December 17, 2020 Homepage Archive

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Archived Homepage For December 17, 2020

Quote Of The Day

“Once, I was having lunch with an exceedingly important person in my life. Not in the world, but someone I desperately needed to impress in order to get something made and done, and I ducked out after 45 minutes because I wanted to watch a [Diamond League] 5,000 meters. I had my computer, and I was in a hotel, in the restaurant, and I went to basically, back by the men’s bathroom and hid out and watched the 5k…I will take extraordinary steps for track races.”

– Malcolm Gladwell talking to LetsRun.com about what a huge track fan he is.

Malcolm Gladwell Speaks

LRC Malcolm Gladwell Opens Up On His Love Of Running, Saving Track And Field, Nike, Alberto, Galen, Super Shoes, Doping And More In a wide-ranging conversation, Gladwell, who describes himself as a “serious mediocre” runner, doesn’t hold anything back and shares some strong opinions about doping, super shoes, Nike, and those in charge of the sport. A must listen/read.

GB Distance History

Good Read: AW:Eric Shirley’s Rise From Rags To Running Royalty The 1956 and 1960 Olympic steeplechaser is still putting up results today as a 91-year-old.
*MB: Great Story about English Olympic Steeplechaser Eric Shirley
AW:In Praise Of The European Cross Country Championships They take a look back at some highlights from past championships including Mo Farah and Paula Radcliffe.
Athletics Weekly Looks Back At Kelly Holmes’ “Dream Double” Gold At The 2004 Olympics

(Former) Collegiate News

South Carolina’s 2019 NCAA 400H Champ Quincy Hall Turns Pro Hall is giving up his final season of eligibility, but will continue to train with the South Carolina team for the 2021 season.
Former Stanford Track Captain LaShawndra Pace Is Now A Global Health Policy Expert And Part Of Joe Biden’s COVID-19 Task Force Pace was captain in 1999 and specialized in the 800 (2:09.22 PR) but competed from 400m up to 1500m.
Huntington University Coach Nicholas Johnson Arrested On Multiple Charges Of Child Seduction And Kidnaping Johnson was entering his third season in 2020 as the head men’s and women’s cross XC coach at the NAIA school.
*MB: Huntington Uni drama
Group Of Athletes From Historically Black Colleges And Universities Have Filed A Lawsuit Against The NCAA For Its Academic Standard Requirements One of the athletes said, “All schools are not created equal. So how you going to hold every school to the same standard …”

Tokyo 2020 News

Tokyo Governor Says There Are “No Circumstances” Under Which The Olympic Will Be Cancelled “Citizens of the world are seeing the Tokyo Games as a symbol that humanity will have defeated the coronavirus, that will lead to the Beijing Winter Games and then the Paris Games after that.”
New Survey Says A Third Of Japanese Residents Want Tokyo 2020 Scrapped Due To Fear Of Foreigners Causing COVID Spike
Social Distancing And Online Streaming Part Of The Plans For Postponed Tokyo 2020 Torch Relay

USATF News

Rundown Of How The Voting Went At The USATF Annual Meeting For better or worse, it looks like the USATF voting members have called USOPC’s bluff as the more controversial amendments USOPC was trying to force on USATF by threatening decertification, did not pass.
*MB Archive: Becca Peter is here to answer your questions on USATF Annual Meeting and why you should vote no on giving the Board more power
RRW:World Athletics Gave Member Federations Flexibility On New Shoe Rules Which Created Some Confusion For USATF Athletes Just another example how the new shoes and the illogical rules surrounding them are a disaster. By applying rules inconsistently (allowing shoes on the road, but not the track) and allowing federations to apply the rules at their own discretion, World Athletics has created a situation where a track mark could count as a national record, but not count be legal as an Olympic qualifying mark.

Give The Gift Of LetsRun.com This Holiday Season

Links Maybe Worth A Read

Many Kenyans Are Outraged After Eliud Kipchoge Is Referred To As “Fitness Influencer” He was nominated as a fitness influence for the upcoming Africa Digital Influencer Awards.
James Li Unretires And Takes New Job As Marathon Coach For E-House Marathon Club In Shanghai
MB: Interesting column by A. Abrahamson. Does anyone in the US realize the world that may not want to listen to our protests?
Athletics Weekly Takes A Look Back At Coe Vs. Ovett In 1980

Have You Purchased Your LetsRun T-Shirt Yet?

LRC The Softest T-Shirt You’ll Ever Wear Is Here For the first time in history, you can now sport the iconic look of the original LetsRun.com singlet or get one of our 1:59:40 or 1:59:40* t-shirts.

Marathon Project Is Sunday

LRC Will Sara Hall Break Deena Kastor’s 2:19:36 AR In The Marathon On Sunday? Her Coach/Husband Ryan Hall Says Sara’s Training “Has Gone Phenomenal” Let this serve as your official American record alert. While Ryan refused to call it an American record attempt, he said he’d like to see Sara go out in 69:40 so we’ll let you do the math. “This has been the fittest I’ve ever seen her. Every buildup she gets better and better,” said Ryan.

