the only Kenyan in the men’s field this year, with 2013 and 2014 winner Paul Kimugul, who was 10th last year, opting not to return.

Kipkoech, 32, has been a frequent presence in B.C. distance races in recent years, winning the BMO Vancouver Marathon in 2016 and 2017 and the GoodLife Fitness Victoria Marathon for five consecutive years from 2014 through 2018.

He’s also won the Times Colonist 10K in Victoria twice and finished second, third and seventh in The Vancouver Sun Run. But somehow, he’s never been a winner of the Sun Run, one of the largest road races in North America.

“The Vancouver community is why I come back every year,” Kipkoech said after winning the 2017 marathon. “They’re so cheerful, loving and welcoming. It’s a beautiful place, especially the people.”

Americans have won three of the past four Sun Runs and Jerrell Mock of Fort Collins, Ariz., figures to be a favorite this year based on his 28:07 clocking in winning last July’s Deseret News 10K in Salt Lake City.

But there’s also a strong contingent of Canadians in the field, led by Geoff Martinson of Vancouver and Albertans Trevor Hofbauer, the 2018 Canadian half-marathon champion, and Matt Travaglini, who was third in last year’s Sun Run in 29:49, just 35 seconds behind winner Brendan Gregg.

Phoenix resident Jerry Swartsley has run 555 races, the Pear Blossom Run will be number 556

Not many people can say they’ve run in over 100 races, few can say they’ve been in 300. For one local runner though, try running over 500.

He’s a modest man who’s been in hundreds of races – 555 to be exact. But with all those miles, Phoenix resident Jerry Swartsley still can’t quite put a finger on why.

“I don’t know the answer to that,” he said. “It’s just been kind of a lifestyle, part of my life, like brushing your teeth. Just something you do.”

That lifestyle has been going strong since Jerry’s first race on April 10, 1969. Since then, he’s run 29 marathons, over 72,000 miles and burned through dozens of shoes.

Jerry even has a stack of journals he’s kept from every race he’s ever recorded providing insight to a wealth of history that’s taken him across the country.

With such a passion for running, Jerry has done quite a bit of work encouraging others to do the same. In the fall of 1969, he started Oregon’s first running club, the Southern Oregon Sizzlers, now known as the Southern Oregon Runners.

Then in 1977, he and his wife Zellah started the Pear Blossom Run which they still participate in every year. But with all that work, Jerry laughs about some of his more controversial achievements.

“I ran the Golden Gate Marathon in San Francisco and they ran out of water,” he said with a chuckle. “Eventually to make a long story short, I got banned from the race.”

Besides some humorous missteps (Jerry says he later cleared things up with organizers with the marathon) Jerry is prepared to make it 556 races with next weekends Pear Blossom Run.

He hopes to keep adding to the miles he’s run with maybe one day running so many he could reach the moon.

“That’s a ways off,” he said with a laugh though.

Ben Flanagan and Justyn Knight will be facing a very deep field at the B.A.A 5K race on Saturday

Ben Flanagan and Justyn Knight will both race the B.A.A 5K on Saturday. They will face a very deep field including World Championship top six finisher Ben True and 2019 USATF Indoor 2-mile champion Drew Hunter.

Both Flanagan and Knight run for the Reebok Boston Track Club out of Charlottesville, Virginia.

We asked Flanagan and Knight how they thought they would do if on Saturday they were told they had to run a marathon instead of a 5K. Flanagan joked that, “I mean, I could finish it.” He continued, “I think I would try and run around 5:30 miles for as long as possible.

I would hope to finish around the 2:30’s. It’s so hard to say.” Flanagan hasn’t done a long run longer than 14 miles recently and says that the marathon is a distance he really respects. “It would be impossible to go out there and do a good job without months of preparation.”

Knight took a slightly more aggressive approach saying he would aim for high teens or low twenties. “Oh my gosh, I mean I hope that I’d run between 2:18 or 2:20 but I don’t even know what a minute means in the context of a marathon.”

Knight only ran one race in the 2019 indoor season and says he wasn’t in his ideal race shape through the winter. “My indoor season was what everyone saw, I was out of shape. I knew I wasn’t as fit as I would’ve like to be, but I still wanted to race and see where I was at relative to my fellow competitors. I wasn’t ready to run fast then, but I feel I’m in a completely different spot now.” Knight says he always races to win and that’s the mindset he has heading into the weekend.

