December 12, 2016 | LetsRun.com

Renato Canova Share The Secrets He’s Learned From Africa – LRC Q &A

LRC Canova Q&A, Part I: Why the Kenyans Struggled in Rio, Learn The Name Of The 2020 Olympic 5000 Champ, and Why Isn’t China Better at Running? The famed coach reveals why he thinks Geoffrey Kamworor, Caleb Ndiku and Bedan Karoki struggled at the Olympics and how Kenya couldn’t even put one man in the 5k final. He also discusses Asbel Kiprop‘s tactical struggles, tells you who will be the 2020 Olympic 5000 champ, and what he learned from his stint as a coach in the Chinese federation. Did you know that in 2014, not one Chinese man broke 14:00 for 5k or 29:30 for 10k?

LRC Canova Q&A, Part II: Is A Sub-2:00 Marathon Possible? Who Wins a Potential Kipchoge-Bekele Showdown? & How U.S. Stars Centro, Rupp & Jager Compare to the Africans In Part II, Canova praises Matthew Centrowitz, compares Evan Jager to Saif Saaeed Shaheen, tells you how good Galen Rupp can be in the marathon, shares what he learned from working with Kenenisa Bekele and gives his thoughts on Yannis Pitsiladis and the Sub 2Hr Project.

Honolulu Marathon and More Sunday Action *Top 25 Honolulu Results

RRW Kenya’s Lawrence Cherono Smashes Honolulu Marathon Course Record With 2:09:39 Win – Brigid Kosgei (2:31:11) Wins Women’s Race over Lindsey Scherf Cherono had to beat his ‘best friend’ and training partner Wilson Chebet, who also was under old CR of 2:11:12. Buzenesh Deba was third for the women and Fiyesa Lilesa was 4th for the men.

RRW In Surprise Run, New Zealand Olympic Miler Hamish Carson Turns Marathoner in Honolulu Carson started just to get in his 35K long run, but motivated by the “finisher t-shirt,” he decided mid-race to turn it into his debut.

*MB: 2:09:39 New Course Record @ Honolulu Marathon
*MB: Olympic miler Hamish Carson runs marathon on a lark, instead of doing a long run – guess his time

RRW Edwin Kiptoo Wins Battle of Sexes and Inaugural Kalakaua Merrie Mile By Five Seconds Women were given a 27-second advantage. Nicole Sifuentes was the top woman in 4:29. NCAA XC runner-up Erin Finn was last in 4:54. Mason Ferlic, Will Leer, Dominique Scott and others also raced.

More Sunday Action: Jackline Adodonyang Dominates AK XC Series Meet In Eldoret As Florence Kiplagat Finishes 3rd In the men’s race unheralded Noah Kipkemboi got the surprise win over sub-60 minute half-marathoner Abraham Kiptum.
*Morocco’s Salah-Eddine Bounasr (2:11:09) and Ethiopia’s Aynalem Kassahun (2:31:52) Win Guangzhou Marathon, Past champ and CR holder Mulu Seboka had to settle for runner-up honors.
*AW Rundown Of UK Weekend XC/Road Racing

North American News

Awesome Read Meet Gary Allen – The Runner Who Started A Free Marathon In December In A Struggling Maine Town The race is today and sounds amazing.
*MB: Amazing idea: Who’s going? Struggling mill town is holding a free half-marathon in Maine on Saturday
The 7 American Mid-D And Distance Medalists Reveal The Coolest Things That Have Happened To Them Since They Won Their Medals From meeting Obama to having a preacher preach about them to getting a call from Adam Sandler.
Rachele Schulist Explains Why She Went Public With Her Weight Gain
*MB: Schulist Instagram & Reaction
American Andrew Bumbalough Is Moving Up To The Marathon The 3:37/13:12/27:56 man will make his debut in the Spring.
It’s Official: 1:41 Man Nijel Amos Will Train In The US Under Mark Rowland This Year
Interesting Training News From Canada Olympic Hurdler Phylicia George Is Trying Her Hand At Bobsledding “I’m going to be totally honest … I actually hated it my first run down … my neck was killing me after.”
Peter Eriksson Fired As Head Coach Of Athletics Canada Just Months After The Track And Field Team Had One Of Its Most Successful Olympics In Decades They want a more inclusive and supportive coach but does that = success?
Former Essex County College Track Coach Admits To Stealing $150,000 From 2012 Through 2015
Toni Reavis: Veterinarians Today Act Like Doctors Used To

