The 1500m world champ is currently a free agent on the coaching front but was recently seen training with Tomasz Lewandowski's group. Will he also switch shoe companies from Asics to Nike? "Of course it’s not often [someone changes coaches after winning Worlds], but it happens. I’ve been in this business for 42 years and he’s not the first one to change coaches after a big success. But they are still very close, they are good friends, there isn’t any type of problem between them. Enrique understood Isaac’s decision," said his agent.
*MB: Shock 1500m world champ Isaac Nader makes a shock decision - he's leaving his coach. Will he switch toTomasz Lewandowski?
The Latest Track News - Some Good / Some Bad
This was the most likely outcome the moment they cancelled the 4th meet. "With every altenative fully explored, moving into a court-supervised reorganization - which is what GST did today became the clearest path to protect our community and our mission," wrote GST.
Spring Will Be Here Before You Know It
It's the first time since 1978 that both American record holders will both be in Boston.
*MB: Defending champs John Korir & Sharon Lokedi plus American record holder Conner Mantz and Emily Sisson to run 2026 Boston Marathon
On The Boards
On The Boards
Week That Was
In our weekly recap, we note that Katelyn Tuohy still hasn't made at a US team as a pro. How rare is that for an NCAA XC champ? We also uncover the #1 thing that nearly all of the fastest marathoners in Europe share and wonder if altitude or the Mormon faith is the key to winning the boys' individual NXN title. And much more.
Interesting Reads
The former New Mexico Lobo has had an incredible year as she broke 15:00 for the 1st time (14:55), 31:00 for the 1st time (30:50) and 67 in the half (66:58). She wants to make up for her biggest blemish of the year - a DNF in Chicago.
- Alex Yee's Coros watch reveals how the Olympic triathlon champ ran 2:06 in Valencia His final key workout was 30k (5 x 5km at 3:01 per k with a 1k @ steady pace). And the watch revealed his stride length didn't shorten at all in the final 10k like it did in London - it actually got longer.
- MB: This is incredible. Canadian man starts running last year at age 25. Makes Canadian team for World XC with 4th place finish
- MB: Spanish hobby jogger gets popped for diuretic after finishing 29th out of 61. Do you think she was looking to get an edge?
- Hakone Ekiden entry lists are out and #2 seed Chuo University leads the way with an avg. 10k PR of 27:55.98. Pre-race favorite Koku Gakuin University, looking for its first title, has a 28:23 avg.
- Nice sportsmanship: In Valencia, Joyciline Jepkosgei missed her 35k water bottle but Peres Jepchirchir shared hers
- World track athlete of the year Emmanuel Wanyonyi – in his words
Upcoming Indoor / Road Action
- Grant Fisher and Jake Wightman will duel over 2,000m at the New Balance Grand Prix in Boston on January 24 Noah Lyles and Elle St. Pierre were also announced for the meet.
- Olympic marathon champ Tamirat Tola announced for the 2026 Doha Marathon on January 16
- Ukraine's HJ world record holder Yaroslava Mahuchikh announced for the Springer-Meeting Cottbus in Germany on January 28 US's former two-time world champ Sam Kendricks was announced for the pole vault.
- Greece's Olympic LJ champ Miltiadis Tentoglou maps out his indoor season Starts in Ostrava on February 3 and ends at World Indoor Champs in March.
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Tebogo Updates
- Letsile Tebogo says he's received three financial offers from different countries to switch allegiance from Botswana He was approached by Qatar, UAE, and Tunisia and actually seriously considered a couple of them, but ultimately rejected the offers. *Video Interview
- Botswana gives Letsile Tebogo a new three-bedroom house This is the home that was promised to him from the government after he won Olympic 200m gold. It's valued at $172,683.
Assorted Distance News
- Julia Paternain writes letter to Uruguay about her shock marathon bronze medal at Tokyo Worlds (Uruguay's first ever world medal) "When I hit that final stretch, I wasn’t even sure it was the finish – I was just hoping. Then, I crossed the line, a cameraman told me I was in third, and I was in absolute disbelief. I wasn’t an All-American in college. I only made NCAA Outdoors once and came dead last. My path through college didn’t point to this moment. I was one of the very last athletes to qualify for this race. And somehow, I walked away with a bronze medal. It still feels pretty surreal."
- Athletics Weekly chooses their best shoes of 2025 They chose the Puma - Fast R3 as their best racing shoe for 5-10k. Read a NY Times article on the shoe here.
