Avila upset Craig Engels and Clayton Murphy. Schneider held off Shannon Osika as Alexa Efraimson was 10th.
Discuss: Jeff Thies goes out in :54 at USATF Road Mile
Archived Homepage For April 22, 2021
Archived Homepage For April 22, 2021
US 1 Mile Road Champs
Since Oregon officials are about as worried about Covid as one possibly can be, the local organizers feel its best to star the ticketing process entirely over.
Reads We Enjoyed
- 2:30 marathoner Becky Wade writes about 3 minset shifts she learned from training in Ethiopia Many of the Ethiopians followed the Letsrun mantra - run slow on your easy days. "The seriousness with which my Ethiopian training partners took their recovery was impressive."
- Toni Reavis writes about race and coming back from injury after the Chauvin guilty verdicts
- Matt Fitzgerald writes about mental fitness and recalls when Callum Hawkins collapsed at the Commonwealth Games and woke up and blurted out, "Did I win?" Fitzgerald, on the other hand, admits he faked an injury once to drop out of a 2-mile in high school.
- The BBC Devotes 3,000+ Words To The Big Dog's Backyard Ultra: "The toughest, weirdest race you've never heard of" We've heard of it and love it. Let's just hope this year's event doesn't have a controversial finish like the virtual edition did last year.
- Meet DIII superstar Favor Ezewuzie of Wheaton who had never done track before college She asked to try out and the coach begrudgingly let her try out and he was blown away, “I looked at my watch and I literally started laughing out loud because she had run basically as fast as anyone I had ever coached."
On The Boards
On The Boards
The Oregon Relays look great
The first pro meet at the new Hayward Field will be great - Raevyn Rogers vs Jemma Reekie and Melissa Bishop at 800, Laura Muir vs Jenny Simpson at 1500 and a men's 1500 with Donavan Brazier, Ollie Hoare, Bryce Hoppel, Justy Knight and much more.
Quote Of The Day
Quote Of The Day
Non-Distance News
- Two days after naming team, Jamaica withdraws from World Relays due to Covid-19 logistical problems Elaine Thompson-Herah is disappointed but understands.
- Gambling firm Odibets gives Kenya's 10.01 sprinter 1.5 million shillings ($13,831) to help him train Under current Kenyan rules, Ferdinand Omanyala is ineligible for the Olympics due to a past doping conviction.
- Can genetic tests be used to identify top athletes at an early age? “It’s interesting how many normal people had genetic profiles that suggested they were more talented than the elite athletes...On the surface it suggests you can’t use genetic testing for talent identification."
Women's Distance News
O'Sullivan described the role as “exciting and challenging” and said she's looking forward to the chance to “have some purpose again in big time athletics”.
*LRC Archives: 2015: Sonia O’Sullivan Shares Her Training Log With LetsRun.com – How Did The Villanova Grad Win The World Cross-Country Title (Twice) In 1998?
- Recommended Read: T&F News Catches Up With Jenny Simpson After Going Her Longest Stint Ever Without Racing Simpson hasn't raced since February 2020 and says she took last summer to "be kind of a normal person." She's keeping her options open, but it sounds like she'll be going for the 1500 rather than the 5000 at the Trials.
- Ten Years Having Passed, Norway Celebrates The Legacy Of Grete Waitz
Assorted Distance News
The article includes a chart listing all the head-to-head matchups the two all-time greats had throughout their career.
- Good Read: Oregon Distance Runner Matt Wisner Gives An Athlete's Perspective On What It's Like Training And Racing At Hayward Field Wisner talks about winning the non-invitational heat of the 1500m at the Hayward Premiere and how he didn't know about the tradition of taking a victory lap.
- Sam Tanner Talks About His Background In Surfing And How His High School Coach Even Used To Supplement His Running Training With Surfing When Tanner first started looking at colleges, he looked into the University of Hawaii, but they only had a women's track team.