Both runners are starting their 2019 outdoor seasons with the World Championships in mind. Neither Flanagan or Knight are certain of which distance they would ideally qualify at, but they know they’d like to be there.

This year's Boston Marathon will be Beofra Butler's 100th marathon and her sixth Boston.

It all started when she was stationed in Virginia 12 years ago. That's when Chief Warrant Officer Beofra Butler saw everyone training for the Marine Corps Marathon and decided to give the marathon a try.

As a Soldier, running was already a part of her daily life and physical fitness routine. She had ran several other shorter races to include the Army 10-miler and a few half marathons, so the challenge of a full marathon appealed to her. She wasn't even afraid of the dreaded "wall" that everyone told her she would hit around mile 20 when her body would start shutting down as energy stores ran low and fatigue set in.

"I had never experienced the wall and was feeling pretty great," recalled Butler. "I saw the mile markers for mile 19, then mile 20, then 21. I was feeling good and thinking to myself that maybe I avoided the wall. Then at mile 22, everything from my waist down locked up -- it felt like I really did hit a wall. My muscles were in knots, my toes were cramping and every time I took a step it just hurt.

"A lady tapped her on the shoulder and encouraged her to move off to the side and stretch before resuming the race."I wanted to cry," she said. "I knew it was just four more miles. I wobbled to the finish along with a bunch of other people doing the exact same thing.

"After the race later that night, with ice bags on her legs and a computer on her lap, Butler signed up for her next marathon. "I just had to do it again for myself so I could figure out how to do it without pain," she said.Butler ran her second marathon during a deployment, followed by another and another and another.

She's preparing to run her 100th marathon in Boston on April 15. The race will be her sixth Boston Marathon and she says that it is fitting because it's her favorite event."There's something special about running in Boston," she said. "It's the only race you have to qualify for to get in and after working so hard to be a part of it, you really enjoy the moment when you get there.

The support of the crowd is amazing and it's just a great place to be."She got there by figuring out how to avoid that wall of pain."For the most part, I don't hit a wall anymore," Butler said. "Now I know what that feels like and I never want to feel it again.

"How does she do it? The way anyone in the Army does anything -- with an abbreviation. According to Butler, the key to running a successful marathon comes down to the 3P's: pacing, patience and practice. She says that you need to control your pace throughout the entire marathon and exercise patience as those around you start out fast or crowd the track.

To refine your pacing and patience, you need to practice."It comes down to having time on your feet," said Butler. "You have to put in the time and stay positive.

"Her time comes from running at least five days a week. She averages 10 miles a day with Saturdays being her long run day of anywhere from 13 to 20 miles. She does speed work on Wednesdays, often bringing others along with her to help them train to meet their goals. 

Butler says that running is wonderful because you can do it wherever you are and with no special equipment. For those aspiring to run in races of any distance, she said that it's important to find a training plan.

"Training is a part of learning yourself," she said. "It helps you become more comfortable when you're out there. You need to trust your training and just enjoy the moment." 

Leading energy and services group, ENGIE will become an official partner of the Great Run Series in 2019

Great Run is the UK's biggest series of mass participation running events, with over 230,000 people taking part each year, including at the iconic Simplyhealth Great North Run, the world's biggest half marathon.

ENGIE is focused on three key activities: production and supply of energy, facilities management and regeneration. Its 17,000 employees combine these capabilities for the benefit of businesses and communities throughout the UK. ENGIE will also become title sponsor of the Business Challenge.

This is a great opportunity for organizations to encourage a healthy outlook for staff, engage in team building and support charity fund raising.

The ENGIE Business Challenge will also encourage some friendly sporting competition amongst businesses in key locations across the series.

The focus of ENGIE's partnership will be on supporting runners and engaging local communities.

Wilfrid Petrie, Chief Executive Officer at ENGIE UK & Ireland, commented: “We are pleased to be announcing our partnership with the Great Run Series, strengthening our commitment to supporting the many communities we serve across the UK.

As a business, we are passionate about making a difference to people's lives - from transforming neighborhoods to become more vibrant and sustainable, to helping individuals, businesses and communities to embrace a greener, lower carbon future.”

