Eliud Kipchoge Breaks 2:00 *Full Event Replay

LRC What Does It All Mean? Four Thoughts On Eliud Kipchoge’s 1:59:40 Marathon Be inspired by Kipchoge’s greatness and the unifying power of the feat even if it won’t count as a World Record. That being said, the shoe technology needs to be fair to all moving forward. *NYTimes *BBC *WSJ

LRC MBoard Talk

• Official INEOS 159 Challenge Discussion Thread 
• BEHOLD! THE CROWD WATCHING IN ELDORET! 
• WEJO, ROJO, -IF THIS GETS NO BLACK PAGE, PLEASE DO AWAY WITH IT! 
• Kipchoge & Human Potential haters go DEVASTATED 
• I’ve gone from big Kipchoge fan to disliking him
• Man who came up with sub-2 idea, Yannis Pitsiladis, isn’t a fan of it anymore: “I think it is all about the shoe now” 
• Kipchoge lane infraction! Stepped on the orange line. Doesn’t count. 
• Stop the Kipchoge Drug Allegations, enough!!!!!!!! 
• 1:59:40, One small step for Marathoning, one giant leap for doping. 
• Can Bekele run sub2? 
• Any Chance K. Bekele VS Eliud Kipchoge BEFORE the 2020 Olympic Marathon 

NOP Doping News

LRC Questions & (Some) Answers: Galen Rupp Meets The Press Ahead Of 2019 Chicago Marathon Jonathan Gault has a hard time believing one key answer Rupp gave at today’s press event. When asked when did he learn that Salazar had been charged by USADA, Rupp said, “I read about it on the news, I think like everybody else.”  Hard to believe as Rupp was a witness in the Salazar case. As for what type of shape Rupp is in, Rupp himself wants to know. “I’m kind of wondering about it too, to be honest,” Rupp said.
*Rupp’s Official Statement On Salazar *Rupp Video Interview

Farah Addresses Salazar’s Ban In Chicago

Mo Farah: “There is no allegation against me. I’ve not done anything wrong. Let’s be clear – these allegations are about Alberto Salazar.” Farah also urged the authorities to “test me any time.”
*Farah Reminds Everyone In 2015, He Flew Over To Confront Salazar Over BBC/ProPublica Allegations And Salazar Promised Him They Weren’t True
*Farah Refuses To Say If He Feels Let Down By Salazar But Does Say He Feels Let Down By Press Coverage
*Farah Suggests There Was A Racial Element In Coverage Of Him

Previous NOP Doping News

NOP Is Done – Nike CEO Mark Parker Shuts Down The NOP Calling the situation a “distraction” that is “compromising (the athletes) ability to focus on their training and competition needs”, Parker had made the decision to “wind down the Oregon Project.” He, however, reiterated his support for Alberto Salazar, writing, “we will continue to support Alberto in his appeal as a four-year suspension for someone who acted in good faith is wrong.”

Pre-Race INEOS 159 News *Streaming Info

• The New Yorker/Ed Caesar: Inside The Race To Break the Two-Hour Marathon An Aerodynamics expert in charge of the pacing says it will benefit him 1:52 versus running alone.
• Ben Bloom: Everything You Need To Know About Eliud Kipchoge’s Sub-2 Attempt The pace car has been set for 1:59:50.
• Interesting Read: What Should We Make Of Performances Aided By Rhe Nike VaporFly?
• Scientific Study “Concludes That The Layout Is Only 4.5 Seconds Slower Than What Would Be Expected From A Perfectly Straight, Perfectly Flat Course”
• Meet Sir Jim Ratcliffe – The Richest Man In Britain, Who Is Bankrolling Eliud Kipchoge’s Run
• Eliuyd Kipchoge Pens A Letter To His Younger Self In it, he raves about a book called, “Who Moved My Cheese?”
• Jos Hermens Says Kipchoge Is A Better Athlete Now Than 2 Years Ago And That The Pace Car Will Be Moved From 10m To 15m Ahead To Prevent Swirling Winds Left unsaid is the shoes have taken even more steroids.
• Kipchoge Says He’s Ready At Pre-Event Press Conference, Once Again Compares Feat To First Moon Landing “My training has been the same, my coach has been the same, my management, everything has been the same. Now the thinking is different,” he said. “I feel more prepared. I feel more ready.”
• Toni Reavis Says He’s Rooting For Kipchoge To Break 2, But The Feat Has Lost Some Of Its Intrigue
• 41 Pacers Have Been Enlisted To Help Kipchoge By country, Kenya leads the way with 15 then the US has 7, Uganda 6 and Australia and Norway round out the top 5 with 3 each.
• BetLion Offers 1.85 Odds On Kipchoge Going Sub-2 That’s an implied success rate of 54.1%.
• As Sub-2 Approaches, A Look Back At Five Milestones In Marathoning History

If Kipchoge Fails To Break 2, Will He Lose The Status As The #1 Marathoner To Bekele? TFN: How Kenenisa Bekele Returned To World-Beating Form Bekele: “After achieving this time, I am confidant that I am back.”

LRC Doha Analysis

LRC Podcast: Doha Worlds Recap, INEOS 1:59 And Chicago Marathon (Rupp Vs. Farah) Preview, Alberto Salazar Ban The World Track and Field Champs are in the books and the Chicago Marathon and INEOS 1:59 Challenge are here and Alberto Salazar is still banned. Subscribe today on your favorite podcast platform.

Watch the INEOS 1:59 Challenge Live

LRC In The End, The Doha Worlds Ended Up Being Pretty Spectacular World Cup fans breathe easy. 5 years ago when the track and field world champs were awarded to Doha, dire predictions were made. In the end, the championships ended up being fabulous, particularly from a performance standpoint. Air-conditioned outdoor stadiums really do work.

