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
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
- Sebastian Sawe and Claudio Beradelli talk about why he wanted to be drug tested so often and what's next for the Worlds best marathoner “We realised before Berlin that Sabastian is, with respect for my other athletes, a bit different, special and capable of doing something great,” the Italian reveals. “But in light of what happened in Chicago, with Chepngetich, I remember telling [agent] Eric Lilot, ‘this might be the worst moment ever to try to run very fast, people will not believe us.’”
- Rich Perelman: Is the just-announced “USATF Tour” for 2026 the wrong solution to fix a real problem? - The Sports Examiner Perelman doesn't sound like he's a fan of the USATF Tour. "The “USATF Tour” announcement was issued on 20 October and meets have until 31 October – Halloween – to apply via a short questionnaire. It remains to be seen if it the concept will be a trick or (hopefully) a treat."
- Strava voluntariy drops its lawsit against Garmin but is it too late? Tech expert DC Rainmaker still can't believe Strave sued in the first place and wonders if this creates serious questions about Strava's management team. *Discuss
Coming soon - A motorized running shoe
- Just redo it: inside Nike’s plans to put the swoosh back into its sales By market cap, Nike is twice as big as anyone else. But don't tell that to new CEO Elliott Hill, “We’re at our best when we’re competing. And not only competing, but competing and winning... On my first day, I stood up on stage and my first slide said we are a sport company and we are a growth company, and they’re not mutually exclusive. And when we invite eight billion consumers into the world of sport, I like our chances of growing."
*MB: Under new CEO E. Hill,Nike says it's back into growth and innovation. Coming soon: the world's "first motor-powered running" shoe - B.A.A. High Performance Team adds three athletes - Maggie Donahue (15:43/33:05), James Mwaura (13:22/27:50) and Eric van der Els (13:21)
- Sarah Perry sets women's Backyard Ultra World Record She ran 95 "yards" of the 4.1667 mile course (395.83 miles). The previous record was 87. Phil Gore won the men's race with 114 laps.
- Q&A with new 24-hr world record holder Sarah Webster on Calculated Pacing On Octobe 19th, she an 278.622 kilometers (173.127 miles), breaking the previous record held by Japan’s Miho Nakata by 8.259 kilometers (5.131 miles), set in 2023.
- After collapsing while in 3rd place at Worlds, 2:18 marathoner Magdalyne Masai is ready to challenge for the win at the Frankfurt Marathon “After a break to recover my first training sessions went so well that I really wanted to run another marathon in the autumn. I am in the best shape of my life and did not want to waste it,“ said Magdalyne Masai.
On The Boards
On The Boards
- MB: Kenyan national xc champs to pick team for 2026 World XC in USA is this Saturday in Eldoret. Why are they holding them so early? It appears they are worried about getting the athletes visas. Let's hope we don't have to put an * next to the US men's team gold if Kenya sends a C team. Daniel Ebenyo will attempt to make the team just two weeks after racing in Chicago.
- MB: Two-time Olympic cycling medallist Tom Dumoulin boldly went for it in his marathon debut in Amsterdam and he blew up but still ran 2:29 He went out in 69 and change, writing, "Right from the start all rational thinking beforehand of starting on a conservative pace went out the window and I decided to follow a big group that lead the first women on a 2.18 finish time pace. ‘Let’s have some fun and see what happens’."
- Andreas Almgren targeting European half marathon record in Valencia this weekend The European half marathon record belongs to Switzerland’s Julien Wanders with 59:13 from 2019. Almgren's pb is 59:23.
- 10 cross country and track athletes make the final 30 cut for NCAA Woman of the Year Award
![](https://akm-img-a-in.tosshub.com/businesstoday/images/story/202510/68f8d1f19039d-his-personal-best-throw-of-9023-metres-in-2025-remains-a-landmark-in-indian-sports-history-224530384-16x9.jpg?size=948:533</p>" data-image="bm8vjdw6nxr7")
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
- World Athletics: "Echoes from Tokyo: how two Spanish families closed a circle 34 years in the making" 34-years ago Spanish distance runners Antonio Serrano and Antonio Prieto competed at the 1991 Tokyo World Championships. Now they each have a daughter they coach, Marta Serrano and Idaira Prieto, who both competed at Tokyo Worlds this summer.