Jen Isaac, Partnerships Director at the Great Run Company, said: “We are delighted to have ENGIE on board as our new Energy Partner and as title sponsor of the Business Challenge.

“Like us, ENGIE believes people should be proud of, and be able to celebrate, their communities, we're looking forward to working with them to engage an even wider audience in our events.”

Kenyan Kenneth Mungara and Japan’s Yuki Kawauchi, who produced one of the closest finishes in the event’s 40-year history, will once again face each other

The 2019 Gold Coast Marathon is shaping up to be an exciting one with the announcement today that long term rivals Kenyan Kenneth Mungara and Japan’s Yuki Kawauchi, who produced one of the closest finishes in the event’s 40-year history, will once again face each other.

Mungara edged out Kawauchi by just one second to win the 2016 Gold Coast Marathon in a finish that came down to the wire with a sprint between the pair in the finish chute, creating an unforgettable highlight on the event’s timeline.

Gold Coast Marathon CEO Cameron Hart confirmed that both Mungara and Kawauchi have entered the prestigious IAFF Gold Label Road Race event to be held on Sunday 7 July.

“I’m thrilled to welcome both men back to the Gold Coast this year, and along with the rest of the elite field which will be announced shortly, these great runners will put the race record under threat and vindicate our position as Australia’s fastest marathon,” Mr Hart said.

“The duels between these two on the Gold Coast have created one of the great rivalries in sport in this country and based on recent form, we’re in for another mouth-watering battle.

“Our ability to attract first-class international elite runners is a testament to the standard of our event and our flat, fast course located in one of the world’s most popular holiday destinations.”

Kawauchi was previously known for shunning sponsorship in favour of continuing his full-time job in administration at a high school near Tokyo whilst running marathons outside of work hours, however he has recently accepted sponsorship deals, including with ASICS.

“This coming Gold Coast Marathon is my first marathon as a professional runner so I’m coming into it having plenty time to focus on my training,” Kawauchi said.

“I’m challenging myself to achieve my personal best and I’m confident I can place better than recent years. I am familiar with the course and I know how to manage my race at the Gold Coast Marathon.”

Former Boston Police Commissioner William Evans is running the Boston Marathon for the 21st time

“I hope I set a good example for all those in law enforcement. That even after 38 years, I’m still running.”

William Evans is once again gearing up to run the Boston Marathon.

This year marks the 21st time the former Boston police commissioner will compete in the event.

It will be his 54th marathon overall, and the 60-year-old’s first Boston Marathon since he retired from the Boston Police Department last year to helm the Boston College Police Department. 

Asked about his favorite part of the course?  “The end — when I finish obviously! 

“No, the best part — I’ll always remember it. My first marathon I ever did for Boston, I did a 2:53 believe it or not, but I’ll always remember coming up Hereford Street. I think for every runner that’s a special time because you take that left onto Boylston and finally you see the crowds, you hear the roar. And you see the finish line. And I remember it brought tears to my eyes the first time I accomplished that. 

“So the favorite part for me is when you take that right off of Comm. Ave., going up Hereford, and then finally taking that left onto Boylston. Because there’s no crowd like Boston. There’s no excitement like it. To come down there and see that finish line —  it’s the best feeling in the world,” he says. 

ASICS Greater Manchester Marathon announces new route for 2020

The ASICS Manchester Marathon has announced a new route for the 2020 race, which will take place on Sunday April 5, 2020. For the first time, the race will head into the center of Manchester.

Now the second largest marathon in the UK, the ASICS Manchester Marathon attracts thousands of runners thanks to it’s flat course, offering fast times. Runners from all over the country head to Manchester seeking a PR.

The amended route will take a three-mile loop into the city center, past some of the city’s most iconic landmarks, including the Manchester Opera House, Spinningfields, Albert Memorial Hall and The Midland Hotel amongst others.

The startling line will remain in its present location under the White City Arch, with the famous backdrop of Manchester United’s Old Trafford Stadium. The race will also continue to direct runners past Trafford Town Hall and Lancashire Cricket Club towards the finish line.

This year’s weekend, 20,000 runners are set to take on the present course, which is a 50% increase from 2018. 

Nick Rusling, CEO of the ASICS Manchester Marathon, said: “This event’s success is completely down to the people of Greater Manchester, they know this event belongs to them, and we’d like to thank them for helping make so many runners dreams come true.