- NXN appearance stats: Which teams have the made NXN the most times? Southlake Carroll, TX has made it the most for boys, making 17 out of 20 editions of the meet. For the girls, Southlake Carroll, TX and Saratoga, NY are both tied for 16. There are actually 7 states that have never sent a team to NXN.
- Japan names team for World XC Champs The men's team is lead by sub-28 runners Ryuto Igawa and Daiki Ozawa while the women have two sub-32 runners in Momoka Kawaguchi and Wakana Itsuki.
Triathlon Running News
- Eliud Kipchoge, Mo Farah, Kilian Jornet, Femke Bol and Keely Hodgkinson among those to congratulate Alex Yee on his 2:06:38 in Valencia Kipchoge posted, "Congratulations Alex, in life we don’t believe in limitations. The future is bright!"
- Alex Yee says he plans to return to the triathlon, but doesn't rule out running another marathon in the future
- MB: Brazil's Manoel Messias breaks WR for fastest marathon split in a full Ironman with 2:26:50 That's a 2:26 marathon after a 3.8km swim and 180km cycle at the IRONMAN Brazil. He broke the previous record by almost 4 minutes, although he was still only second place in the overall race.
European XC Champs Are Sunday
- Women's Preview: Italy's double world medalist Nadia Battocletti looking to defend her crown She faces Turkey's former four-time winner Yasemin Can and GB's former U20 and U23 winner Megan Keith.
- Men's preview: Can Jimmy Gressier make it three titles on three different surfaces in 2025? He faces Switzerland's European 10,000m champ Dominic Lobalu and Spain’s 2024 Euro XC bronze medalist Thierry Ndikumwenayo.
- France's world 10,000m champ Jimmy Gressier confirmed for Euro XC Champs This will be Gressier’s first time at Euro XC since 2021 when he won bronze and Jakob Ingebrigtsen took gold.
- Women's U20 preview GB's Innes FitzGerald is the big favorite for her third straight gold.
- Men's U20 preview Norway's European U20 1500m/3000m champ Håkon Moe Berg is among the favorites.
- Men's U23 preview GB's Will Barnicoat goes for a hat-trick of golds against Ireland's Nick Griggs who has been runner-up twice.
- Women's U23 preview Spain’s Maria Forero is the top returner after winning silver last year.
- Beginner's guide to the 2025 European XC Championships Some info on the format, past winners and big races, and how to watch.
- 10 Nordic prospects to follow in the Euro XC Champs U20/U23 races
Catching Up On Some Recent Results
- World 10,000m champion Jimmy Gressier wins Course de l’Escalade road race in Switzerland He won the 7.323km race in 20:35 (4:31 pace) well ahead of Kenya’s Boniface Kibiwott (20:55). Kenya’s Winnie Jeptarus won the women's race in 23:40 (5:12 pace).
- Brooks XC West Region recap: Symond Martin and Carmen Dorsey-Spitz win at Mt. SAC XC course Martin was 13th at the NXN Southwest regional last month and Dorsey-Spitz was 16th.
- German XC champ Elena Burkard wins Weinstadt Cross Country race by over two minutes
- Oxford beats Cambridge at varsity cross-country meet
- Event-by-event top-10 NCAA marks of the week (December 2-8)
Doping News
- MB: Kenyan 58:53 half marathoner Hillary Chepkwony provisionally suspended by the AIU for doping This is the third member of Eliud Kipchoge's training group (coached by Patrick Sang) to be banned for doping.
- The Guardian's Sean Ingle: "Sabastian Sawe - the marathon star on a mission to be drug tested as much as possible" Sawe was tested 25 times ahead of the Berlin Marathon and he and his agent asked for special top-end analysis that is better at testing for even small levels of banned drugs. AIU head Brett Clothier says they normally don't do this because of budget constraints, but in this case adidas (Sawe's sponsor) paid for it. An interesting/depressing stat from the article is that out of the 427 athletes the AIU has sanctioned since 2017, 145 of them are Kenyan. (Russia is next highest with 75 and Ethiopia and India have 20.)
- 9.91 Liberian sprinter Emmanuel Matadi joins the Enhanced Games Matadi set the Liberian national record in 2024 and competed at the Paris Olympics.
- Kenyan 2020 Olympian Sheila Chelangat gets 6-year doping ban for EPO The 66:06 half marathoner was provisionally suspended in May. Her little sister, Faith Chepkoech, was also banned for EPO in 2024.
