Random But Interesting

• Recommended Read: A carbon-fiber shoe prototype roundup A look at how New Balance, Asics, Saucony and Brooks are responding to the Vaporflys.
• New Paris 2024 Logo Is Unveiled. Some Think It Sexually Objectifies Women? (Pic)
  *Others think the haircut looks like Rachel’s in “Friends.”
• Jared Ward Will Appear On Shark Tank On Sunday To Pitch His MyoStorm Meteor Storm Massage Ball
• Kenyan Sports Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed defends herself after netball team was stranded in South Africa “We were number two (in Doha) and that is what we should be celebrating-– that we’re a sporting nation like no other in the continent.”

American Distance News

• Craig Engels Raves About Pete Julian and Sifan Hassan
  *MB: Craig Engels on his social life: “I love to go on weekend trips, I like to party and everything.” 
• Recommended Read Profile of Maggie Guterl – the first women to win Big’s Backyard Ultra She did 250 miles to get the win.
• Nine Quick Questions with Bryce Hoppel Hoppel shares how he get involved in the sport, his favorite college race (Big 12 DMR), and how he texts Jim Ryun.
• Dathan Ritzenhein: How I Coached Parker Stinson To A 2:10 Marathon PB No mention of the experimental Saucony shoes, which is understandable as Ritz is a Brooks athlete.
• Karissa Schweizer Q&A with hometown paper She thinks she could run 30-40 miles without stopping and says if she played football, she’d want to be a QB.
• Magda Boulet comes up short in Tahoe Rim Trail FKT attempt It took her 50 hours and 40 minutes when the record is  47 hours and 29 minutes.

News from Britain Eilish McColgan and Michael Rimmer involved in serious car crash in India Neither was seriously hurt but the other driver was hurt badly and chaos ensued with death threats. *Facebook post

NOP-Related News

• Craig Engels Defends Sifan Hassan He thinks she’s clean and says he’s drug tested all the time.
  *MB: Craig Engels on Hassan: “I’ll defend her to the death..She is the hardest worker I’ve ever seen in this sport.”
• Salazar Told Me He Never Cheated. In His Mind, He’s Telling the Truth This is from John Brant, who wrote two books with Salazar and has a second title of “Why I Still Have Faith In Alberto Salazar.” That being said, Brant writes, “A banned substance is a banned substance, and Alberto was a fool for messing with them at all. He tried to use the letter of the law as a shield, and it’s fitting that USADA chief Travis Tygart employed the letter of the law – evidence of mostly technical infractions – to bring him down.”

• Jessica Hull Says Pete Julian’s Group Won’t Rebrand Until 2021 “For the next 12 months we’re just going to be a regular Nike group. In that time period we’re going to rebrand, we’ll have a new name and a new logo that will be ready for 2021.”
• Ireland’s 1,500 Finalist Ciara Mageean Hails USADA Probe Into Disgraced Coach Alberto Salazar “I’ve never been (drug) tested so much in my life. But a clean athlete wants to get tested.”
• Mageean was drug tested at her boyfriend’s house the day his grandmother was buried
• Ciara Mageean – “I’ll Never Get To 3:51 As A Clean Athlete”
• Breaking Sonia O’Sullivan’s 24-Year-Old Irish 1,500m Record Of 3:58:85 Is Now One Of Ciara Mageean’s Biggest Goals

High School News

• Ohio High School XC Runner DQed Because She Didn’t Have A Waiver To Wear A Hijab Ohio has a rule that bans most head coverings and caps, but there is an exception for religious reasons if you get a waiver ahead of time. Officials are saying they are considering changing the rules to not require a waiver.
  *MB: High school athlete disqualified at cross-country meet for wearing hijab
• MileSplit: “Muslim Runner In Ohio Reflects On The Impact Of Race DQ” The author is making this out to be about religion and “discrimination,” but let’s be real. This is about ridiculous high school uniform rules that need to be wiped from the book. Girls have been DQed from state meets for wearing a hair tie on their wrist. A quick search of our message boards will show you this issue is nothing new:
  • MB: Isn’t it time they burned the hs rulebook and started over?
  • MB: Another idiotic HS rule
  • MB: Pole Vaulter DQ’d for wearing bracelet
  • MB: HS 3200m runner DQed for covering up jewelry
  • MB: disqualifications for livestrong bands
  • MB: High School Uniform Policy
  • MB: Disqualification over shorts?
  • MB: MD XC kid dq’d for shorts – RAMPAGE!!!
  • MB: Who is right? The uniform rule….
  • MB: Incongruent Uniform rant
  • MB: Alaska High School Swimmer DQ’d for having her uniform be too revealing.
• MB: Many Staten Islanders are irate that a Manhattanite will run for them in Foot Locker 5-Borough NYC Challenge