“Many thought they might never run a marathon, or are running in memory of a loved one, with the incredible support they offer regularly being praised as the best in the world”

Kenya’s Marius Kipserem regained his NN Rotterdam Marathon title with a course record of 2:04:11

On a perfect day for running, Kenya’s Marius Kipserem regained his NN Rotterdam Marathon title with a course record of 2:04:11, while Ashete Bekere won the women’s crown in 2:22:55 on Sunday.

A large lead group set off a bit too fast for the first kilometer but the pace soon settled and they covered the first 10 kilometers in 29:33 before reaching the half-way point in 1:02:17.

Twelve men were still together at the front when the pacemakers left at 30 kilometers, reached in 1:28:38, but Kenya’s Emanuel Saina then accelerated and only his teammates Kipserem and Vincent Rono could follow. Kipserem soon took up the running, forcing everyone to run alone for the final 10 kilometers.

With a slight increase in pace in the final stages, Kipserem eventually crossed the finish line on the Coolsingel in 2:04:11 to take 16 seconds off the course record set 10 years ago.

“I’m very happy with my victory and course record,” said the 30-year-old, who took exactly two minutes off the PB he set when winning in Rotterdam in 2016. “At 39 kilometers it seemed as though the course record might not be possible, but thankfully I was able to speed up.”

Turkey’s Kaan Kigen Özbilen finished second in 2:05:27, just 16 seconds shy of Mo Farah’s European record and the second-fastest time ever by a European athlete.

Kenya’s Rosemary Wanjiru ran the fastest 10 miles on US soil in a women's-only race clocking 50:42 at Cherry Blossom

Kenya’s Rosemary Wanjiru won the Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run on Sunday with 50:42, breaking the long-standing course record set 21 years ago by Colleen De Reuck.

Her winning time is also the best mark ever achieved on a record-eligible course in a women-only race.

Wanjiru, the 2015 African Games 5000m silver medallist, sped through the first five kilometres in 15:50 and 10 kilometres in 31:12 and had Ethiopia’s 2011 world U18 3000m champion Gotytom Gebreslase on her shoulder.

The pair were still side by side at 15 kilometres, reached in 47:13, but Wanjiru managed to edge ahead in the closing stages to win in 50:42.

Gebreslase finished second in 50:47, just one second shy of the Ethiopian record. Kenya’s Margaret Muriuki was third in 51:38.

Emma Bates (middle photo) nearly made it a double American record day, missing Janet Bawcom’s 52:12 from the 2014 Cherry Blossom race. That Bates ran 52:18 surprised her, given a rib-area muscle injury she suffered two weeks ago that has made breathing “excruciating.”

“To know I could run that close to the American record despite this is really exciting,” she said. Bates, 26, had just run 1:11:13 for fourth place at the NYC Half Marathon in March when she tried holding a plank while holding herself perpendicular to a vertical pole. On her third try, she tore some of her intercostal muscles, which

Bates, a Boise State alumna who lives in Western Idaho, has not had it easy during the last few cold weeks, but race temperatures in the 50s helped loosen things up. She also got a boost from her sister and her sister’s fiance, who cheered in the latter stages of the race, and from her relatively newfound fame, after running the U.S. marathon championships in December and signing a professional contract with Asics.

“I don’t think people realize what it means to hear your name out there,” she said.

Stanley Kebenei broke the American 10 mile record at the Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile

Stanley Kebenei could pick from a few comeback stories on his way to setting the American record at the Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile. A year ago, he was sitting at home nursing an Achilles tendon injury that left him in despair.

A week ago, he had just run a miserable race for the world cross country championships. But none of that mattered when he crossed the line Sunday in 46:00, breaking Greg Myer’s 1983 record of 46:13, also run at Cherry Blossom.

“It’s a dream come true,” Kebenei said. “You should never lose hope.”

He put his 35th place finish in Aarhus, Denmark behind him when he flew to Washington, D.C. and spent the intervening week training in Maryland. He’s a Kenyan-born American citizen who ran at the University of Arkansas and trains in Colorado Springs with the American Distance Project.

“I just didn’t even think about (world cross country),” he said. “It was one race, and this was another. I had my eye on the American record.”

He told Elite Athlete Coordinator Bill Orr as much the morning of the race, then went out to back up the shot that he had called.

