Supporters Club Pod

Molly Seidel is heading to the trails, Kenenisa Bekele is running the NYC Marathon, and Ruth Chepngetich’s phone messages add drama to her 3-year ban. Hear Rojo and Wejo break it down in this week’s LetsRun.com Supporters Club podcast.

Dream team coming together

Good news for U.S. distance fans: Nico Young is all in for USA Cross and could help form a dream team for Worlds with Grant Fisher and Conner Mantz.
Discussion: Nico Young NOT skipping USA XC to race Donovan Brazier at Hawaii Kalakua Merrie Mile

The AIU officially announced that marathon world record holder Ruth Chepngetich has been banned for three years, one more year than what she was initially facing for testing positive for a diuretic. But it's also possible she gets banned for previous offenses that would invalidate the world record due to incriminating messages on her cell phone.
*Chepngetich banned 3 years - Whatsapp messages for testosterone, anavar from April 2024
*Kenyan parliament is currently discussing my questions of Ruth Chepngetich & are demanding that I apologize

On The Boards
On The Boards

Quote Of The Day

No more illnesses at major champs?

Reigning Olympic 5000 m champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen has had his tonsils removed following years of throat pain and recurring infections. The Norwegian star told VG the tonsils were “chronically inflamed” and said he’s finally taking two weeks off training to recover after the operation.
Discussion: Breaking: Jakob Ingebrigtsen has had surgery, tonsils removed

Three recommended Reads
Coming soon - A motorized running shoe
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Administrative News
This Week's Pod

Full podcast at link above on your favorite podcast platform or highlight clip in video.

Next Weekend: NYRR Dash To The Finish Line 5k

The men's race has former winner Abdihamid Nur vs Kenyans Amon Kemboi, Patrick Kiprop, and Edwin Kurgat.

Distance News
Admin News
Sprint Stuff
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Week That Was

In our Week That Was weekly recap, we take a look at Jane Hedengren's arrival on the NCAA scene, Joshua Cheptegei's 3rd marathon and Ben Flanagan's first. Plus what really caused the Cape Town Maraton to be cancelled.

Field Athlete News
NCAA/HS XC News
More European XC/Road Results
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Cape Town Marathon Cancelled At The Last Second Due To Overnight Winds
Amsterdam Marathon
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Geoffrey Toroitich Kipchumba won it with a 2:03:30 CR as he blitzed a 14:17 5k from 35k to 40k. It's hard to believe that after two marathons the 5000 and 10,000 WR holder only had a pb of 2:05:59. The field included Gabriel Geay (2:03:00 pb) and defending champ Tsegaye Getachew (2:04:49 pb). Aynalem Desta won the women's race in 2:17:37 after a 69:11 first half.

    More Weekend Distance Results
    Doping News
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    It's Nuttycombe / Pre-Nats Weekend
    It's Nuttycombe / Pre-Nats Weekend

    Hedengren ran 18:42.3 to win Pre-Nats by 23 seconds and smash the course record at Gans Creek, which will host NCAAs on November 22. The BYU women (25 points) also dominated the team race while Grace Hartman and NC State (41 points) and Habtom Samuel and New Mexico (51 points) won the men's & women's races at Nuttycombe.

    PreNats/Nuttycombe Recap Show

    Will Jane Hedengren win NCAA XCs as a freshman?

    Your vote has been counted. Thank you!
    LRC Q&A

    The US achieved its most successful relay medal haul since the introduction of the mixed 4x400 with four golds and a silver at the 2025 Worlds. We asked Woodson about Team USA's performance in Tokyo. Plus we asked USATF about what really happened with Rai Benjamin, who said he went out on the town the night before the men's 4x400 final.

    The Goose
    Other Links A Human Foud Interesting
    Chicago Leftovers

    Masai, a Hofstra alum and younger brother of Worlds medalists Linet and Moses, ran 2:04:37, which is the fastest time ever by someone who ran in the NCAA. Plus a look at the debutants, includingCasey Clinger, Creed Thompson, Ejgayehu Taye, and Emily Venters, who largely struggled in Chicago.

      Distance News
      Sprints / Jumps
      Hosting News
      Coaching Bans
      Looking Ahead To Valencia
      Paywall lifted

      After five coaches, six states, and hundreds of hours of listening to the LetsRun.com Track Talk Podcast, steepler Dan Michalski will make his World Championship debut in Tokyo. He dedicated his runner-up finish at USAs to the grinders who keep going without a big shoe contract. "They know the grind, they know what it’s like to fight through injuries, what it’s like to feel like you have the talent to make a team and keep coming up short," Michalski says. "This is for them, in a sense."

      This Week's Podcast

      It was a great week for American male marathoners and we break it all down.

      End-Of-Year Awards
      Video Clip

      An excerpt from this week's podcast on Mantz breaking the American record. Thread here.