Yifter Is Alive – But Seriously Ill

Ethiopian Media Reported He Had Died, But 1980 Double Olympic Champ Miruts Yifter “The Shifter” Is Alive But Hospitalized In A Toronto Hospital The frail 72-year-old, who was Ethiopia’s first-ever Olympic track gold medalist in 1980, has a collapsed lung and has been hospitalized for months.
*Pat Butcher On Yifter

Recommended Read: The Guardian: “From Crystal Meth To Olympic Glory: The Recovery And Rise Of Luvo Manyonga” Three years ago, South Africa’s Manyonga was a crystal meth addict; now he’s an Olympic long jump silver medalist.

Euro XC Champs Are Sunday In Chia, Italy

Rio 5,000 6th Placer Andrew Butchart Named Captain For GB Euro XC Team Butchart was quoted talking about “just how important the XC season is,” but will he and the Brits keep that attitude when World XC rolls around? We hope so.
Ireland’s Fionnuala McCormack Will Look To Regain Her Euro XC Title And Gain A Place In The Record Books By Becoming The First 3-Time Winner This race will also put her tied with Sonia O’Sullivan as representing Ireland internationally the most times (34).
Gemma Steel Heads British Women’s Hopes
European Athletics Women’s U20 Preview
*Men’s U23 Preview
Schedule *Final Entries *Media Guide
More Coverage At European-Athletics.org

News From Kenya

Olympic Champions Eliud Kipchoge And Vivian Cheruiyot Named Kenyan Athletes Of The Year Two-time World marathon champ Abel Kirui won the “Comeback of the Year” award after he won his first marathon since 2011 at the Chicago Marathon. *Discuss
Olympic Champ Vivian Cheruiyot Says She Will Not Defend Her World 10,000 Title In London Next Year As She Turns Her Focus To The Roads She’ll run her second half-marathon in February and a full marathon debut sometime later on.
After Almost 2 Years Of Injury, Kenya’s Former World Steeple Champ Milcah Chemos Announces She Will Switch To The 5K/10K Chemos had to have back surgery, which is why she didn’t want to go back to the steeple barriers.

Foot Locker CC And USATF Club Nats Club Nats Results FL Results FL Video Replay Boys Preview *Girls Preview

Foot Locker: LRC 2016 Foot Locker Recap: Reed Brown (15:01) & Claudia Lane (17:04) Use Big Kicks To Win A Pair Of Thrilling Races Lane’s win was exciting but not a surprise, but there was a big upset on the boys side as 4:04 miler Reed Brown, who was only 4th in the TX state meet, got the win.

Club Nats: USATF Recap: Sam Chelanga And Colleen Quigley Win Quigley won over Sarah Pagano whose 2nd place finish helped the BAA win the team title. American Distance Project took the men’s team race with Chelanga and Stanley Kebenei going 1-2. OT qualifier Kevin Castille dominated the men’s masters race. *Results
*MB: Official 2016 USATF Club Nat Live Discussion Thread
*USATF Junior Olympics Recap

FootLocker Talk

MB: Official 2016 Foot Locker Live Discussion Thread
MB: WHAT JUST HAPPENED: REED MF BROWN!!!
MB: Grace Ping should’ve run Footlocker.
MB: Seth Hirsh can only run a 59 second 400?!
MB: Claudia Lane Footlocker champ
MB: New Balance doing a great job sponsoring Footlocker
MB: Footlocker and NXN should merge

Pre-Race News From Hawaii

With Family Support, Buzunesh Deba Ready For Redemption In Honolulu Deba’s family has reunited with hopes that the 29-year-old can become the race’s first winner from Ethiopia since 2013.

