The sub-2:04 barrier has been broken a record 23 times in 2026 - more than double the previous record - and adidas athletes account for 15 of them. Plus, could the courts decide the NCAA XC title? And why Rojo is bullish on an Athing Mu-Nikolaev comeback for LA 2028.
The explosion of marathon fast times continues, but how much is because of the adidas shoe? Plus, Wejo, Rojo, and Jon debate whether Sawe's historic sub-2 marathon or Kerr's mile world record was the moment of the year, and whether Athing Mu will return for LA 2028.
Matata picked up $42k (27k for win, 12k for CR, 3k for sub-59) in the event that offered more than $275k.
While BYU won without star Jane Hedengren, who was out with an illness, they were led Taylor Rohatinsky, who was allowed to compete (this is her 5th season of xc) thanks to a judge giving her a temporary restraining order. Gapes (18:57.6) became the first woman under 19 minutes on the LaVern Gibson course and broke the previous CR by 16 seconds. #8 Syracuse (115 points) and Tulane's Silas Kiptanui (23:17.4) won the men's race.
In this SC exclusive, Carlson spoke to LetsRun.com about his men's team's runner-up performance at Nuttycombe, how Kipruto has adjusted so quickly to the NCAA, why he chose to recruit in Kenya for the first time, and the changing nature of NCAA cross country and track & field. 'The NCAA is changing. And I can either complain about it and get left behind, or I can adjust," said Carlson. "I think one of the frustrating narratives that's going to happen is, oh, Colorado's all Kenyans. Well, our #1 guy was Kenyan. But our #2, #3, #4, #5 were all American. And my Americans were as good, if not better than, everyone else's Americans. And my international was as good, if not better than everyone else's."
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2021 Olympic 800m gold medalist Athing Mu-Nikolayev announced on Instagram that she is expecting her first child with husband Yegor Nikolayev. Mu-Nikolayev, who parted ways with coach Bobby Kersee in late 2025 and did not race in 2026, did not address her competitive plans for the 2028 LA Olympics.
Do you think Athing Mu will try to make LA '28?
If she tries, do you think Athing Mu will make the US team for LA '28?
If she makes LA' 28, do you think Athing Mu will medal?
A year ago, many thought Galen Rupp was finished. Now, at 40, he's run 2:06:55 to take three minutes off the American masters record and put himself back in the conversation for the 2028 Olympics. How did he turn things around? Rupp and coach Mike Smith explain in this two-part feature. "His will is like nothing I’ve seen," said Smith.
On this week's pod we take one final look at the Chicago Marathon. Did Vinny Mauri throw away an American record? Is adidas changing the sport? And has NCAA cross country gone too far with international recruiting? We debate it all on the latest Track Talk Podcast.
Who won and who lost Chicago? Amos Kipruto entered rare air, Galen Rupp ran 2:06 at 40, Vinny Mauri inspired thousands, Clayton Young proved the doubters wrong, Emma Grace Hurley toughed it out and the race broadcast cut away from history for a corporate sponsor interview. Plus the foreign invasion of NCAA women's xc is complete.
What an absurd, thrilling day for American distance running. Vinny Mauri dropped a 14:28 5k split before stopping to stretch his hamstring multiple times, Clayton Young ran 2:05:23 on a torn hamstring, Charles Hicks ran 2:05:35 in his third major, and 40-year-old Galen Rupp ran 2:06:55. Jonathan Gault breaks down the American men's performance in Chicago.
Hawi Feysa survived a blistering early pace and threw down a 5:00 final mile to outduel Sharon Lokedi (2:14:07) and take the 2026 Chicago Marathon crown in 2:13:33. Plus, Emma Grace Hurley toughed it out and debuted in 2:20:47 to smash the US marathon debut record. Full recap, results, and LetsRun quick takes.
Amos Kipruto absorbed Jacob Kiplimo’s blistering sub-2:00 marathon pace between 20k and 30k, and then broke the Ugandan star over the final 10k, and storming home in a 2:01:09 pb. Behind them, 25-year-old Vinny Mauri threw down a bold, solo American record attempt before seizing up late, leaving Clayton Young (2:05:23) to claim top American honors on a torn hamstring while 40-year-old Galen Rupp ran 2:06:55. Full recap, splits, and analysis.
Watch the race live and hear the Letsrun.com commentary on the watch along. *Full Results
2026 Chicago Marathon Prediction Contest OPEN Until Halfway Mark of Race Give us your Chicago Marathon predictions and you could win some great prizes.
This was Kipchoge's third stop on his marathon on every continent world running tour. Afterward he said, "I believe that my body is still peaking – still able to compete with the next generation. The oldest athlete is still competing but I am happy to run with the gen Zs." New Zealand’s Camille French won the women’s race in 2:28:25.
New Mexico scored 59 points to beat #6 Colorado by 34 points while West Virginia won 66-111 over #13 ranked Florida while #3 NAU was third (130 points) and #4 New Mexico fourth (157 points). Individual wins went to Colorado's Meshack Kipruto (22:30) and Florida's Judy Chepkoech (19:19) with just over one second separating 1-4 in the men's race (last year's NCAA runner-up Rocky Hansen was 4th in 22:31).