- Keely Hodgkinson broke her promise to herself after winning Olympic gold She had told herself if she won Olympic gold she'd buy herself a beige Porsche, but after test driving it for four days she realized she didn't want it. "It was so low, it was hurting my 22-year-old knees. I was like 'I can't get in and out of this.'"
- Former marathon WR holder Paul Tergat talks about Jacob Kiplimo's Chicago win and the WR Tergat: "The first half was so fast that Kiplimo burned himself out towards the end. You could tell that in the last two or three kilometers, he was finished. Our late Kiptum maintained a steady pace that got faster gradually until the end, and that’s how he broke the world record. ...Kiplimo was lucky to finish; some athletes wouldn’t even have made it."
Admin News
- USA Track and Field announces creation of the USATF Tour for 2026 track season This will be a coordinated collection of track meets in the US which can get financial and logistical support from USATF in what CEO Max Siegel says is an attempt to "addresses some of the key challenges facing track and field in the United States including fragmented scheduling, overlapping events, and dispersed media coverage." Interested meets don't have much time as they need to apply by October 31.
- UK Athletics reports surplus for first time in eight years They had a $4.95 million loss in 2023, but now have a surplus of about $144k. We guess not sending full teams to events finally paid off?
- 2026 Diamond League season calendar published The season starts in Doha on May 8.
- LA28 marks 1,000 days to go until the 2028 Olympics with youth sports and Olympians
- The Bath Half Marathon in March will be the British trials for the 2026 World Road Running Championships
Sprint Stuff
- 9.86 South African sprinter Benjamin Richardson switches allegiance to Ireland Richardson was born in Ireland, but raised in South Africa. The 2024 Olympian could be eligible to compete for Ireland by 2027 Worlds.
- 2022 400m world champ Michael Norman switches coaches to Edrick Floreal in Austin, TX
- Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone targeting 400m WR after winning Worlds; not ruling out the 400m/400H double for LA 2028 “I think it's fair to say that that's definitely something that's on my radar. I think coming so close at Worlds. I think we knew that sub-48 was there. I think I was a little surprised to see 47.78. You feel so close yet so far away from that world record." (The record is 47.60 from East German's Marita Koch in 1985.)
- Matthew Boling parts ways with coach Alleyne Francique after sexual misconduct allegations
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
- World Athletics profile on Pedro Pichardo who won World triple jump gold in Tokyo on his last jump “I was scared. But I always leave a bit for the last jump. My wife doesn’t like it much – she tells me to give it all in the first – but I saved something for the end.”
- World Athletics announce nominees for Field Athlete of the Year Mondo Duplantis highlights the men's 5 person shortlist while the women's finalists include three Americans: Valarie Allman, Tara Davis-Woodhall and Anna Hall.
NCAA/HS XC News
- No changes to top-5 men's ranked teams in post-Nuttycombe/Pre-Nats NCAA coaches' poll Iowa Still ranked #1 ahead of OSU, New Mexico and Virginia. *Regional Rankings
- Top-4 ranked women's teams stay the same in updated NCAA coaches' poll BYU stays ranked #1 ahead of NC State, Florida and Oregon. *Regional Rankings
- Texas A&M men win home Barrios Invitational Texas Tech's Titus Kimaru got the individual win in 22:36. Wake Forest won the women's team title. *Results
- DyeStat weekend high school round-up
More European XC/Road Results
- Double world medalist Nadia Battocletti wins Corsa dei Castelli 10k in Italy with 32:52 South Africa’s Maxime Chaumeton won the men’s race in 27:50.