Months After Olympic Protest, Feyisa Lilesa To Race Honolulu Marathon With Heavy Heart He hasn’t seen his wife or kids – other than that life in the US is great.
After Running A Half Marathon Last Weekend, Nick Arciniaga Is Ready For Hawaii Marathon This Weekend As He Attempts The Grueling “Hawaii Double” Nick Arciniaga is aiming to complete one of the toughest doubles in distance running at Sunday’s Honolulu Marathon. A week after finishing second at the arduous XTERRA Trail Running World Championship Half-Marathon in Kualoa Ranch, the 33-year-old has traveled across Oahu ready for the 26.2-mile race from Ala Moana to Kapiolani Park.
Inaugural Kalakaua Merrie Mile To Feature Intriguing Gender Battle For the first time in 19 years, an elite mile will be contested here in Waikiki. Erin Finn is in it.
Costume Runners Add Fun And Flare To Honolulu Marathon

Tiernan = National Champ X 2 *Results

Patrick Tiernan Becomes Australian National 10,000 Champion, Debuting In 27:59 At The Zatopek 10,000 In the women’s race, New Zealand’s Camille Buscomb got a shock win as Aussie favorite Eloise Wellings struggled in 4th.
*MB: TIERNAN- 27:59

Event News: Big Change To 2017 Diamond League Format

IAAF Make Major Changes To 2017 Diamond League Adopting A Championship-Style Model With The Overall Winner Decided In The Last Event Rather Than Based On Season Points Athletes will earn points throughout the season to qualify for the final event where the overall DL title and a $50,000 first place prize will be on the line.
*Social Media Reactions To Diamond League Changes It’s on the DL website so of course there won’t be any negative posts.
Aarhus, Denmark Will Host The 2019 IAAF World Cross-Country Championships They won over the only other city to bid, Hammamet, Tunisia.
Hosting Updates From London 2017 Local Organizing Committee

More British News: UK Athletics Facing Sex Assault Scandal

UKA Athletics Facing Scandal And Potential Lawsuit As They’re Accused Of Covering-Up Sexual Abuse Against A 16-Year-Old By One Of Its Past Coaches Former Olympic coach Darrell Bunn (who at one time coached Jessicca Ennis-Hill and Denise Lewis) was convicted of “indecent assault and child abduction” in 2014. But it has emerged that he had originally been reported to UKA by another athlete back in 2003, yet continued to coach.
UK Former 4 X 1,500 World Record Holder Aubrey Harris Accused Of Sexual Abuse Of A Minor Who Years Later Has Claimed Harris “Raped Me Over 50 Times” Roy Messenger claims he suffered 3 years of abuse by Harris between the ages of 9 and 12. Harris died in the 1980s, so when Messenger first went to the police years later, they told him nothing could be done.
Government Bails Out UK Sport With $38 Million Cash Injection The money is to make up for the loss in income caused by a slump in people playing the National Lottery.
Mo Farah Beats Usain Bolt In Athletics Weekly “Readers Choice Awards” Elaine Thompson was voted female AOY while Farah and Jessica Ennis-Hill were crowned the top Brits.

**European XC Champs *Results**

Results: Turkey Dominates As Kenyan-Born Turks Go 1-2 In Men’s and Women’s Races Aris Kaya and Polat Kemboi Arıkan went 1-2 on the men’s side and Yasemin Can and Meryem Akda in the women’s.
*MB: Fair or Foul? Sonia O’Sullivan slams the fact that two Kenyan born Turks go 1-2 at 2016 Euro Cross

Athletics Weekly Recap Of Senior Races: Team Euro Cross Gold For GB’s Senior Men As Callum Hawkins Leads Way With Individual Bronze *BBC
*Ireland’s Fionnuala McCormack Is Denied European Medal As Two Turkish-Born Athletes Go 1-2 In Women’s Race – Sonia O’Sullivan Slams IAAF Rules Afterwards
Athletics Weekly Recap Of Jr. And U-23 Races: Konstanze Klosterhalfen And Jakob Ingebrigtsen Dominate U-20 Races As Team GB Women Win Two Golds New Mexico’s Alice Wright, who was 19th at NCAAs, won U-23 bronze just ahead of San Francisco’s Charlotte Taylor.
European Athletics Recap of U23 Women: Poland’s Sofia Ennaoui Wins Gold
European Athletics Recap of Boys U-20 Race: Oh Brother! It’s Gold For Ingebrigsten We’re not the only one that think the 16-year-old Jakob Ingebrigsten is a HUGE talent: MB: Jakob Ingebrigtsen wins European cross country.
European Athletics Recap of Girls U-20 Race: W Jr: Germany’s Konstanze Klosterhalfen Is Just Second Girl Ever To Defend Her Crown
IAAF Recap Of European XC