*MB: Nuttycombe - Official 2026 Nuttycombe Discussion Thread
A long-lost VHS broadcast of the 2001 Chicago Marathon surfaced on YouTube this week. LRC co-founder Robert Johnson rewound the tape to revisit the day he was hired to "protect" and "guide" Catherine Ndereba to a 2:18:47 world record 25 years ago. Two Olympic champions had plenty to say about his running form. *Video of Rojo getting dropped
Give us your Chicago Marathon predictions and you could win some great prizes.
Just 12 months ago, the American record had stood unbroken for 23 years, Charles Hicks had never run a marathon, and no one had heard of Vinny Mauri. A lot has changed since then. Could the AR go down in Chicago for the second year in a row? Jonathan Gault breaks down the American men's field in Chicago.
Kosgei, who ran 2:14:29 to win Tokyo in March, returns to Chicago for the first time since her 2019 world record to face 2-time Boston champ Sharon Lokedi, who is racing a rabbitted marathon for the first time while World Half Marathon fifth-placer Emma Grace Hurley leads the American charge.
Hamstring tears, jaw surgeries, 65:30 women's half splits, and a DoorDash courier calling his shot: what the elites told LetsRun on Friday in Chicago.
One of these six men will win the 2026 Chicago Marathon. Sorry, none of them are American.
25 years ago in Chicago, Catherine Ndereba made history with a women's marathon world record of 2:18:47 with a little pacesetting help from LetsRun.com's Robert Johnson. In the men's race, the rabbit, Ben Kimondiu, played an even bigger role as he stunned the great Paul Tergat and won the race.
Can an elite marathoner run 2:04 on a 12 cm hamstring tear? Clayton Young thinks so. Medical experts, coach Ed Eyestone, and Young himself break down the science, the risks, and why he's still chasing the American record in Chicago. "It can feel good, it can look good in an MRI, but it’s the unknown, you don’t know how it’s going to respond in the later stages of a race," said chiropractor Josh Glass.
LRC intern Brendan Gomez shares 10 thoughts on the 2026 NCAA XC season and Friday's Nuttycombe Invitational, including impressive runs from the Alabama & New Mexico men, questions about the Iowa State women, and rebuilds at Stanford and Arizona.
The field for the US championship race will be limited to 20 women and 20 men, but Chicago is expanding their "High Performance Program" to 300 to allow more runners in the race who are chasing the 2028 Trials qualifying standard.
Vinny Mauri’s wild training and American record hopes headline Chicago. John Kellogg says Mauri’s unconventional approach reminds him of Arthur Lydiard, while Jacob Kiplimo, Brigid Kosgei, and Sharon Lokedi lead loaded elite fields.
Jakob Ingebrigtsen wrapped up an improbable 2026 comeback with a home double, Aidan Troutner shows once again that "talent doesn't go away" by breaking a 1986 championship record at the US 10k, and why you'd rather get 2nd at World Juniors than win gold. Plus talent doesn't go away, but it does get hurt.
Troutner won in a sprint finish where just 5 seconds separated 1-6. Dillon Maggard was runner-up in 27:41. Venters dominated the women's race by almost a minute with Kassandra Parker (31:57) and Allie Ostrander (32:02) finishing second and third.
From logging 36 miles in a day at 4:56 pace on Planet Fitness treadmills to dropping a solo 2:05 debut in Toledo, the formerly unheralded Vinny Mauri has already produced one of the wildest years in American distance running history. With the Chicago Marathon one week away, can he actually break Conner Mantz's American record?
More from LRC on Mauri:
Christ School's coach Randy Ashley knows what he's doing and after Rocky Hansen starred there, they've been getting a ton of transfers. 6 of their top 7 are transfers.
If the clean women's world record in the marathon ends up being under 2:10, does that make any sense? When Ruth Chepngetich did it, Amby Burfoot said it had to be doping. Across standard distance events, the women's world record is consistently 10% to 11% slower than the men's. A sub-2:10 shrinks that gap to 8.8%. Can male pacers and supershoes explain the discrepancy?
Hoey, who has not raced since setting the indoor 800 WR in January, developed a stress fracture in his lower left leg in the summer but has been cleared to resume training.
Tigst Assefa’s world record bid ended with an Achilles injury, Jane Hedengren suffered a rare loss, and Josh Kerr revealed a stunning 2:12.66 1,000m time trial.
Emma Grace Hurley discusses her 66:23 fifth-place finish at the World Half Marathon Championships, Team USA’s silver medal, her Chicago Marathon debut, and how she went from 51st at NCAA XC and a software job to one of America’s best road racers.
In Berlin, Tigst Assefa was well on her way to reclaiming her marathon world record before a late-race injury forced her to limp home in 2:11:04. Should the clean women's WR actually be under 2:10? (Statistically speaking, the answer is no). Plus 35-year-old Guye Adola won the men's race while #2 New Mexico's 27-year-old freshman helped the Lobos take down #1 Oklahoma State in Stillwater. Plus former teen phenom Jane Hedengren, who turned 20 last week, gets beat and current teen phenom Sam Ruthe goes to altitude.