Kebenei, 29, felt sluggish early on, but by the third mile, the lead pack began throwing in surges, which Kebenei felt comfortable covering. By mile eight, though, things had changed, and when  defending champion Jemal Yimer started pulling away, Kebenei, who won the 2017 race, had to decide between trying to top Yimer or focusing on his record attempt.

He backed off.

“If I had tried to run with them, I felt like I might have lost it in the last mile and slowed down too much,” he said. “I focused on a mile at a time at the end, but wanted to be ready for the last hill.”

Kebenei had spent a good portion of 2018 fretting about his Achilles.

“I was sitting in my house, feeling helpless and desperate,” he said. “Some injuries give you hope, but a hurt Achilles’ tendon makes your mind weak.”

He didn’t feel confident again until the Twin Cities 10 Mile in October, where he finished third.

NCAA champion Edward Cheserek equalled the world 5km record of 13:29 when winning the Carlsbad 5000 on Sunday

The multiple NCAA champion was an emphatic winner. He blitzed through the first two kilometres in 5:04 and had Craig Nowak for company, but despite forging ahead and opening up a 20-second gap on the rest of the field over the next two kilometers, the pace dropped slightly and he passed through the four-kilometre mark in 10:41.

Needing a final kilometre of 2:48 to equal the ratified world record set by Julien Wanders in Monaco earlier this year, Cheserek achieved his target and crossed the line in 13:29, taking nine seconds off his PB in the process.

Fellow Kenyan David Bett was a distant runner-up in 13:54.

Sharon Lokedi won the women’s race to complete a Kenyan double. Part of a large pack in the early stages, she broke away in the second half to win in 15:48. Britain’s Charlotte Arter was second in 16:01.

There have been several quicker times recorded over 5km on the roads, but the event only became an official world record discipline last year.

Wanders’ 13:29 clocking in February was the first performance to fulfil all of the criteria needed for a world record and his mark was ratified last month, along with Sifan Hassan’s 14:44 clocking from the women’s race in Monaco.

16-year-old Canadian to tackle 251K Marathon des Sables

Though not old enough to compete at many Canadian marathons, 16-year-old Jack Davison of Fort Langley, BC is about to start one of the world's most gruelling ultras

Though many Canadian marathons would not permit a 16-year-old to register, Jack Davison, of Fort Langley, BC is about to start not just a marathon, but six in a row, in the Sahara desert. He is one of 10 Canadians registered in the 251K Marathon des Sables in the Moroccan Sahara, which starts tomorrow. Jack is there with his father,

Long distance running is not even Jack’s main sport. He is a provincially-ranked tennis player who was eighth among U16 players in BC last year. He hopes to secure a scholarship at a US university and eventually to turn pro.

Nancy Kiprop smashes record at Vienna Marathon

Nancy Kiprop produced the outstanding performance of the 36th Vienna City Marathon on Sunday April 7, when she broke the women’s course record by over a minute and a half in running 2:22:12 at this IAAF Gold Label road race.

Kiprop led a Kenyan clean sweep of the podium with all three women setting personal bests. Angela Tanui was runner-up in 2:25:37 and Maurine Chepkemoi third in 2:26:16.

In the men’s race Kenyan Vincent Kipchumba won with a personal best of 2:06:56, improving his lifetime best by almost four minutes.

Kipchumba surged away in the closing stages from Switzerland’s Tadesse Abraham who finished second with 2:07:24. Uganda’s Solomon Mutai took third with 2:08:25, improving his best by just over one minute.

Course record was smashed at the Daegu Marathon as Kipchirchir clocked 2:05:33

2Felix Kipchirchir smashed the course record at the Daegu Marathon, an IAAF Silver Label road race, on Sunday April 7. 

Breaking from compatriot Kennedy Cheboror after the 35th kilometre, Kipchirchir forged on to a 2:05:33 victory to break the course record of 2:06:29 set by Abraham Kiptum in 2018.

Kipchirchir was on a tear from the start, leading the field through the first five kilometres in 14:49 and 10 kilometres in 29:31. That initial seven-man lead pack was reduced to six by 30 kilometres when Ethiopian Shifera Tamru Aredo, Ugandan Fred Musobo, Kenyans Cheboror and Evans Korir and Eritrea's Tsegay Tuemay were still giving Kipchirchir company.