Russia Is Exposed As A TOTAL Fraud

McLaren II Is Released – More Than 1,000 Russian Athletes Benefited From The Biggest Doping Scandal In History On Friday morning, Richard McLaren released his 2nd report on Russian doping and it’s as bad as one could possibly imagine. He provides 1,166 pieces of evidence exposing the elaborate state-sponsored doping scheme (which you can search yourself) that reached its peak at 2014 Sochi. Seemingly every Russian athlete in Sochi was involved as 100% of the of the 100 samples they’ve looked at were tampered with.
*Full McLaren Report – Part II (PDF)
*Full McLaren Press Conference
*WADA Statement *IAAF Statement
*Search For Yourself The Evidentiary Disclosure Package (EDP) Website You can search through more than 1,000 documents yourself.
*MB: The McLaren Report Part 2 Will Come Out On Friday (Dec 9) – What To Expect?

The World Reacts To The McLaren Report

IOC Says Report Reveals “… a fundamental attack on the integrity of the Olympic Games and on sport in general.” They also pledge to re-test all Russian drug samples from the 2012 and 2014 Games.
Trump To The Russians’ Rescue? Russian MP Hopes “Our Beloved Mr. Trump” Will End Doping Investigation Russian Ministry Issues Denial: “The sport ministry with all conviction can declare the absence of government programmes to support doping in sport. The sport ministry is continuing the battle with doping from a position of zero tolerance.”
Russian Luge President Calls Report “Nothing But Rubbish” “The McLaren Report published today is not confirmed by anything again. Where are the facts? You can say this is nothing but rubbish.” We suggest she learn how to use a computer so she can search the 1,166 pieces of evidence herself. Correction: We incorrectly initially attributed to the quote to Isinbayeva.
Telegraph: Vitaly Mutko Is Russia’s Teflon Sports Minister, But Even He May Struggle To Survive The Latest Doping Scandal
Yuliya Stepanova – Russian Whistleblower – Gives Rare Interview To BBC: “I don’t consider myself a traitor.” We agree. She’s a hero.
Dmitri Shlyakhtin Is Re-Elected As President Of The All-Russian Athletics Federation (ARAF) Isinbayeva was the favorite to get the job until she was named to head RUSADA and had to withdraw her candidacy.

USATF 2016

Vin Lananna Campaign Pins

LRC Everything You Need To Know From The 2016 USATF Convention Wejo attended his first USATF convention that saw the coronation of Vin Lananna and reports everything you need to know.

Today’s Doping News

What?!?! Yelena Isinbayeva Appointed As The Head Of RUSADA Well, she already has the “deny and blame foreign politics” attitude down. This appointment means she will withdraw from the election to become president of the Russian Athletics Federation (that vote is happening tomorrow).
IOC Extends Doping Sanctions On Russia As Richard McLaren’s Second Report Set To Be Released Tomorrow Our reaction: What sanctions? The IOC didn’t ban Russian athletes from competing and aren’t enforcing the order not to hold major events in Russia. *2nd Article
Usain Bolt Shocked By Jamaica’s “Ridiculous” Abstention From IAAF Reform Vote JAAA President Warren Blake actually defended the decision saying, “A lot of people have criticized us for not voting but I would say to the people go and look at the constitution and exactly what the changes were.”
IAAF Extend Provisional Bans Of Nick Davies And Two Other Officials While Investigation Continues Davies, his wife, Jane Boulter-Davies and Pierre-Yves Garnier were banned this summer for allegations that they took money to delay naming Russian drug cheats.
IOC Medical Director Predicts “Many More Positives” From London 2012 Retests 101 athletes have been caught from the 2008/2012 re-tests and the London 2012 testing will continue up until 2020.