LRC Women’s Marathon Project Preview: Will Anyone Go With Sara Hall? How Fast Will Keira D’Amato Run? Hall is planning on running the first half in 69:40, while the next group is slated to hit halfway in 71:30. Kellyn Taylor, Stephanie Bruce, Emma Bates and D’Amato are among the US stars chasing PRs in the desert.

LRC Men’s Marathon Project Preview: With a Fast Course & Perfect Conditions, Will Sunday Be a Historic Day for US Marathoning? There have only been six races in history in which multiple Americans have broken 2:10 (the record is four guys under 2:10), but we could see as many as half a dozen Americans break the barrier in Arizona.
*MB: Marathon Project predictions

More Distance News

Athletics Weekly Video Interview With Sam Atkin After His Major 27:26.58 Breakthrough Atkins talks about starting the race as a pacemaker, his goals for next year and his twin sister being Miss Great Britain.
*MB: Sam Atkin is officially everyone’s hero. After his 13:18/27:26 double, it’s revealed his twin sis is Miss Great Britain (pics)
DyeStat Lengthy Video Interview With USA XC Champ Natosha Rogers Rogers talks about having a near-death experience when strong winds knocked a 500-pound chest into the pool she was swimming only missing her by inches.
Italy’s Giovanna Epis Secured Olympic Qualifying Mark With 2:28:03 PB To Win Italian Championships
AW Weekly Round-Up: Ian Crowe-Wright (14:23) And Izzy Fry (16:24) Win PB 5km Winter Series

Jamaican Sprint Stuff

Usain Bolt Says That Raising A Child Is Teaching Him The Patience He Would Need To Become A Coach “You will get athletes and you will have to tell them the same things over and over and over again. I wasn’t one of those athletes, but it’s hard for a coach. I’m not going to say that I made it easy for my coach. He had to shout at me at times.”
Yohan Blake Still Wants Olympic Gold “I always said that this is going to be my last Olympics because to wait every four years, it is not easy.”
Briana Williams Will Make Her Season Debut This Weekend In The Bahamas She will compete in the 150m and 300m. Yohan Blake will be at the meet as well.

Olympic Protest Debate

InsideTheGames: “Who decides what protests are allowed if Rule 50 is removed?” Obviously athletes from different countries and cultures are going to have different views on what is appropriate.
The Telegraph: “Ban On Olympians Taking The Knee Prevents Division Of Athlete Community”

US Distance News

Athletics Illustrated Interview With Scott Fauble Ahead Of The Marathon Project Fauble talks about his start in running, his disappointing race at the Olympic Trials and thoughts ahead of this weekend’s race.
*MB: New Scott Fauble interview
Outside Magazine:Scott Fauble Seeks Redemption at the Marathon Project “I’d like to win. Pretty simple. I think the time, like everything else, will fall into place if I can be at the front and compete for the win.”
Women’s Running Q&A With Rachel Schneider About Moving Up In Distance Schneider made her 10,000m debut two weekends ago in California with a 31:09.79 victory. She now has the Olympic standards for 1,500m, 5,000m and 10,000m.
The Marathon Project Announces Brooks As Official Sponsor

Jenna Hutchins Runs 15:34 *Watch Hutchins 5k Record

LRC Jenna Hutchins Runs 15:34.47 To Break US Girls High School 5,000 Record Hutchins broke Katelyn Tuohy‘s 15:37.12 mark by leading the entire last 8 laps. *Replay
*MB:Jenna Hutchins Runs 15:34 at Five and Dime To Break Katelyn Tuohy’s 5000 US HS National Record

MB: Shea Foster of SELU goes from 15:00 5k to 28:40 10k in 9 months?!

More Results From Youngsters

HS Junior Reinhardt Harrison Of Tinman Junior Elite Runs 4:05.70 Mile Rojo is trying to figure out why he’s running a mile in December.
College Soph Emma Wilson Of Huntington (NAIA) Runs 32:38 10,000
2-Time CA State XC Champ Riley Chamberlain Runs 10:24 3,200

Low Key Results

MB:Des Linden Runs 1:15:25, Only Third Woman At The Mississippi Gulf Coast Marathon Makena Morley was the first woman in 1:12:15.
Day 1 Recap:USATF National Junior Olympic Cross-Country Championships *Day 2 Recap
JRN:Rika Kaseda And Shoya Kawase Break Stage Records At Tokai Region University Ekiden
Amelia Quirk And Ross Millington Win Podium XC Meet In North-West England

Protect Women’s Sports

Former US Presidential Candidate Tulsi Gabbard Introduces Bill That Would Ban Biological Men From Women’s Sports The “Protect Women’s Sports Act” would dictate that Title IX protections for female athletes be based on biological sex rather than identity. *Discuss
New Research Finds That Taking Testosterone Blockers Only Minimally Reduces The Biological Advantage For Transgender Women