But he finally showed his cards in the next five-kilometres stretch with a sizzling 14:38 split that dropped everyone but Cheboror. He too would succumb over the next five kilometres, which Kipchirchir covered in 14:32, the fastest of the race.

Aredo managed to blistering closing stages best, finishing second in 2:06:21 with Musobo third in 2:06:21.

While Kipchirchir ran away alone, Cheboror wilted over the final kilometre but still managed to finish fourth in 2:06:59 to knock nearly a minute-and-a-half from his previous best.

Pamela Rotich of Kenya won the women's race in 2:28:10.

Ethiopian runners sweep Rome marathon

Ethiopia's Tebalu Zawude Heyi won the Rome marathon on Sunday ahead of compatriots Tesfa Wokneth and Yihunilign Adane as the east African athletics power-house swept both the men's and women's events.

Zawude Heyi clocked 2hr 8min 37sec around the Italian capital with Wokneth just behind in 2hr 9min 17sec and Yihunilign Adane timing 2hr 9min 53sec.

Ethiopia also topped the women's race with Alemu Megertu setting a new course record of 2hr 22min 52sec ahead of countrywomen Muluhabt Tsega (2.26:41) and Chaltu Negesse (2.30:45).

Uganda’s Joshua Cheptegei named Sportsman of the year

Joshua Cheptegei surprised the world at the 2019 World Cross Country Championships in Aarhus, Denmark.

Friday night, Joshua Cheptegei was crowned 2018 Nile Special –Uganda Sports Press Association (USPA) Sportsman of the year a befitting honor at Imperial Royale Hotel.

Cheptegei was voted the International Amateur Athletics Federation (IAAF) Moment of the Month for his outstanding performance in Aarhus, where he led a Ugandan 1-2 finish with Compatriot Jacob Kiplimo taking silver.  

“My big motivation was Kololo 2017 when I got a muscle pull before the home crowd but I have moved on. The Kenyans and Ethiopians should know we are coming , the end of a race in athletics is the beginning of a new one”.

Course record fill at the Madrid Half Marathon Sunday

Kenya’s Kipkemoi Kiprono and Tigist Teshome of Ethiopia secured their respective victories at the Movistar Madrid Half Marathon, an IAAF Bronze Label road race, on Sunday April 7. 

While the men’s victor managed to lower the previous race record by seven seconds thanks to a 1:01:47 performance, Teshome’s clocking came 28 seconds outside the women’s best.

The men’s race opened at a cautious rhythm as the first half of the race was uphill. The leading group reached five kilometres in 15:07, composed of 12 men including the favourites Kiprono, Ronald Kiptotich, Bernard Kiprop Kipyego, Ethiopia’s Tesfaye Abera and South Africa’s Desmond Mokgobu.

Kenya’s Langat Kipkurui went through the 10km checkpoint in 30:10 closely followed by Kiprono and the Ethiopian tandem of Abera and Erkihum Jenberie as the main group had whittled down to nine.

Once the race entered in the downhill section the pace increased dramatically. It was the eventual winner Kiprono who took charge of the race to clock a 14:32 split for the next five kilometres (44:43 overall), a pace that only Abera, Kiprotich and Erkihum could mustre.

Shortly before the 18th kilometre, Kiprono shook off his rivals and began to cushion his lead and turning his attention, successfully, to breaking the 1:01:54 course record.

In the fight for the runner-up spot Abera, a 2:04:24 marathoner, got the better of Kiprotich, 1:01:59 and 1:02:02 their respective times. The Ethiopian was making his first outing in 18 months while the unheralded Kenyan set a new career best.

Paced by Spain’s Francisco Javier de León, the women’s contest kicked off at a steady 3:20/km clip with five Ethiopian runners at the front: Teshome, Hawi Magersa, Abebech Mulugeta, Obse Abdeta and Aberu Ayana. Mulugeta was the first to drop while the remaining four clocked 33:32 for the opening 10km.

Around the 12th kilometre, Teshome and Magersa broke away, reaching 15 kilometres in 50:03. Teshome’s relentless pace paid off shortly afterwards when she forged on alone, eventually reaching the line in 1:10:08, a new personal best.

Magersa was second in 1:10:55 while Mulugeta regrouped to finish third in 1:11:08.