More Post-Doha Stuff

• Good Read: IAAF: Mutaz Barshim, Conseslus Kipruto And Muktar Edris – Champions Who Find A Way To Win “One characteristic of champions is that they often find a way to win, even when they shouldn’t.”
• AP: Next Up, Tokyo: Track Leaves Qatar Still Looking For A Star They write that track’s effort to “replace the mile-wide void left by Usain Bolt‘s absence” is still a “work in progress.”
• IAAF: After Dominating In Doha, German LJer Malaika Mihambo Targets Tokyo Triumph But before Tokyo, a 4-week vacation to Thailand.
• European Athletics President Svein Hansen Congratulates Euro World Medalists Europe had ten gold medalists plus four European records and 34 national records.
• The IAAF Calls Doha 2019 “The Highest Quality World Championships Of All Time” That is “in terms of the quality and depth of performances produced by the athletes.” They even break it down statistically using the IAAF’s competition performance rankings.
• Four Doha Moments Announced For Short List For International Fair Play Award Pretty clear choice with Braima Suncar Dabo helping Jonathan Busby across the finish line in the heats of the men’s 5,000m.
• The IAAF Looks At How Athlete Refugee Team Did In Doha All six athletes competed in distance events.

More Salazar News

• Ritzenhein Finally Posts About Salazar Ban And Says It Was Justified “I stand behind the findings of the panel. These findings are important to continue to promote clean running in our sport. I hope these conclusions provide some reassurance to clean runners everywhere.”
• Sifan Hassan: “If they want to test me they can test me every single day.” Hassan said she was “angry” that people are now suspicious of her performances because of Salazar’s ban.
• Breaking: UK Athletics Performance Directory Leaving Job ASAP In Wake Of Alberto Salazar Doping Ban
  *The Telegraph: UK Athletics Head Neil Black To Step Down Over Handling Of Alberto Salazar Scandal Ben Bloom writes that the “decision was effectively taken out of his hands” and that he “jumped before he could be pushed.”
• David Walsh Pens Open Letter To Nike CEO Mark Parker In The Times – Why Have You Invested Millions In Drug Cheats Like Alberto Salazar? Walsh writes, “I see Nike as the Russia of the West.”
• Kara Goucher on Alberto Salazar’s Ban: “I Feel at Peace” – Women’s Running
  *MB: Kara Goucher Speaks Out About Alberto and NOP!
• MB: Jessica Hull not leaving her coach or NOP She said on Instagram, “I am exactly where I need to be and I’m surrounded by the best people in every possible way, here’s to 2020!”
• Front Page Of Sports In Sunday’s NY Times: “For Salazar Whistle-Blowers, A Long Wait For A Satisfying Outcome” Being a whistleblower has taken an emotional, mental and even economic toll on Kara Goucher, Steve Magness and Danny Mackey, with Mackey saying the stress led to panic attacks and the breakup of his marriage.
• BBC Kara Goucher Calls for NOP To Be Shut Down And For All NOP Blood Samples To Be Retested, Including Her Own
• Daily Mail: It’s Ugly At Nike, They’re Heading For A Monumental Fall “There was a time, long before their visceral hatred of adidas fuelled a desire to become the biggest, brashest sports brand of all, when Nike had something resembling a soul.”
• The Oregonian: “Pursuing Alberto Salazar, USADA Found Itself Fighting Nike” One of the reasons the USADA investigation took so long is because Nike and Dr. Jeffrey Brown “dragged their feet, ignored subpoenas and … deadlines.” Article includes quotes from Adam Goucher, Nick Symmonds and Travis Tygart.
• Ken Goe: “Running Icon Alberto Salazar’s Fall From Grace Stirs Strong Emotions Across Track And Field” Galen Rupp and Luke Puskedra both spoke up in Salazar’s defense.
• British Milers Not Concerned About Racing Against Current And Former NOP Athletes Jake Wightman said, “All the guys that are part of it now, and especially Pete Julian, are completely fine. That’s the way I see it. It’s a new generation of athletes.”
• MB: Why isn’t Steve Magness Banned

Saturday At Worlds

LRC/RRW Ethiopia’s Lelisa Desisa Wins World Title And Says Bekele Can Go Sub-2 In The Marathon Desisa is the first man to ever win Boston, NY and Worlds.

LRC Final Sifan Hassan Completes Historic 10,000/1,500 Double In Style With A 3:51.95!!! Hassan completed an epic double with an epic front-run that resulted in a 3:51.95 win.

LRC Final Hellen Obiri Returns To Her Winning Ways, Defends 5,000 Title With 14:26.72 Championship Record Obiri hasn’t had the smoothest of seasons but she front-ran her way to gold tonight.

Doha MBoard Chatter

• MB: Official Doha WCs Day 9 (Saturday) Discussion Thread 
• Sifan Hassan = GOAT! 3:51.95 FROM THE FRONT!! 
• SHELBY MF HOULIHAN She smashed the American record but didn’t medal.
• Was Jenny Simpson herself actually a Dr. Brown patient? Jenny Simpson doesn’t deny that she too was a patient of Dr. Brown’s A source told us that Simpson, who has been very outspoken against the NOP this week, was once herself a patient of Dr. Brown and she didn’t deny it when we asked her about it.
• Simpson goes home devastated 
• Helen Obiri just destroyed the CR at 5000m – CLEAN! 
• Karissa Schweizer runs 14:52 – 7th all time in US history – IN THE HEATS 
• Sifan Hassan will make 1500M Final Fast & Hard! 
• Jama Aden athletes = dirty, Salazar athletes = clean