- Slovenia’s Klara Lukan wins 10k in Ljubljana with 30:54 (4th fastest European time this year)
- Sarah Lahti gets double victory at Swedish XC Championships She won Saturday's 4k race as well as Sunday's 10k. Men's wins went to Oliver Löfqvist (4k) and Simon Sundström (10k).
- Ireland's Callum Morgan and Fiona Everard win Autum Open International XC Festival in Dublin
Cape Town Marathon Cancelled At The Last Second Due To Overnight Winds
- The Cape Town Marathon was cancelled 90 minutes before it was supposed to start on Sunday due to high winds The event was sold out with 24,000 entries and they aren't offering refunds, but instead giving deferred entry for 2026 or 2027. David Monti reported that the elite athletes were actually on the bus headed to the start when they were told the race was cancelled. Not a great look considering Cape Town was supposed to be evaluated this year as a candidate for the World Marathon Majors.
- MB: Cape Town marathon cancelled on the morning of the event (because it was windy the night before)
- WMM statement on Cape Town Marathon cancellation
Amsterdam Marathon
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.
- MB: Joshua Cheptegei's third marathon is Sunday in Amsterdam. Can he finally run a good one? Predictions?
- World Athletics Recap
More Weekend Distance Results
- Kenya's Leonard Langat (2:08:04) and Ethiopia’s Shure Demise (2:21:03) win Toronto Waterfront Marathon It was Demise's first win since giving birth to a baby girl two years ago. Leonard Langat, who won Milan earlier this year in a 2:08:38 pb, broke away from a pack of six roughly four kilometres from the finish to win in a new pb of 2:08: Ben Flanagan (2:15:39) and Rachel Hannah (2:33:47) won the Canadian national titles.
- Fearghal Curtin runs 2:07:54 Irish record to win the Gyeongju Marathon He broke the previous national record of 2:09:36 that was just set in April.
*MB: Who TF is Fearghal Curtin? 2:07:54 Marathon FTW
- Former Olympic 10,000m champ Selemon Barega holds off Richard Etir to win Tokyo Legacy Half Both were timed at 61:22 while Kenya's Rebecca Mwangi won the women's race.
- José Carlos Pinto wins Hytteplanmila 10km in Portuguess record of 27:53 Narve Gilje Nordas was a distant second in 28:25 and Norway's Kristine Eikrem Engeset won the women's race in 32:03.
- Burundi's Emile Hafashimana and Ethiopia's Likina Amebaw win Cross Internacional Zornotza XC race in Spain
- Chuo Gakuin and Brian Brian Kipyegon (60:16) win Hakone Ekiden Yosenkai half marathon
- Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo Breaks Princess Ekiden CR
Doping News
- Carl Lewis doesn't think the Enhanced Games will actually happen Lewis: "I don't think any records will be broken because I don't think the event is going to happen because I don't think the money will be there because I don't think people would support it."
- 29:56 Kenyan Diana Chepkorir gets 4-year doping ban The AIU banned her after finding anomalies with her Athlete Biological Passport.
- The Irish Times: The Enhanced Games - Is the risk of death not enough to scare off athletes? As long as there is a financial incentive, there will always be athletes willing to dope.
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.
- Nuttycombe, Pre-Nats & other NCAA XC action / Oct 17 & 18
- Jane Hedengren - Course Record 18:42 at Pre-Nats at Gans Creek
- Disagree with JG, Jane is the favorite
- Aaron Sahlman 26:12 at Nuttycombe B Race
- The days of NAU being a top team are officially over
- Is Ed Eyestone currently coaching TOO MANY different runners?
- USTFCCCA weekend NCAA XC recap
Will Jane Hedengren win NCAA XCs as a freshman?
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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.
Other Links A Human Foud Interesting
- A look at the Nike marketing campaign on this year's Chicago Marathon course It included slogans like "future you is bragging about this right now", "whatever you're doing, keep doing it. for 22 more miles," and "run like thousands of people are watching."
- Japanese HS girls 13-year nationals streak for Asahikawa Ryukoku H.S. is literally snapped 400m from the finish line Their anchor fell and broke her ankle and had to be rushed to the hospital.