      Chicago
      Chicago

      After 23 years, Khalid Khannouchi's 2:05:38 American record is no more. Mantz continued an epic 2025 season by breaking the marathon AR to go with his half marathon AR from January.

      Chicago MB Talk:

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      Kiplimo and defending champ John Korir hit full send on this one and went for it. They ran the fist 5k in 13:58 (1:57:52 pace). They hit halfway on world record pace (60:16) and the next few miles were even faster than that pace. By 30k (1:25:31 - 2:00:16 pace), Kiplimo was all alone. Still on WR pace at mile 22, he slowed a lot late however and had to settle for the #2 time in Chicago history. Tokyo 3rd placer Hawi Feysa of Ethiopia (2024 Frankfurt champ) had a big day as she lowered her pb from 2:17:00 to 2:14:56.  It was a tough day for the American women. Natosha Rogers was 6th in 2:23:28. *Full race broadcast

      "I’m all in favor of the death penalty suspension from all competition if you test positive. One and done, that’s the way it should be. And then also these athletes aren’t operating in a vacuum. They have coaches, they have agents, they have mentors. These people are leading them astray. And if we have athletes that are testing positive from certain systems, those managers should also be disqualified," said Eyestone. Should Federico Rosa be worried?

        Melissa Jefferson-Wooden Wins MrBeast Challenge

        She raced them across the width of two soccer fields with a prize of $100,000 to anyone who could beat her. No one did, although one guy (a non-track runner) came close.

        Interesting Reads
        Women's Only Action - No Men Allowed

        Sisson is getting ready to run NYC. Annie Rodenfels (32:45) and Sara Hall (32:48) were more than 100 seconds back. *Top 10 Results

        2025 Athlos

        Version 2 of Alexis Ohanian’s Athlos track and field series brought a louder crowd, bigger production, and major star power to New York City. ThoughtsLeader gives his impressions and wonders about the big test in 2026.

        If you missed the meet, you can watch thereplay on YouTube. Athlos had around 6,200 live viewers on YouTube -- but allegedly more than a million on X.

        There will be a much bigger event in Tallahassee in January.

        World XC tickets now on sale Tickets start at $10, with free admission for children 12 years and under.

        Bol To The 800m

        The indoor world record in the flat 400 and two-time world 400mh champion is moving up in distance. "I've always loved this quote: 'If your dreams don't scare you, they're not big enough.' And I definitely think that's the case here," said Bol.

        LRC Video Reaction

        How fast will Femke Bol ultimately run for 800M?

        Your vote has been counted. Thank you!
        Worlds In Review

        Back from a much-deserved post-Worlds vacation, our Jonathan Gault takes a final look at a crazy Worlds where athletes from 53 different countries won Worlds. It was a big meet for men's underdogs as the men's 1500 through 10,000 were all won by guys who had never medalled in the event before. Plus Collen Kebanitshipi won 400m gold after requiring a small q in the first round. How many athletes have ever done that? Plus, how did GST affect the World Championships?

        Big Administrative News

        Embattled running startup Grand Slam Track has narrowly avoided collapsing—for now—after receiving emergency financing from existing investors it used to make partial payments to athletes Friday, Front Office Sports has learned...

        IF you are going to play a video game, play this one

        XC Racing 2 is now out and free to play on ios and android and in this version you get to race the famed Detweiller Park course in Illinois.

        Random Links A Human Found Interesting
        2025 Worlds
        2025 Worlds

        Hocker is the second American distance man to win multiple global golds, the third to win a global 5,000 title, and just the fifth from any country to win global titles in the 1500 and 5,000 after Paavo Nurmi, Hicham El Guerrouj, Jakob Ingebrigtsen, and Bernard Lagat.


        Cole Hocker won 5000m gold in Tokyo ahead of Isaac Kimeli and Jimmy Gressier. Nico Young and Grant Fisher ended up 6th and 8th. Jakob Ingebrigtsen was 10th. The Kenyan women’s unreal meet continued and Cole Hocker was GOLDEN yet again. We broke it down for you live from right after it ended.

        • AW: Lilian Odira's surge takes her to shock world 800m gold Odira came out of nowhere to give Kenya a sweep of the women's distance medals, passing favorite Keely Hodgkinson in the final meters to win in 1:54.62. Hodgkinson's teammate Georgia Hunter Bell also passed her to take silver in a photo finish, 1:54.90 to Hodgkinson's 1:54.91.
        Final Day Non-Distance Medals
        2025 Berlin

        Sawe was on world record pace at halfway (60:16) and though he couldn't hold it, 2:02:16 was very impressive given the mid-70s temps in Berlin as he won by 4+ minutes and consider that Kenya's Rosemary Wanjiru won the women's race in 2:21:05, the slowest winning time in Berlin since 2013.