Valencia Marathon
Jepkosgei beat world and 2020 Olympic champion Peres Jepchirchir who ran 2:14:43 (#6 all-time). On the men's side, Korir won handily, coming in 1:39 ahead of second place.
Parker Wolfe ran down Rocky Hansen to win USATF Cross Country, while pre race favorites Nico Young and Graham Blanks rounded out the strong Team USA for Worlds.
Kelati dropped Katie Izzo to win USA XC, with Kurgat, Schweizer, Venters and Hartman rounding out Team USA. Recap, results and link to race replay.
More Weekend Distance Results
- 16-year-old Sam Ruthe obliterates New Zealand secondary schools 800m record with 1:46.81 a day after smashing 1,500m record (3:38.62) This is at NZ's high school championships. He won the 800m by three seconds and his 1500m heat by nearly 30 seconds (he came back to win the 1,500m final on day 2 in 3:49.47).
*MB: Sam Ruthe 1.46/3.38 back-to-back - Molly Born beats Sara Hall (2:24:09 to 2:24:36) and Futsum Zienasellassie beats Joseph Welan (2:09:29 to 2:09:41) at CIM The top 52 men and the top 55 women broke the Marathon Trials standards (2:16 and 2:37).
*MB: CIM discussion thread
*MB: Courtney Dauwalter comes up short on OTQ time at CIM (2:38:54)
- Mathew Kipkoech and Dorcus Chepkwemoi Ndiema win Great Chepsaita Cross Country Run in Eldoret, Kenya Kipkoech (ranked #3 in the world in XC) received first aid attention after collapsing at the finish line, winning a close battle that separated the top-5 by just 4 seconds.
- Derese Workneh wins Hofu Yomiuri Marathon in Japan with 2:06:58 Mizuki Nishimura won the women's race in 2:25:54.
- Bayelign Teshager wins Fukuoka International Marathon in 2:07:51 ahead of Yusuke Nishiyama (2:07:56)
BU
Hoey's 1:12.84 crushed Donavan Brazier's previous 1:13.77 indoor WR and almost bettered the outdoor record, too. Hedengren ran 14:44.79 to take 7+ seconds off the NCAA women's 5,000 record.
- MB: Josh MF Hoey Smashes 600m WR
- MB: Jane Hedengren 14:44! Far superior to Park Valby smashes collegiate record
- MB: Riley Chamberlain appreciation Chamberlain placed second in 14:58.97 and actually had a faster last 1000m than Hedengren (2:48.41 to 2:49.75).
NXN
Spencer ran 15:01.1 to come in 2.2 seconds ahead of Yohanes Van Meerten. Niwot dominated the team race with a meet record of 61 points. Dathan Ritzenhein's son Jude was their 4th man in 40th place (15th in the team scoring).
Both were ranked #1 coming into the meet, but only just barely. That ended up being accurate as they only won by the narrowest of margins. Dudek, younger sister of 2019 Foot Locker champ Zofia Dudek, came in 1.7 seconds ahead of Blair Bartlett while Wayzata beat Niwot by 5 points.
Is the US winning too many relay golds? Is it fair to make a rule change aimed directly at them?
World Athletics has reversed course from seven years ago and is capping relay substitutions at Worlds and the Olympics at two per team. This is a direct shot at Team USA which is basically the only country that regularly uses more than two subs in the relays.
USATF Awards
Triple world gold medalist Jefferson-Wooden beat out Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone for the award, despite SML winning World Athlete of the Year. Cooper Lutkenhaus was named youth athlete of the year and Dennis Mitchell coach of the year.
- Vin Lananna receives Robert Giegengack award from USATF The award is given annually to "a person who excels in contributing to the excellence and high standards of the sport of athletics."
Valencia Marathon is Sunday
- Valencia Marathon Is Sunday & John Korir is in it as are 3 female studs and a few Americans Course record holder Sisay Lemma (2:01:48) leads the men's field but John Korir (2:02:44 pb) is surprisngly a late add after running a foolish race in Chicago. In the women's race, course record holder Amane Beriso (2:14:58) will clash with reigning world champ Peres Chepchirchir. Americans Keira D'Amato, Emma Bates, and Lindsay Flanagan are all racing.
Pre-NXN News
- DyeStat Preview: No. 1 Niwot Boys come Into NXN looking for repeat, chance at history The team includes senior Roco Culpepper (son of Olympians Alan and Shayne Culpepper) and freshman Jude Ritzenhein (son of Olympian Dathan Ritzenhein).