Ruth Chepngetich clocks 1:05:30 at Vodafone Istanbul Half Marathon

Ruth Chepngetich clocked 1:05:30 to smash her own course record at the Vodafone Istanbul Half Marathon, an IAAF Gold Label road race, on Sunday April 7. 

Running with Kenyan compatriot Dorcas Jepchirchir Tuitoek through the opening five kilometres in 15:11, Chepngetich broke away soon thereafter, scorching through the 10km checkpoint in 30:33, 17 seconds clear of 21-year-old Jepchirchir, her nearest challenger.

Chepngetich slowed over the next five kilometres, reaching 15 kilometres in 46:15, but still padded her lead to 23 seconds. She was nearly a minute ahead by 20 kilometres (1:02:11) and eventually won by 1:03 over Jepchirchir, who crossed the line in 1:06:33 in what was apparently her debut over the distance.

Chepngetich clearly enjoys competing in Turkey's largest city. The 24-year-old set the course record of 1:06:19 in April 2017, then returned seven months later for the Istanbul Marathon, winning in 2:22:36 in her debut over the distance.

She returned a year later to make a massive marathon breakthrough, clocking 2:18:35. In January she ran faster still, winning in Dubai in 2:17:08, this year's fastest time. Her performance today elevates her to 11th on the all-time half marathon list, and second on the 2019 list.

Helen Tola, the runner-up at last month's Tokyo Marathon in a solid 2:21:01, clocked 1:06:45 to knock 62 seconds from her previous lifetime best.

The fast early pace was too much for World champion Netsanet Gudeta from the outset. After running together with Tola through 10 kilometres, Gudeta drifted back and eventually finished a distant fourth in 1:08:04.

In the men's race, 22-year-old Benard Ngeno fought back Ethiopian Abayneh Degu's late race challenge to secure his second half marathon victory of the year, clocking 59:56. Ngeno was aggressive from the gun, running at the front of the lead packs that consisted of 14 runners at five kilometres (14:19) and ten at ten kilometres (28:17) before jumping to a nine-second lead after 15 kilometres (42:29).

But Degu, 20, and Kenyan Hillary Kipchumba, fought back over the final five-kilometre stretch to narrow the gap considerably, but were ultimately unable to reel in Ngeno. Degu was second in 59:58, knocking more than a minute from his previous best of 1:01:01, while Kipchumba finished third, another three seconds back in 1:00:01.

Amdework Walelegn, who broke the course record last year with a 59:50 run, dropped off the pace after 10 kilometres and eventually finished 11th in 1:01:56.

Before her 30th birthday Liz Warner plans to run 30 of the world’s toughest marathons

America’s Liz Warmer (28) has set out on a wild journey to tackle and defeat the most challenging long-distance running routes in 30 different countries, across seven continents, in support of 20 charities, before she turns the big three-O.

From running alongside an active volcano in Antigua, Guatemala, to battling the sweltering heat in the Sahara Desert Marathon, Warner is taking on the world and all of its challenging landscapes.

“Many have asked why and how I came up with this slightly mental idea in the first place. I guess I was at a point of transition and deep reflection in my life at the end of last year (one could call it a very mild existential crisis.)

“All I knew was that…whatever I was going to do next, had to check off the following three life objectives, it would have to positively impact the world outside my own personal bubble, inspire others to show them that, in their power as one individual, they too have the capacity to change the lives of others and involve my two loves in life: running marathons and travelling the world,” says Warner.

Warner has already conquered 13 marathons, including Tokyo Marathon Japan, Seoul International Marathon, Singapore OSIM Sundown Marathon, Bagan Temple Marathon Myanmar, and the Sahara Marathon.

It was from her passion for cultures around the world and bringing about change to inspire others that birthed Run to Reach.

“So, how did I go about choosing all of the different marathons? Each marathon I’ve signed up for is more or less off-the-beaten path. Think running in the Sahara Desert in Western Algeria or across ice sheets in Antarctica. I also felt a moral duty to sign up for marathons in areas that were experiencing some sort of social, political, or economic issues, such as in Sierra Leone, Palestine, or Kurdistan Iraq.

Each of these marathons demonstrate how running can be a powerful, unifying act of peace and movement. And by connecting with a number of local people in each place I hope tell also tell a different story of these countries. Paint them in a more beautiful way by showing the rest of the world a small piece of their vibrant cultures,” says Warner.