- Japanese Olympic Federation used AI to find 500 Incidents of online harassment during Worlds They reported detecting approximately 500 problematic posts, of which they requested the deletion of around 230 that violated anti-defamation and other laws.
- Welsh runner died over the weekend after collapsing 100m from Royal Parks Half Marathon
- Is 2018 NCAA 10,000 champ Ben Flanagan ready for his TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon debut? Listen to this podcast to find out.
- Julien Alfred’s 2025 spikes fetch US$75,000 at auction for Charity They were purchased by Kevin Graves, the manager of Team USA and Miami Heat basketball star Bam Adebayo.
- Former 300 pounder Ben "Mintzy" Mintz of Barstool is pumped to have run Chicago in 5:39:59 He started the year only able to run 2 miles and at 258 pounds and appears to be down to about 220 now.
- 2 days after her 55th birthday, Calgary’s Maria Zambrano set a new Canadian 55-59 mark of 2:49:47 in Chicago
- 4 friends dressed as The Very Hungry Caterpillar broke a world record at Manchester half They SMASHED the prestigious record for "fastest half marathon in a four person costume" of 1:41:37 by running 1:14:10.
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.
- Galen Rupp talks about his comeback in Chicago and says he "had to relearn how to run" after years of injuries Rupp says Chicago was the first marathon he's finished without pain since 2021. Now, rather than looking at retirement, he's looking ahead to trying to make the 2028 Olympics when he'll be 41.
- Matthew Centrowitz PR'd by almost 2 minutes in Chicago (2:22:40) He went out in 1:10:44 and finished the second half about a minute slower in 1:11:56.
- MB: What happened to Emily Venters at Chicago?
- How did the celebrities do in Chicago? Retired NFL player Justin Britt ran 3:36.
Distance News
- Keely Hodgkinson and other pros react to Femke Bol switching to the 800m Hodgkinson Bol actually texted her before the announcement because they are good friends and that she thinks it's "really brave and courageous."
- Double world medalist Nadia Battocletti confirms she will defend her European XC title this December She says, "Cross country will always have a special place in my heart."
- MB: You Can't Make This Up! Man Buys Shoes at Marathon Expo...Wins $1000 (7th Place)...Then Is Disqualified For Illegal Shoes The shoe company (Voltra) paid him the $1000 he lost due to the DQ.
- MB: On Sued for ’Embarrassing Squeak’ in Sneakers by a dude named "Bologna"
- World 10,000m champ Jimmy Gressier running the Marseille to Cassis 20k on October 26 A statement from the organizers says he's joining his girlfriend, French 5000m champion Aude Clavier, so sounds like he won't be actually racing it.
Sprints / Jumps
- Noah Lyles does collaboration with adidas and anime streaming service Crunchyroll
- Spain's 2016 Olympic 110H silver medalist Orlando Ortega hangs up his spikes The 34-year-old last competed at a major global championship in 2019 where he won a World bronze. Although despite years of injuries, he did manage to make Spain's team for European Champs last year where he went out in the semis.
- World Athletics looks back at Joao Carlos de Oliveira's 1975 world triple jump record Brazli's De Oliveira leapt 17.89m at the Pan American Games to break the WR by almost half a meter (which still stands as the greatest single improvement in the men's TJ WR).
Hosting News
- Ahmedabad, India to host the 2030 Commonwealth Games India hosted the CWG 15 years ago in Delhi.
- Carl Lewis praises India's bid for the 2036 Olympics
- Berlin Olympic bid beats no-confidence vote
Coaching Bans
- Former British Olympic track coach Jose Vicente Leiva-Modahl charged with child sex offences Leiva-Modahl is the husband of former Olympic middle-d runner Diane Modahl. He faces charges of sexual assault of a child, rape and controlling and coercive behavior over a period from 2012 to 2024 relating to the same woman.
