Valencia Is Here *Streaming info/Tracking / Results (Half 2:00am eastern Full 2:30am)

LRC Live Official Valencia Thread Weather is looking much better. 12-13 mph winds. 45 degrees

LRC 2020 Valencia Half Preview: Jacob Kiplimo Vs. Kibiwott Kandie, Round 3; Rhonex Kipruto, & Genzebe Dibaba Debut High winds may prevent the world records from falling, but the racing on Sunday in Valencia should be spectacular. Can Kiplimo close out a perfect 2020 with a win, or can Kenyans Kandie & Kipruto take him down?

LRC The Deepest Marathon EVER Is Sunday The depth in Valencia is ridiculous: 25 men under 2:08, 35 under 2:10, 44 under 2:12. Plus there are some real studs running, from 2:02 man Birhanu Legese and Boston/Chicago champ Lawrence Cherono to NYC champ Joyciline Jepkosgei and World Half champ Peres Jepchirchir.
*MB: Are you ready for the DEEPEST marathon EVER? Sunday’s Valencia Marathon is laughably good.

US Female Teen Phenoms – Past And Current

LRC Jordan Hasay Looking To Get Back On Track At Tomorrow’s Valencia Marathon The last 14 months have been tumultuous for Hasay, from losing coach Alberto Salazar to DNFing Chicago to finishing a hobbled 26th at the Olympic Trials. Find out here what new coach Paula Radcliffe is expecting from Hasay on Sunday.
*MB: What is Paula Radcliffe hoping to see from Jordan Hasay?

Big US HS Action

• LRC Sydney Thorvaldson (16:23) Defeats Brynn Brown (16:50) At High School Cross-Country National Invite In Lubbock, Texas 10th grader Tayson Echohawk won the boys race in 15:25.
• MB: Notre Dame commit Kate Wiser (17:25) crushes Charlotte Bednar (17:46) and Kate Wiser (17:59) at Holmdel’s East Coast Championships Nicholas Bendsten won the boys race in 15:40.

The Weekend Started Off With A Bang In Japan

10,000 Madness Takes Place At Japanese National Champs Hitomi Niiya ran 30:20.44 to get the women’s NR as expected but the men’s race was even crazier as not 1, not 2 but 3 men broke the NR, led by Akira Aizawa with 27:18.75.

• MB: Madness at Japanese nationals in 10,000. 3 men led by a 27:18 and 1 woman (30:20) break NRS
• MB: Japanese runner gets clotheslined by a steeple

The Great Fukuoka Marathon Is Sunday

• Brett Larner’s Fukuoka Marathon Preview: Soon-To-Be Defending Champ Taku Fujimoto, Who Recently Ran 60:06 For The Half, Appears To Be The Man To Beat That being said, the race includes 8 sub-2:08 men.
• 2018 Fukuoka Champ Yuma Hattori Withdraws From Fukuoka With Calf Pain He was going to target the 2:05:29 national record.

This Weekend’s US HS Action Is Insane

• LRC Sydney Thorvaldson And Brynn Brown Set To Square Off At High School Cross-Country National Invite Great match-up between Sydney Thorvaldson and Brynn Brown in Texas.
• Lubbock Christian HS Invite: Girls Preview And Box Assignments This is the unofficial girls national championship in our book – Sydney Thorvaldson, Brynn Brown and many more.
• Charlotte Bednar, Kate Wiser And Sydney Masciarelli Scheduled To Square Off At East Coast Cross-Country Championships At Holmdel
• Five Story Lines To Follow At AAU Cross-Country National Championships
• Cal Student Creates HS Track And Field Recruiting App Instead of writing the same email to a million coaches to see if you are a good fit, you can use this app. *Download It Here
• MB: Recruiting App for High School XC & Track Athletes

Random Distance News

• Cheptegei Says 5,000 WR Was His #1 Highlight In 2020 “The highlight of my year would have to be the 5,000m race in Monaco. I came to the race with so many people saying I wouldn’t be able to break the record.”
• Under Armour Releases New Track Spike Collection
• Illinois Ultrarunner Joe Miller Destroys FKT For Ozark Trail By Nearly A Day

This Week’s Pod

LRC Podcast: Valencia Marathon Preview, Fast Times In Delhi, Guest Nick Cordes On Thorvaldson Brown Showdown Get your latest running fix with the LetsRun.com Track Talk podcast

Random / Non-Distance News

• Gwen Berry Wins USATF’s Toyota Humanitarian Award, Insists US Can Do Better
  *MB: Gwen Berry wins humanitarian award and then states: “I can honestly say I’m not proud of things this country stands for.”
• Mondo Duplantis Receives The Prestigious Bragdguldet Award It’s given annually by a Swedish newspaper “for the most significant Swedish sports achievement of the year.” Mondo is the first athletics winner since 2005.
• A Look At All 30 Usain Bolt Covers In Athletics Weekly
• Scientific Study: 11 Minutes A Day Of Exercise May Be All You Need To Counteract Sitting All Day
• A Giraffe Is Picked As The First Mascot For The 2021 World Relays
• Interview With 100H WC Grant Holloway Holloway says the lack of competitions in 2020 was “definitely horrible.”

NCAA / HS News

• MAAC And Big East Join Ivy League In Cancelling Indoor Track
• Texas A&M Signs 13 Athletes From Class Of 2021 Distance recruits are highlighted by Bailey Goggans (2:04.70) and Kenyan Moitalep Mpoke (1:50.72) who is a community college transfer and NJCAA 600m and 800m champ.
• NY Times: The College Athletes Who Are Allowed To Make Big Bucks – Cheerleaders While top NCAA athletes aren’t able to get rich off their sport, because cheerleading isn’t governed by the NCAA, cheerleaders can sign lucrative endorsement deals.
• Return Of High School Sports In California Further Postponed; Rescheduled XC State Champs Cancelled