Assefa went the whole race on pace to break Ruth Chepngetich's tainted 2:09:56 mark, passing halfway in 64:57 and 40k in 2:03:00 (2:09:45 pace), but then she started limping in the final mile and slowed to a 2:11:04 victory. She also dominated the race by almost 6 minutes. On the men's side, nine hit halfway in 61:01 and seven were still in contention at 30k, but Adola came out on top to repeat the title he first won in 2021. Gemechu Diriba was runner-up in 2:03:19. Olympic champ Selemon Barega was 5th (2:04:58). *Results
*Video of final 6 mins of women's race
Facing life without a major shoe or apparel sponsor following her 2024 Wikipedia controversy, world champion ultrarunner Camille Herron has found an unconventional way to fund her competitive career: launching an OnlyFans account as an adult creator.
WA staged a new meet with a bunch of bells and whistles, from the dyed-black infield to win probabilities. But the action on the track, which was electric, is what made Budapest a big success.
Did you miss the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship? We've gathered all the NBC Sports track replays, from the $150k distance showdowns to the sprints and relays, in one spot so you can catch up on every race.
LRC Our favorite photos of world's best track and field athletes chasing $150K prizes at the Ultimate Championship See some of the stunning images from Budapest.
Learn about My Olympic Coach, a Miami training group where a 2:11 marathoner, a former NFL player, and 4-hour marathoners train side by side.
RunCCG co-founders Chris Catton and Tim Goldsack may have coached more fast high school runners than anyone else on Planet Earth. In Part VII of the Summer of LetsRun, we conduct a Q&A with the two online private coaches of high school runners. What is the No. 1 mistake most high school runners make? What is their No. 1 piece of advice? Plus, DT hits a lifetime-high 65 miles as he gets ready for his senior season.
Previous Summer of LetsRun Articles:
The Supporters Club embargo has ended! Watch our full Training Talk video interview with Marius Bakken - the godfather of the double threshold Norwegian Method - or read the highlights of our discussion on double threshold, super shoes, and lactate control. Even if you watched it live, you'll want to read this as it has been updated with a bonus emailed Q&A.
No carbon plates. No Strava. Barely any mid-race fuel. We asked longtime LetsRun posters how they trained and raced before modern running technology took over—and the answers were hilarious, humbling, and occasionally horrifying, and showed how much the sport has changed.
Aletheia Run has launched a completely redesigned app built from runner feedback, featuring adaptive training, 170+ strength and mobility exercises, leave-phone-behind tracking, and performance insights. LetsRun readers can get a 30-day free trial plus 10% off their first year with code LETSRUN10.
As we move to LetsRun.com second quarter century, we want to give you more reasons to visit the site daily. So we have launched a Live Training Talk series. Marius Bakken was the perfect first guest as this website was founded to try to spread the gospel of aerobic/threshold-based training, which Bakken has helped spread across the globe better than anyone. Catch it on demand as an SC Member. *Purchase book
Midway through Marius Bakken's new book The Norwegian Method Applied, Robert Johnson had an epiphany and asked himself, "Is there any human on planet Earth who is better suited to write a training book than Dr. Bakken?" He doesn't think so. This is a must-read. Read it, then join the SC so you can ask Bakken a question during our live interview with him on June 1 at 1 p.m. ET. *Purchase book
13-years ago, Rojo wrote the original The Myth Of The Sub-2-Hour Marathon and claimed we were nowhere close to a sub-2 and that we likely wouldn't see it in his lifetime. Well now that it has happened and everyone on the Internet is dunking on him, how does he feel? He's not backing down and claims the logic of his original column was right on the money.
How in the world did Sabastian Sawe turn was looked to be a 2:01 race into a historic 1:59:30 marathon world record? Did adidas' new 3.4 ounce shoe -- the Adios Pro Evo 3 -- tip the scales? What about the wind?
The Marathon Project has announced a major schedule change for this year's event. The Amateurs and Professionals will now compete together in a 400-person race on Saturday, December 12. The move is designed to amplify the atmosphere and increase the intensity with more athletes, fans, and energy on the flat, fast, loop course in Chandler, AZ. According to race organizers, "The overwhelming feedback we received from last year was that the participants loved being treated like pros. Now they'll get to race with the pros as well. It's a logical next step for us." Press Release here
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World indoors are this week. The LetsRun.com prediction contest team for Worlds is set. Meet the winners from the USAs contest and some of our other recent contests as well. They highlight the best of LRC.
Since he stopped racing in the middle of the 2025 cross country season for Iowa State, Seth Clevenger has taken DIII by storm. The Rowan University athlete is the DIII leader in three events. But following the release of a video of an alleged EPO order, multiple former teammates told LetsRun.com that Clevenger said he took banned substances in 2025 while at Iowa State and admitted as such to the coaching staff. The situation raises questions about a potential hole in the NCAA’s anti-doping policy. We investigate how a star could allegedly admit to banned drug use and remain eligible to compete.
Your latest American stars share their insights.
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.
One messageboard poster describes the above interview as the "best interview I've ever seen." More Budapest interviews here.