*MB: Said Aouita's coach charged with child sex offences - Salman Iqbal, coach of Olympic javelin champ Arshad Nadeem, banned for life by Pakistan's athletics federation He is accused of "grossly violating" the organisation's constitution over elections this past summer.
Looking Ahead To Valencia
- Former winner Sisay Lemma (2:01:48) and world champion Peres Jepchirchir (2:16:16) lead fields for the Valencia Marathon on December 7 2:01:48 man Lemma is the strong favorite in the men's field up against four 2:04 runners, Clayton Young and Edward Cheserek. The women's race also has 2023 world champ Amane Beriso, 2:16:24 woman Joyciline Jeposkgei, US's Keira D’Amato and Emma Bates and Germany's Gesa Krause making her debut.
*MB: Clayton Young, Emma Bates, Keira D'Amato running 2025 Valencia Marathon
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
- Nominees announced for World Athletics Track Athlete of the Year 2025 The men's nominees are all either Americans or distance runners: Jimmy Gressier, Emmanuel Wanyoni, Noah Lyles, Rai Benjamin and Cordell Tinch. The women's finalists are Faith Kipyegon, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, Beatrice Chebet and Femke Bol.
- European athlete of the year finalists named Jimmy Gressier, Mondo Duplantis and Italian LJer Mattia Furlani are on the men's shortlist while the women have Femke Bol, 100H world champ Ditaji Kambundji and race walker Maria Pérez.
- Former Olympic champions Christian Taylor and Sally Pearson among the panel who will judge World Athletics photograph of the year award
Video Clip
An excerpt from this week's podcast on Mantz breaking the American record. Thread here.
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:
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?
- Ed Eyestone: “if we have athletes that are testing positive from certain systems, those managers should also be disqualified”
- Must see: LetsRun asks Jacob Kiplimo about all the Rosa E Associati doping positives & watch his handlers’ reactions
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
- Marcell Jacobs espionage scandal has concluded - Giacomo Tortu is suspended for 3 years by Italian Athletics federation Giacomo, the brother of Jacobs Olympic 4 x 100 teammate Filippo, was convinced Jacobs was a doper. So he hired a firm to try to hack Jacobs phone. Wow.
*MB: Marcell Jacobs espionage scandal concludes - Giacomo Tortu suspended for 3 years. How in the world wasn't he charged criminally? - MB: Jackson Spencer's 14:17 takes down German Fernandez CA state course meet record of 14:24!! Spencer, a senior at Herriman UT, broke German's record on the 5,000-meter course that serves as the Asics Clovis Cross Country Invitational and the California CIF State Championships that had stood since 2007. The only other person close to it was Nico Young at 14:26 in 2019. *Dyestat recap
- How did Jimmy Gressier win the 10,000 at Worlds? WA tries to find out He's only the 9th French athlete to ever win gold in anything at Worlds.
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.
- Full Results: Brittany Brown (10.99/21.89 pb) doubles, Paulino dominates 400 (50.07), Keely dominates 800 (1:56.53), Kipyegon dominates mile (4:17.78), Masai Russel (12.52) wins 100mh as Tara Davis-Woodhall (7.13) world lead wins lj.
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.
- LRC: Post-Race interviews from NYC We had boots on the ground filming for you.
- Serena Williams crowns Hodgkinson after 800m win "The atmosphere out there is crazy so it was really, really fun," said Keely.
- Tara Davis-Woodhall delivered in Times Square on Thursday night to open Athlos "She stormed down that runway and leaped 6.81 meters through the air, clinching first place at ATHLOS’s long jump qualifier."
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?
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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...
- Caster Semenya surprisingly raises the white flag and ends legal battle over track's sex eligibility rules Patrick Bracher, a lawyer for Semenya, said in an email to The Associated Press that they wouldn't take her appeal back to the Swiss supreme court, which was an option and what many presumed to be Semenya's next step after she won a ruling at the European Court of Human Rights in July.
- Which shoe company sponsored the most medallists at 2025 Worlds? Emily Evans has the results: 1. Nike (42), 2. Adidas (33), 3. Puma (25), 4. Asics (8), 5. New Balance (4).