- DyeStat Preview: Competitive team and individual Races add intrigue to girls championship at NXN Regional winners Natasza Dudek, Blair Bartlett and Averi Lowen lead the field along with 2023 NXN champ Addy Ritzenhein.
- NXN Team Projections Niwot boys, Wayzata girls ranked #1.
- NXN free live stream starts at 12PM ET Boys race @ 1:05PM ET, girls race @ 2:35PM ET.
LRC Prediction Contest
LRC Prediction Contest
Valencia Marathon is Sunday
- Olympic Triathlon champ Alex Yee is pumped for one final attempt for a fast marathon before returning to triathlon next year He ran 2:11:08 in London but his watch told him he can run 2:05 in Valencia. He recently ran a 61:29 in the half.
- Fukuoka & Hofu marathons are in Japan this weekend but Suguru Osako (with a new tatoo) is in Valencia The first 6 men in both Fukuoka and Hofu will qualify for the MGC as long as they break 2:09. Osako must break 2:06:30 to qualify.
- John Korir hunts redemption (and a smart race) in Sunday's Valencia race after running foolishly in Chicago "I will run a tactical race; I will not go out hard in Valencia,” he said "My target in Chicago was to run under 2:01. But in Valencia, I am going for the win,” he added.
- Jakob Ingebrigtsen pulls out of European xc champ but says he's not injured "Jakob has had a very good training period at altitude in recent weeks and has decided to skip the European Cross Country Championships in order to focus fully on the 2026 season. We support the decision and look forward to the upcoming season," said Norwegian Athletics Association sports director Erlend Slokvik as quoted by NRK.
*MB: Jakob Ingebrigtsen running European XC championships. Update: No he's not. Pulls out on Dec. 4th.
Jager Q&A for Supporters Club Members
Evan Jager retired this week and then sat down with LetsRun.com for his most candid interview ever. He opened up about the Paris fall, the Olympic silver, the Fancy Bears leak, and the tension between Alberto and Jerry that shaped parts of his career.
- World Athletics' article on Evan Jager's retirement A good rundown of the highlights of his long career.
Message Board Q&A
Atlantic CEO Nicholas Thompson, runner, best-selling author, and host of “The Most Interesting Thing in A.I.", just ran over three hours in the marathon for the first time in 20 years. He joins LetsRun Friday to talk running, life, and his new book The Running Ground. If you'd like a book for free, just join our Supporters Club. Click for more info.
Marathon Analysis
Did you know everyone who has won a women's major since the start of 2022 has a pb under 2:18? Have we already found the heir to Eliud Kipchoge?
O'Keeffe Had A Great NYC
O'Keeffe ran with the leaders through 19 miles and finished 4th in 2:22:49, the fastest time by an American woman in NYC by almost two minutes.
Josh Hoey parts ways with yet another coach
Somehow Justin Rinaldi transformed Josh Hoey, who couldn't break 1:47 for 6+ years, to a 1:42.01 world indoor champ and DL winner. How has he been rewarded? With a pink slip. Rojo thinks it's hard to think of a dumber decision than this but then again Jerry Jones once did fire Jimmy Johnson.
After disagreements on training philosophy, Justin Rinaldi will no longer be coaching Hoey despite engineering one of the greatest turnarounds in American middle distance running history, taking Hoey from 1:47 to 1:42 and World Indoor champion in two years. Plus get the inside scoop on a key workout Hoey overcooked before USAs.
- MB: Breaking: Josh Hoey has parted with Justin Rinaldi, the man who took him from 1:47 also-ran to 1:42 World Champ!!
- LRC How Josh Hoey Went from Also-Ran to World Indoor Champion, Part I: A Coaching Odyssey
- LRC How Josh Hoey Went from Also-Ran to World Indoor Champion, Part I: Going All-In With Justin Rinaldi & The Fast 8 Track Club
Great listen/read
Nick Thompson, CEO of The Atlantic, joins the LetsRun.com Podcast to talk about his new book The Running Ground, how he ran 2:29 at 44, his late father, and why he still checks LetsRun every day.
Doping Bust?
In the latest update, Iowa State has confirmed that none of the suspended runners were in their top 7 but cited FERPA regulations and won't name the suspended runners. It appears that in a separate incident, their #3 runner was arrested last week for leaving the scene of a traffic accident.
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.
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."
Chicago Marathon
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
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.
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