Assorted US Distance News

• Recommended Read: Chris Chavez Does An “Exit Interview” With Shalane Flanagan On what she’ll miss most: “I think there’s this wonderful state of bliss and fatigue that is unlike anything when you’re in hard training. It’s almost this serene state that you get – almost zen – where you’re so tired, but it’s a happy tired.”
• Carrie Tollefson Does Podcast Interview With Des Linden They talk about whiskey, Des’s desire to move to the trails, and her training for the NYC Marathon.
• 7 Quick Questions With BTC’s Kate Grace Grace talks about how she got into the sport and her most memorable running experiences.
• The Best Moments From The 2019 Bring Back The Mile Tour
• Canadian Running Magazine: “Five Times Shalane Flanagan Was Your Running Hero”

More LetsRun.com Content

LRC Who Is The GOAT Of US Women’s Distance Running: Shalane Flanagan Or Deena Kastor? Or Someone Else? Their resumes are very similar – both had significant achievements in track, XC and the marathon – but should Kastor get the edge considering she won 2 marathon majors and her 2:19:36 American record still stands?
*MB: Who had the better career – Deena Kastor or Shalane Flanagan? 

Week That Was Leonard Korir Runs 2:07, Unknown Canadian Runs 2:09, Plus Fast Times In Toronto And Delhi Leonard Korir was only 11th in Amsterdam but he now is looking like a strong bet for the US Olympic team + fast times in Toronto and New Delhi.

NOP Update

The Oregonian: NOP Athletes Will Stay Together And Continue Working With Coach Pete Julian This is for the seven athletes who were already coached by him – Donavan Brazier, Konstanze Klosterhalfen, Craig Engels, Jessica Hull, Eric Jenkins, Suguru Osako and Shannon Rowbury. No word yet what the athletes coached by Alberto Salazar (Galen Rupp, Clayton Murphy, Sifan Hassan, Jordan Hasay and Yomif Kejelcha) will do.
*MB: Pete Julian Coached Athletes Will Stick Together in New Training Group – Ken Goe

Nike-Related News

• Amby Burfoot For The NY Times: Those Superfast Nike Shoes Are Creating A Problem Biomechanics doctoral candidate Geoffrey Burns is arguing to restrict midsole thickness. “My fear is, if we don’t do this, in a few years we might end up with footwear that we don’t even recognize as shoes.” *Discuss
• Recommended Read: The Guardian’s Sean Ingle: “No Record Is Safe With IAAF Poised To Allow Arms Race In Shoes To Run And Run” Ingle’s sources say that the IAAF’s technological committee is going to clear the Nike Next% and even go so far to say any shoe should be legal as long as it gives no “motor assistance.”
• NIKE CEO Mark Parker To Step Down; Former Ebay CEO John Donahoe Set To Be His Replacement Parker had been CEO since he took over from Phil Knight in 2006. He says that Nike’s board has spent “many months working on succession planning” and that this wasn’t prompted by Alberto Salazar‘s doping ban.
  *MB: Nike ceo resignation
• The Oregonian Article On Mark Parker Calling It Quits Includes a rundown of some of the Nike controversies that happened under Parker’s tenure.
• MB: 2 Questions on Mark Parker: How good a runner was he? +Anyone else think his wording on doping experiments was really weird?
• BBC: Mark Parker To Leave Role After Oregon Project Is Closed Down
• Video: Paula Radcliffe Says There Is No Evidence NOP Athletes Were Doping And She Was Trying To Defend Them With Her Comments *Discuss
• The Telegraph: Paula Radcliffe Defends Her Views: “I have seen no evidence against any of Alberto Salazar’s athletes.” Radcliffe has been catching flak since she made light of the initial announcement on Alberto Salazar’s suspension. People feel she is showing bias as a Nike athlete and since her husband coaches Mo Farah.

An All-Time Great Hangs ‘Em Up

LRC Shalane Flanagan Retires: Is She The US GOAT? + Top 5 Moments In Her Career Flanagan may not have been the greatest track, XC or marathon runner in US history, but if you take all three together – is the she the US women’s distance GOAT? *Discuss: Flanagan Retires

• Fellow Pros React To Shalane Flanagan’s Retirement Includes posts from Meb Keflezighi, Kara Goucher, Paula Radcliffe, Emma Coburn and others.
• Shalane Flanagan’s Career In Photos
• Runner’s World Article On Shalane Flanagan’s Retirement *AP Article
• Shalane Flanagan Joins 2019 TCS New York City Marathon Broadcast Team