        Tokyo 4x400 Runoff

        Team USA has never failed to make the men's 4 x 400 final at Worlds and after a 12+ hour delay that streak continues. USA did it the hard way, but they dominated Kenya in the re-run this morning. We were there for it and asked Demarius Smith, who was in the middle of the delayed second exchange Friday night and had the slowest split today, if he was being personally coached by US relay coach Darryl Woodson. Smith: "There's no proof of that. That's first. Second of all, it doesn't matter...Keep doubting me. I'll be back." *Post-race interview with Team USA

        RIP To A Coaching Legend

        Daniels had a prolific career as an athlete, coach and exercise scientist. He won two Olympic medals in the modern pentathlon, did exercise testing for various groups including Nike's Athletics West elite team in Eugene and held numerous coaching positions which included advising on the training of Jim Ryun while working with the 1968 US Olympic team and winning seven DIII women's national XC titles while at Cortland. And of course, he indirectly contributed to the coaching of thousands of high school and college athletes through his training book, Daniels’ Running Formula.

        The Ultimate LetsRun Story In Our 25 Year History & One Of Our Favorite Jonathan Gault Features - Read It Now

        After five coaches, six states, and hundreds of hours of listening to the LetsRun.com Track Talk Podcast, steepler Dan Michalski will make his World Championship debut in Tokyo. He dedicated his runner-up finish at USAs to the grinders who keep going without a big shoe contract. "They know the grind, they know what it’s like to fight through injuries, what it’s like to feel like you have the talent to make a team and keep coming up short," Michalski says. "This is for them, in a sense."

        Sean Brosnan & Chris Lear & Andrew Greif's book is here

        In Beyond Fast, Sean Brosnan, with Chris Lear and Andrew Greif, traces the unlikely rise of Newbury Park High School from an overlooked program to a distance-running powerhouse. Packed with behind-the-scenes stories, training insights, and cultural shifts, the book shows how Brosnan and his athletes rewrote the high school record books.

        Sean Brosnan Podcast

        From BMX to building the greatest HS team ever, Sean Brosnan tells us how he did it at Newbury Park, plus what really went on at UCLA, and what’s next. Don’t miss this one.

        Data doesn't lie

        We've run the numbers by comparing Lutkenhaus's run against every other age-16 world record, and the data is clear.

        Who?

        Jonah Koech wasn't even supposed to be in Sunday's 1500. As they approached the bell, he was in 13th out of 17. A lap later, he was the champion. He is just the third American man to win a Diamond League 1500/mile and the first runner sponsored by Under Armour to win a DL race. His 3:37.27 pre-race pb is also the slowest of any man to win a DL 1500/mile.

        How Josh Hoey Rose To The Top Of The World

        For five years, Hoey cylced through coach after coach but barely improved from his 1:47.67 high school 800m pb. Learn why he moved around so often -- and why he never gave up. Part I of JG's 7,000+ word feature.
        *MB: Josh Hoey profile by JG

        Stop Obsessing Over Your Diet

        The US indoor 1500m/3000m champion overhauled his fueling in workouts before the 2024 season. Now he swears by his routine.

        The Record Books Are Getting Rewritten In 2025

        In the span of one week in February, runners broke five world indoor records and every American men's middle-distance record from 800m to 5000m. Jonathan Gault spoke to some of America's top athletes and coaches to find the reasons behind all of the fast times.

        One More Look at a Legendary Race

        From novice fans to running diehards, there was something for everyone (except perhaps Brits and Norwegians) to enjoy about one of the greatest middle distance races ever run.

        Blanks = NCAA XC x 2

        Just before Blanks chases a 5,000m pb and collegiate record in what is likely his final NCAA race at Boston University on Saturday, he told LetsRun about the key session of his 2024 XC season -- one he described as "probably the best workout I've had so far in my career."

        Best of the LetsRun.com Track Talk Podcast
        Best of the LetsRun.com Track Talk Podcast

        Your latest American stars share their insights.

        Three legends of the sport.

        One of the greatest US runners ever.

        We chatted with Frank on the 50th anniversary of his Olympic Marathon gold

        American Record Holders
        American Record Holders

        Keira D'Amato, the new American record holder in the marathon, was joined by Deena Kastor, who held the record for 15 years.

        Sisson was the guest on the LetsRun.com Track Talk podcast after she became the first American to go sub 67 in the half marathon on a record-eligible course. Podcast highlights above. Full pod here.

        Woody Kincaid joined us after he broke the American record indoors at 5000. He talks above why he left the Bowerman Track Club. Podcast highlights and link to full podcast here.

        LetsRun.com Pro Coaches Tour
        LetsRun.com Pro Coaches Tour

        Coogan's New Balance Boston team had 3 Olympians in 2021 and 2022 could be the biggest year yet for the program with 2 new additions and the TRACK at New Balance coming on March 1st.

        Danny Mackey has taken the Brooks Beasts from an unproven club to the Olympic podium in its first decade.

        Dathan Ritzenhein is the first of the top pro coaches to sit down and talk about his club heading into the 2022 campaign.

        Best of Jon Gault
        Best of Jon Gault
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