Akira Aizawa's 27:18.75 NR was destroyed as Olympic steepler Kazuya Shiojiri ran 27:09.80. Ririka Hironaka won the women's race in 30:55.29 as the top 4 women broke 31:00.
*MB: Not 1, Not 2, but 3. Yes, the top 3 men break Japanese national record at 2023 Japanese National Championship 10000 Champs!!
Archived Homepage For December 12, 2023
Archived Homepage For December 12, 2023
From Over The Weekend
1500 Truth or Trash Talk?
Let the countdown to the Olympic 1500m final begin. It's only 240 days way. On a recent podcast, Kerr seemed to relish the fact he had the opportunity to point out that Ingebrigtsen has some flaws by saying, "He doesn't win a lot of non-paced races. I would love for him to be listening to this."
On The Boards
On The Boards
Big Road Action in Hawaii
Nuguse clocked 3:56.58 while the WR is 3:56.13. Nikki Hiltz won the women's race in 4:28.07
2023 Foot Lockers
It was a great day for the Pittsburgh, PA area and Notre Dame as Drew Griffith and Ryan Pajak (both Notre Dame commits) went 1-2, reversing their order of finish from the NE regional. Meanwhile, in the girls race, 10th grader Elizabeth Leachman judged things perfectly and dominated, after getting a huge lead at NXN and fading.
- DyeStat Recap: Drew Griffith, Ryan Pajak Deliver 1-2 Finish For Pennsylvania At Foot Locker Griffith beat his future teammate 15:06.9 to 15:12.3.
- DyeStat Recap: Sophomore Elizabeth Leachman Learns From NXN Mistakes To Win Foot Locker Leachman won over Allie Zealand by ten seconds. Rachel Forsyth ran most of the race with Leachman, but ended up 3rd, four seconds behind Zealand.
- HOKA Announces Three NIL Signings At Foot Locker Nationals HOKA has signed Natalie Cook, Kole Mathison and Karrie Baloga who are all former Foot Locker champions and currently run for Colorado.
- MB: Footlocker 7th place going NAIA
- MB: Footlocker predictions
- MB: Drew MF Griffith - Footlocker boys national champ
- MB: Gault’s Hit Piece on Foot Locker
More HS News: Addy and Dathan Ritzenhein chat with Dyestat about her NXN win
Russia Olympic Updates
- Seb Coe Says World Athletics Won't Change Their Position On Banning Russian And Belarusian Athletes From Track And Field Coe said, “You may well see some neutral athletes from Russia and Belarus in Paris, but they just won’t be in from athletics. The position our sport took – and has consistently taken – on this is unchanged.”
- IOC Will Allow Russian And Belarusian Athletes To Compete As Neutrals At The 2024 Paris Olympics "Athletes actively supporting the war" are excluded.
*MB: Russians and Belarusians Allowed to Compete - Ukraine Says IOC Is "Encouraging" War By Allowing Russian Athletes To Compete
Euro XC Champs
- Yann Schrub Makes French Cross Country History By Becoming The First Frenchman To Win Euro XC Champs He beat Norway's Magnus Tuv Myhre by three seconds with Belgium’s Robin Hendrix another two seconds back in third. Belgium won the team title.
- Norway's Karoline Bjerkeli Grøvdal Becomes One Of The Euro XC Greats With Third Successive Win Grovdal dominated, winning by 45 seconds over Italy's Nadia Battocletti. Great Britain’s Abbie Donnelly took the bronze to help Team GB win the team title.
- GB's Will Barnicoat And Megan Keith Take U23 Gold GB also won both the men's and women's team titles.
- Denmark 17-Year-Old Axel Vang Christensen Outsprints Pre-Race Favorite And 3:31/13:23 Man Neils Laros To Win U20 Race; GB's Innes FitzGerald Dominates Women's Race Nicholas Griggs took bronze to lead Ireland to the men's team title. FitzGerald lead team GB to women's gold.
*MB: Axel MF Vang Christensen
Supporter's Club Content
Norway is one of the few countries in the world where tax lists are made public so we now know to the penny how much their top track and field stars made in 2022. Find out here how much the Ingebrigtsens made in 2022 - Jakob, Filip, Henrik and Gjert. Plus Karsten Warholm, Narve Nordas and Karoline Grøvdal.
World athletics Awards
- Letesenbet Gidey Wins World Athletics Fair Play Award After winning 10,000m silver at Worlds, Gidey went back to comfort Sifan Hassan after she went from fighting for gold to finishing 11th after falling in the final home straight. *Video
- Abbott World Marathon Majors Wins World Athletics' President's Award The President's Award "recognizes and honors exceptional service to athletics." Remember last year when the WMM slashed elite prize money by 69%, but spun it as making elite and wheelchair prize money equal?
- Australia Wins World Athletics Member Federation Of The Year Award They won the award for their growth and success which included hosting World XC Champs, a Continental Tour meet and winning a record six medals at Worlds.