Sam Tanner "Couldn't Be More Stoked" After Selection To New Zealand Olympic Team Nick Willis, someone Tanner calls his "running hero," was also selected for his fifth Olympic Games. - Entries For The Oregon Relays On Friday *MB: Kiptoo/Kurgat vs Hocker/Teare in Loaded Men's 5k @ Oregon Relays (4/23)
- Marc Scott Among Those Set To Compete At The Manchester Invitational On May 27
World Relays Are May 1-2
Team USA topped the medal tables at the previous four editions but won't be there in 2021. Will the US men manage to find a way to DNF the 4 x 100 at the Olympics for a 4th straight Games as a result?
Admin News
- UK Athletics And Diamond League Reject Request To Shift Anniversary Games From London Stadium There was a proposal to shift it to a new location because of the high $4.2 million cost of refitting it from soccer to track for just one event (normally there would be a whole summer of events if it weren't for COVID).
*Evening Standard Article On The Original Proposal - World Athletics Opens Process For Future Championships Bids
Sponsorship / Shoe Company News
- MB: Colleen Quigley to Lululemon? She made an Instagram post mentioning "a sponsor" while wearing Lululemon pants.
- NCAA Indoor Pole Vault Record Holder KC Lightfoot Now Sponsored By PUMA
- New Under Armour Headquarters In Baltimore To Include An Outdoor Track
Olympic News
- Olympic Games to maintain rules barring athlete protests after survey reveals 67% of athletes don't want to see Olympic turn into a personal political show
- Decision On Local Spectators At The Olympics May Not Come Until June
- Japanese TV muted sound of protesters at Torch Relay
- The Telegraph Writer Bashes IOC Over Olympic Host Selection Practices Going Back To The First Modern Olympics In 1896
- Germany Tokyo 2020 Teams Offered COVID Vaccines Before Games
- Tokyo 2020 And Rule 50 Set To Headline Wednesday's IOC Executive Board Meeting
Doping News
- Long Analysis Of Italian Race Walker Alex Schwazer's Doping Case In February an Italian judge dismissed criminal doping charges against Schwazer, a move that was condemned by WADA.
- Czech Race Walker Anezka Drahotová Fails Doping Test Not surprisingly, she also competes in cycling.
- This Doesn't Sound Like A Good Thing: Size Of Anti-Doping Team At Tokyo 2020 Reduced Due To COVID The International Testing Agency director said the "core" team will be maintained.
- Institute of National Anti-Doping Organization Proposes Three Key Reforms For WADA The suggestions seem to center around removing conflicts of interest for WADA members and experts.
Week That Was
Is Eliud Kipchoge's 2:04:30 win a sign he's back or does it mean he's vulnerable? Plus learn about the Furman runner who ran the 1st and last legs of a relay.
Shipping Up To Boston
Linden, the 2018 champion, will return for her eighth Boston Marathon on October 11. "I definitely miss racing the distance, and more importantly the big city marathons and the crowds and all of that," she said. Meanwhile, race organizers are more and more confident the race will be held.
Animals On The Track
- Funny Video: Dog Runs Down Leader And Wins High School Track Race We love how the crowd is totally rooting for the dog to win.
- Alligator Interrupts High School Track Practice In Florida
Assorted Distance News
Craig Engels, Clayton Murphy and Ryan Hill are in the men's field while the women have Heather Kampf, Alexas Efraimson and Rachel Schneider.
- Shanghai Half Marathon Ditches Plans To Give Runners With Adidas-Branded T-Shirts Because Of Comments Adidas Made About Not Using Cotton From Xinjiang
- AW Weekend Round-Up: Burundi’s Thierry Ndikumwenayo And Ethiopia's Likina Amebach Win Almond Blossom XC Race In Portugal
- Fernando Daniel Martinez Estrada (13:30.71) And Makenna Myler (15:45.48) Win 5000m Races At Bryan Clay Invy
Post Weekend NCAA / HS News
- James Young Just Misses Division II 1500m Record With 3:37.72 Win At Bryan Clay Invy The record is 3:37.35 from 2018. Pro Grace Barnett won the women's race in 4:06.95.