Other News

No Spectators Will Be Allowed At NCAA Indoor Championships At The University Of Arkansas Same goes for the NCAA XC Championships scheduled for March 15th in Oklahoma.
World Athletics Profile:How Three Different Sports Helped KC Lightfoot Become A Top Pole Vaulter The USA Champs 3rd placer credits dirt biking, baseball and cliff/bridge jumping to helping him in the PV.
European Athletics Launches Six Part Documentary Mini-Series “My Story” Five of the episodes will be on Mondo Duplantis, Karsten Warholm, Nafissatou Thiam, Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Sandra Perkovic (sixth episode is TBD).
*Episode 1 (4 Minute Video):Duplantis: “I want to be the best to ever live”
Year In Review: 2020 World Athletics Continental Tour

Updates From Asia / Middle East

Former World Athletics Council Member Ahmad Al Kamali Banned For Six Months And Fined $6,000 For Gifting Watches 1984 Olympic 5,000m champion Said Aouita claimed they were Rolexes, but Al Kamali claimed, and the AIU seemed to confirm, the watches were only worth $40-50.
Japan Olympic Marathon Trials Winner Shogo Nakamura Announces He’s Racing The Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon On February 28
Two-Time World HJ Champ Mutaz Essa Barshim Backs Doha For Bid For 2030 Asian Games

LetsBobsled.com

Good Read:“Broken Leg” Sprinter Manteo Mitchell Is Now A Bobsledder Olympic 4 x 400 silver medalist Mitchell is famous for breaking his fibula during the 2012 Olympic prelims. He hasn’t given up on Tokyo 2020, but is also looking to Beijing 2022 as a bobsledder.
Former GB Sprinter James Dasaolu Made His Bobsled World Cup Debut Last Weekend Dasaolu is #2 on the British all-time list with a 9.91 PR from 2013.

Doping News

Seb Coe Says He’s Not Sure Russian Doping Issue Can Be Resolved In The “Near Future” I hope it in the foreseeable future, I am not sure, I will use the word ‘near.'”
Ukrainian 2:27 Marathoner Viktoriya Khapilina Gets Doping Ban
To No One’s Surprise:WADA Data Shows Russian Athletes Were Responsible For The Most Anti-Doping Rules Violations In 2018 Russian athletes had 144 violations ahead of 132 for Italians and 114 for France.
Eight Russian Track Athletes Included In World Athletics’ 2021 Doping Pool Includes world champions Maria Lasitske (HJ) and Anzhelika Sidorova (PV).
RUSADA Appoints New Supervisory Board To Comply With Updated WADA Code

More Distance News

Runner’s World Picks Their Most Iconic American Races You Should Add To Your Bucket List With 34 races, this is definitely a pretty solid list.
Scottish Distance Runner Sarah Inglis Talks Ahead Of Her Marathon Debut At The Marathon Project In Arizona Inglis is a PE teacher living in Canada and jokes that half her kids can’t understand her because of her strong Scottish accent.
Kinda Lame:Jake Smith Broke Steve Jones’s 34-Year-Old Welsh Half Marathon Record “After Only Being Welsh For Four Days” … And then switched allegiance to England.
Athletics Weekly Looks Back At Roger Bannister’s First Sub-Four Mile Talking about the moment he broke the barrier, in his auto-biography Bannister said, “I felt like an exploded flashlight with no will to live; I went on existing in the most passive physical state without being quite unconscious.”
Joshua Cheptegei’s 10,000m WR (26:11.00) And Letesenbet Gidey’s 5,000m WR (14:06.62) Are Ratified By World Athletics
MileSplit:RIP Colorado Legend Rich Martinez, 57 Martinez still holds the official Colorado high school 1,600m record of 4:10.98 from 1981 (although it has been broken unofficially by Cole Sprout and Cruz Culpepper).

COVID Stuff

New York Cancels High School Indoor Champs Due To Coronavirus
Reuters:COVID-10 Leaves Sporting Holes That Will Never Be Filled There will forever remain some blank spaces on the wall for 2020.
NY Times Writer Argues That College Athletes Getting COVID “Proves That They Are Workers” The debate over paying college athletes is one thing, but this writer gets a little dramatic when he says, “Collegiate athletes are now pawns in a high-stakes game with life and death consequences.”
NY Times: “College Sports Has Reported at Least 6,629 Virus Cases. There Are Many More.” The NY Times says many universities have kept their case counts from the public.

Vaccine / Tokyo News

Seb Coe Says Athletes Shouldn’t Get Priority For COVID Vaccine And Need To Take Their Place In Line Coe was also very complimentary of Japan’s response to Olympic postponement, saying he “wakes up grateful that it’s the Japanese who are dealing with this.”
WADA Tries To Calm Concerns From Athletes Over Coronavirus Vaccine WADA has insisted that “there is no reason to believe” the vaccine would cause drug test failures.
Seb Coe Says He’s Confident The Tokyo Olympics Will Happen “The games will go ahead. Under different circumstances, under stressful conditions, but the games, I think, will go ahead.”