- Kenya president William Ruto vows more 'professionalism' in anti-doping agency as Oct. 3rd WADA deadline arrives WADA's report last month said Kenya had "still not addressed several critical requirements" from an audit in May 2024 and "and gave it until October 3 to address concerns."
- MB: Strava sues Garmin, demands they stop selling all watches for violating two patents DC Rainmaker analyzes the case and thinks it's a joke.
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
- Melissa Jefferson-Wooden goes on CNN after triple gold and says she's not satisified “There are so many things out there that I’ve accomplished this year. But there’s so many more things that I do want to accomplish.”
- Former Yale swimmer, who had her leg bitten off by a shark, is running NYC marathon She quickly joined the Paralympic ranks and won Paralympic silver.
- Former Queen's Park Rangers star Don Shanks, 73, will run the New York marathon on November 2 to raise money for Alzheimers
- NYC is experiencing a 2nd running boom & some are unhappy about it In 2019, it took an average of 121 days for an N.Y.R.R. race to sell out. This year, races have sold out in an average of four days.
- NYRR claims running boom $934 million for the local economy in the fiscal year through March That’s up 58% from the comparable period five years earlier and they say last year’s marathon alone generated $692 million.
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.
- Bring out the brooms: Kenya sweeps the women’s distances. Odira STUNS the world 1:54.62 as Keely gets the bronze
- COLE HOCKER 5000M CHAMPION Hocker has a SENSATIONAL last lap. He was way back and ran a 52 to win in 12:58.
- Was Cole Hocker’s 52.62 last lap tonight the fastest ever in a sub-13:00 5000?
- Rai Benjamin said he had a late night out before the 4x400: "I was pretty much done, you know, so I had a pretty late night if you can imagine."
- Grant Fisher is passed his prime
- Cole Hocker will win 2025 Tokyo 5000m
- Sage Hurta Klecker 1:55.89
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
- AP relay recap: Sha'Carri Richardson, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, Noah Lyles anchor wins on big closing day for Americans The US swept the men's and women's 4x100 relays, the women just holding off Jamaica by .04 and the US 4x400 women dominated with a 3:16.61 championship record to win by 2.64 seconds. But the US 4x400 men ended up with silver after an epic three-way finish with Botswana and South Africa where world 400m champ Collen Kebinatshipi passed Rai Benjamin at the line to get them the gold by .07.
- Leo Neugebauer makes late charge to win decathlon world title US's Kyle Garland lead most of the way, but Neugebauer threw a five meter javelin PB to take the lead and won with 8804 points. Garland ended up with bronze (8703 points).
- Australia's Nicola Olyslagers wins her first global outdoor title with 2.00m HJ victory She won on countback over Poland's Maria Zodzik with Ukraine's Olympic champ Yaroslava Mahuchikh and Serbia's Angelina Topic sharing the bronze at 1.97m.
- Sweden’s Daniel Stahl defends his title to become a three-time discus world champ He threw 70.47m to win handily over WR holder Mykolas Alekna (67.84m).
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
- Part II: SC How Josh Hoey Went from Also-Ran to World Indoor Champion, Part II: Going All-In With Justin Rinaldi & The Fast 8 Track Club Hoey's career had stagnated until connecting with Rinaldi in 2023. Within minutes of seeing him train in-person, Rinaldi knew he was special: "I said, if I can’t get this guy to run 1:44, there’s something wrong with me."
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."
Your latest American stars share their insights.
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.
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
Take Your Love of LetsRun to the Next Level
Take Your Love of LetsRun to the Next Level
LetsRun Classics
LetsRun Classics
‒DC Rainmaker writing about Stava's decision to sue Garmin. When the lawsuit was discovered, DC Rainmaker said it was a foolish suit and now Strava apparently has agreed as they dropped the suit.
MB: Strava sues Garmin, demands they stop selling all watches for violating two patents.Update: Strava withdraws suit