- High Schooler Mia Barnett Runs 9:52.23 For 3200m At Laguna Beach Distance Carnival Moves her to #6 on the prep all-time outdoor list (#13 on the 3200/2 mile combined list). Dalia Frias won the girls' 1600 in 4:48.75.
- LSU Men Remain #1 In Updated NCAA Rankings; Southern California Moves To #2 Florida and BYU are ranked 3-4.
- LSU Women Maintain Top Rank As Arkansas Jumps To #2 Spot Southern California and Texas A&M are ranked 3-4.
- Event-By-Event Top-10 NCAA Marks From Last Week
Kipchoge Is BAAACK
Eliud Kipchoge pulled away from John Korir after 20 miles to comfortably get the win and show he is the marathon favorite heading into the Tokyo Olympics.
A Fantastic Race - Watch Now
Her incredible 2021 continues. She crushed NCAA indoor record holder and indoor champ Aaliyah Miller by 3 seconds. Raevyn Rogers had the old outdoor record of 1:59.10.
*Discuss
NCAA Action
Tuohy finished 3rd at the Virginia Challenge as her teammate Hannah Steelman won the race in 15:30.87.
*Results Wake Forest's Zach Facioni won the men's 5000m in 13:35.33 over Georgetown's Robert Brandt (13:35.50). Other winners included Reebok pro Josette Norris (1500 in 4:07.35), FSU's Adriaan Wildschutt (10,000m - 28:25.11).
- Oregon Men And Women Win West Coast Classic The scored meet took place at Hayward Field (for the distance races and throws) and Arizona (for the sprints, hurdles and jumps). Oregon's Jackson Mestler won the steeple in 8:44 while Stanford's Ella Donaghu took the 1500m in 4:14.15. Stanford also went 1-4 in the men's 5000m lead by Charles Hicks' 13:34.63.
- Arkansas Sweep Steeplechase At Tom Jones Invy In At Florida; Andrew Kibet Wins In 8:53.12 Arkansas' Krissy Gear won the women's race in 9:45.10.
Coleman Update
Did Coleman get a raw deal? The drug testers reduced his ban from 24 to 18 months as they said it was "reasonable" for him to expect a phone call, but that's not enough of a reduction to put him in Tokyo.
*MB: World's fastest man Christian Coleman to Miss tokyo! Banned upheld but reduced to 18 months which doesn't help him at all
Friday 15 Subscribers Podcast: Coleman's Ban, Kipchoge Predictions, and Aussie Champs Preview
Your latest American stars share their insights.
American Record Holders
American Record Holders
Keira D'Amato, the new American record holder in the marathon, was joined by Deena Kastor, who held the record for 15 years.
Sisson was the guest on the LetsRun.com Track Talk podcast after she became the first American to go sub 67 in the half marathon on a record-eligible course. Podcast highlights above. Full pod here.
Woody Kincaid joined us after he broke the American record indoors at 5000. He talks above why he left the Bowerman Track Club. Podcast highlights and link to full podcast here.
Coogan's New Balance Boston team had 3 Olympians in 2021 and 2022 could be the biggest year yet for the program with 2 new additions and the TRACK at New Balance coming on March 1st.
Danny Mackey has taken the Brooks Beasts from an unproven club to the Olympic podium in its first decade.
Dathan Ritzenhein is the first of the top pro coaches to sit down and talk about his club heading into the 2022 campaign.
Best of Jon Gault
Best of Jon Gault
Take Your Love of LetsRun to the Next Level
Take Your Love of LetsRun to the Next Level
LetsRun Classics
LetsRun Classics
‒Toni Reavis writing in a piece entitled, "Verdict" after the Derek Chauvin trial concluded.