Book Review

LRC “From Coal Mine to Finish Line” by James McLatchie McLatchie, one of eight siblings who grew up in a one-room house in Scotland, has lived a very interesting life and spent a lifetime in running, from winning age-group titles as a boy in Scotland, to beating Jim Ryun in the mile, to coaching Olympians. Most recently, at age 77, he and his wife coached a team to the NXN high school national title in the US. That being said, the book isn’t our favorite but maybe worth a purchase for high school coaches as he shares his entire final month of training prior to NXN. *Purchase here

Caster Semenya Loses Her Appeal

MB: Caster Semenya Loses Her Appeal She won’t be able to compete in women’s 800 in Tokyo w/o suppressing testosterone.

• The Telegraph: Caster Semenya Loses Latest Round Of Legal Battle Against Rules To Limit Female Athletes’ Testosterone Levels Semenya said: “I am very disappointed by this ruling, but refuse to let World Athletics drug me or stop me from being who I am.”
• World Athletics Statement On Semenya Decision “For the last five years World Athletics has fought for and defended equal rights and opportunities for all women and girls in our sport today and in the future. We therefore welcome today’s decision…
• The Swiss Federal Tribunal Said “Fairness in sport is a legitimate concern and forms a central principle of sporting competition. It is one of the pillars on which competition is based.”

We Worked On Labor Day – Did You?

LRC Track Is Back, Baby! Molly Huddle And Eric Jenkins Win At LRC’s First Track Meet In 7 Months On Labor Day, there was no day off for LetsRun.com staffer Jonathan Gault as he attended his first track meet during the Covid-19 era. Molly Huddle and Eric Jenkins shined the brightest at the Forward Spine & Sport Labor Day Showdown with Jenkins declaring he’s confident heading into 2021. “I’m 100% and I’m very confident of where I’ll be able to end up,” Jenkins said.

Running Can Be Dangerous

• Crazy Survival Story: College Runner Spends The Night Hiding In A Tree To Escape A Charging Bear Rachel Smith estimates she was chased by the mama bear for 5 miles through the upstate NY wilderness before finding a small tree to climb which the bear was too big to get up.
• We Wish Him A Speedy Recovery: Former Comrades Marathons Champion Nick Bester Recovering After Being Attacked While Running On Trail In South Africa Three men snuck up on him, beat him with rocks, stole his clothes and tied his hands together. He suffered multiple broken bones and cuts all over his body. The picture of Bester’s injuries is genuinely disturbing.

British Champs *Results

• Daniel Rowden Upsets Jake Wightman To Win British 800m Title In 1:45.94 It was the fastest winning time at the British Championships since 1992. 18-year-old Keely Hodgkinson won the women’s race in 2:03.24.
• Hannah Williams Succeeds Sister Jodie To Take UK 200m Crown In 23.83
• Holly Bradshaw Dedicates UK Pole Vault Gold To Her Late Grandfather Who Passed Away Just A Few Hours Before She Competed
• Marc Scott (5,000m – 13:32.98) And Laura Weightman (1,500m – 4:09.76) Win British Titles Morgan Lake claimed her fifth successive HJ title on countback (1.80m) and Holly Bradshaw won her eighth PV title with 4.35m.
• Athletics Weekly: Harry Aikines-Aryeetey Strikes British Championships 100m Gold At Last 32-year-old Aikines-Aryeetey ran 10.35 to finally win gold in his 12th appearance at British Champs. “I have won and I am British champion, for the first time after all these years. It bodes well for next year. I am very stubborn, I am not going away.”
• Imani-Lara Lansiquot Claims Her First British Title With 11.26 In The Women’s 100m Jessica Judd took the 5,000m in 15:37.52, Jazmin Sawyers the LJ in 6.69m, and Cindy Ofili defended her 100H title just beating out 17-year-old Lucy-Jane Matthews by .04.
• AW: Harry Coppel Wins British Champs Pole Vault With National Record Of 5.85m

NN Valencia World Record Day Is October 7

LRC Emergency Podcast On Joshua Cheptegei World Record Attempt With His Agent Jurrie van der Velden This is the type of bonus content normally available to LRC Supporters Club members. If you’re not a member yet, join by Labor Day and get a free 1:59:40 GOAT shirt. Click here to join.
*Video (Supporter’s Club Only): Zoom w/ Joshua Cheptegei’s Agent Jurrie van der Velden on 10,000m World Record Attempt Valencia

LRC Joshua Cheptegei Will Make 10,000m World Record Attempt In Valencia On October 7 Can he do it? We analyze his chances for you in GREAT detail.
*MB: Cheptegei to attack 10000m W.R in Valencia (Spain) 7th of October.
*MB: CHEPTEGEI – SUB 26MIN 10K

Previous British Champs News

• Jake Wightman Defends Big Names For Skipping British Champs “Everyone has got their own plans and there have been so few races this year. If you have committed to one and you want to try and run a fast time then that is what you have to do.”
• BBC: Five Events To Watch At British Athletics Championships Jake Wightman is in the 800m against Daniel Rowden (1:44.74 this year); unfortunately teenage stud Max Burgin pulled out with injury.
• Jake Wightman’s Father Geoff Is Doing The Stadium Commentary For The Closed Doors British Champs Jake Wightman said, “Dad’s always played it straight down the line when I’m running. He doesn’t give me any special treatment. If it did, it would be a bit embarrassing.”
• Harry Coppel Sets New British Pole Vault Record Of 5.85m At British Champs
• British Racewalker Tom Bosworth Rules Out Competing This Season After Long-Lasting Effects Of Coronavirus He said he was in the “form of his life” before COVID, but now “even gardening” was making him out of breath.
• Jake Wightman Looking Forward To “Testing Himself Over 800m” At British Champs

LRC Normal Weekly Podcast

LRC Podcast: Guest Peter Walsh Talks Coogan’s Closing And Its Multimillion Facebook Ad + King Ches’s Pro Career + Kosgei, Hassan, Farah In Brussels

Interesting / Bizarre Distance News

• New Zealand Olympian Robbie Johnston DQed After Winning NZ Masters XC Race For Spitting In An “Offensive Manner” During The Race Johnston said he received no warning and was the only person to be DQed even though others received warnings. He said, “I thought it was a bit of overkill to be fair – to be making an example of someone.”
  *MB: Olympian DQd after winning NZ XC race for spitting in an ‘offensive manner’ during the race
• Norway’s Sondre Nordstad Moen Will Miss The Brussels DL One-Hour Race Because Of New World Athletics Shoe Regulations Moen says he had to pull out because of the pain he gets when wearing shoes that fall under the World Athletics track shoe regulations (maximum sole height of 25mm). Moen: “In simple terms, I need more support and cushioning if I’m to race more than a few kilometers on the track as I have had a history of foot injuries.”
• World Athletics: Looking Back At The 11 Men Who Have Held The One-Hour World Record The first record dates back to 1904.
• Virtual London Marathon Sells Out 45,000 runners signed up to run the race virtually on October 4.