Next on the list is Cape Town’s very own Two Oceans Marathon, taking place this April 20.

Kim Hye Gyong and Jo Un Ok are set to run the Mangyongdae Prize International Marathon

Kim and Jo finished 1-2 in last year's race clocking 2:27:31 and 2:27:42, respectively. That run was Kim's second fastest, behind the 2:27:05 run that propelled her to the tile in 2014.

That performance was a PB for Jo, also 26, who has run consistently in her country's biggest marathon, winning in 2017 and finishing third in 2016. She's raced well internationally as well, finishing fourth at last year's Asian Games.

On paper the fastest in the field is Kenyan Emily Samoei, but her best of 2:26:52 came back in 2012, form she'll need to chase to finish back on the podium on Sunday. 

Others to watch include Tizita Terecha of Ethiopia, who has a 2:28:02 career best from 2015, and her 27-year-old compatriot Tadelech Nedi, who clocked 2:32:28 in Casablanca two years ago.

The men's field features 34-year-old Willy Kotile of Kenya, whose 2:09:58 personal best dates back to 2015.

Ethiopian Dejene Kelkilew, 28, has a 2:11:21 lifetime best, but that too came in earlier stage of his career, back in 2014.

Tadesse Yae, anoher Ethiopian, could be a factor as well. The 30-year-old set his best of 2:11:50 in 2014, but more recently, finished 6th in New York in 2016.

The More You Run The Stronger You Become says ultra runner and rancher Eli Neztsosie

Featured Video: As a rancher growing up in the rugged northeast corner of the Navajo Nation with no electricity or running water, Eli Neztsosie learned through years of work what it meant to rely on discipline and endurance. Now he relies on these same skills, running long distances— striving every day, in his words, to be better than he was the day before.

2018 Boston Marathon champion Yuki Kawauchi perhaps is Japan’s most famous marathon runner

During the past decade, Yuki Kawauchi has been perhaps Japan’s most famous marathon runner. He’s been known as the “Citizen Runner” or the “Civil Service Runner.”M

But he no longer carries these catchphrases when he runs.

Kawauchi became a professional runner on Monday, meaning he will be able to devote all his time to the sport.

While he has taken pride in his accomplishments as an amateur runner, Kawauchi is excited about the dawn of his new full-time athletic career. He believes that he can now commit himself 24/7 to the sport, which was not possible when he was a Saitama Prefectural Office employee working full time at Kasukabe High School.

The 32-year-old said that he began thinking about turning pro in 2017, when he competed at the IAAF World Championships in London. It was his third appearance at worlds. He barely missed a top-eight finish, placing ninth.

While he regretted the result, the experience to stay in England for 10 days to prepare for the race opened up his eyes.

“I had never had a chance to be away from home for nine nights or for 10 days,” Kawauchi told The Japan Times after a Tokyo news conference to announce his advisory role for sporting apparel company Asics on Tuesday. “And spending nine nights, my condition went up as the time wore on.

“And then, I asked myself what kind of potential I would have if I spent a month, a year or two years.”

The idea of becoming a pro dwelled on Kawauchi’s mind later the same year at the Fukuoka International Marathon, where he participated along with his younger brother, Yoshiki. Kawauchi said that his brother, who had just turned pro after working for a private company for three years, impressed him by improving his personal-best time by five minutes.

“I had not come up with a new personal best for a long time either,” said Kawauchi, whose personal record is 2 hours, 8 minutes, 14 seconds at the 2013 Seoul International Marathon in 2013. “So I made up my mind to become a pro runner. I decided so by watching my brother’s performance.”

On Tuesday, Kawauchi was ecstatic while appearing before the media and talking about what he will do next. He said that now he would be able to do a lot of things he “had envisioned” he could do as a pro.

The Tokyo native, who grew up mostly in Saitama Prefecture, announced that he plans to hold a two-month training camp in Kushiro, Hokkaido, starting in June.

To make up for a lack of practice time as an amateur, Kawauchi competed in races nearly every weekend, treating them like training sessions. But he admitted that he was sacrificing his body, which could not fully recover before the next race. That said, he’s thrilled to now have proper time for medical care if needed.

Interestingly, Kawauchi, who has completed 92 full marathons in his career, insisted that he would have less pressure on his shoulders as a pro because he would essentially compete for himself.