Irish Pre-Euro XC Champs News
- Irish Euro XC Preview: Nick Griggs Aims To Sign Off Junior Career In Style In Under-20 Race He was runner-up last year, just missing gold. Fionnuala McCormack is making a record 18th Euro Cross appearance.
- Ireland's Kevin Mulcaire Says "There's absolutely no way I'd still be running if I hadn't gone to the US" Mulcaire suffered years of many injuries, but said the support he received at OSU helped him get through it. Now he's finally been healthy for a long stretch and making his senior debut for Ireland at Euro XC.
- Irish Independent: Danielle Donegan Ready To Muck In For Irish U23 Team At Euro XC Champs
- MB: SPAR European Cross Country Championships
- How To Follow Euro XC Champs In Brussels
Friday 15 Supporters Club Podcast: Katelyn Tuohy to adidas, Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Karsten Warholm's Income Revealed, Josh Kerr talks a little trash with Jakob The GOAT50 code to save 50% off your 1st year is still active.
Stacked Road Miles Saturday in Hawaii
Nuguse reflects back on an amazing 2023 and talks about what he thinks went wrong at Worlds. Plus, he reveals he hopes to set the mile road WR this weekend and that he'll run a 5000 at BU in late January.
More Pro News
- Hobbs Kessler's 3:56.13 road mile gold medal is ratified as WR
- Two-time world jr 5000 bronze medallist Prisca Chesang of Uganda is provisionally suspended for a Furosemide is a diuretic She only has a 15:05 pb but was 7th at World xc this year.
- AW's Readers' Choice Awards: Femke Bol & Mondo Duplantis are your 2023 AOY, Josh Kerr & KJT are British AOY Bol was great, but better than Hassan?
*MB: UK track fans snub Faith Kipyegon and Sifan Hassan, vote Femke Bol as Female AOY - Japanese 10,000m National Championships are this weekend and will be broadcast live on national tv - Full preview Former 5000 m NR holder Ririka Hironaka (30:39 pb / Japan Post) is the favorite in the women's race.
- Ukraine’s world high jump champion Yaroslava Mahuchikh will make Millrose debut in 2024
Big Savings at Nike
Big savings at Nike especially on the Nike Pegasus, the most popular Nike shoe on LetsRun.com.
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It's Official
Tuohy has left the NCAAs after 3.5 years with 3 straight NCAA team titles and 4 NCAA individual titles.
Marathon News
- Honolulu Marathon Offer More Than Prize Money This Year - Solid Gold Bars Also Go To Winners The medals are worth $15,000 and there also is $25,000 cash for first as well. The prize purse has attracted 4 guys at 2:07:00 or better including Abayneh Degu (2:04:53).
- US Olympic Marathon Trials are fast approaching and USATF/Orlando haven't announced if travel will be paid for or what the prize money allocation wil be, etc.
- USATF pulls its marathon selection document as they admit what they wrote was so confusing
- Valencia Marathon announces they'll pay €1 Million for a WR moving forward Juan Roig, president of the Trinidad Alfonso Foundation, will pay half the marathon will pay half. That's $1,076,000 at today's exchanged rates.
- Athletics Kenya coach makes it sound like they'll pick their marathon teams based off of World Rank “We followed the world ranking and in Kenya we have Kiptum leading then Eliud so there was no need of jumping. We follow that way unless someone withdraws and you go to the next best-ranked runner," said Julius Kirwa. Somehow, Athletics Kenya doesn't even have Evans Chebet as one of the 10 possibilities for the men. He's won Bos, NY and Bos in his last three marathons, taking down Kipchoge in Boston.
- 2023 Marathon Year in Review by Toni Reavis Toni points out that the Ethiopian women have once again topped the Kenyan women in number of fast performances while on the men's side it's always the reverse.
- Runner on 2:30 pace at Fukuoka Marathon hit by race vehicle at 32k turnaround, fractures elbow but still finishes in under 3 hours
Non-Marathon News
- Lazarus Lake & Scott Jurek to be inducted as the 2 members into Ultrarunning HOF in 2023
*Gary Cantrell bio *Scott Jurek bio - World Champion Wightman to race McSweyn and Ramsden Maurie Plant Meet in Melbourne on February 15 If he and Josh Kerr don't both run World Indoors in their native Scotland this year, we'll be disappointed. We don't want to hear excuses. Centro ran and won World Indoors and the Olympics in 2016.
- UTEP's Victor Kibiego enters NCAA transfer portal, Kibiego was 44th in xc and was 3rd at NCAAs in the steeple (8:26 pb). Wisconsin's Evan Bishop (13:45 pb, 4th Big 10 xc) also is entering as a grad student as is Stanford's Lucy Jemks (15:38 pb, 93rd NCAA xc) according to the Stride Report.
- 10 Girls to watch at Footlocker this weekend Addy Ritzenhein isn't in the field Elizabeth Leachman who got a 15-second lead at NXN is there and will challenge NE standouts Ellie Shea and Zariel Macchia who didn't do NXN.
- Tigray Athletics Federation President says 76 athetes were killed in war with Ethiopia
Doping News
- Beyond Parody: The Lone Indian Sprinter Who Ran In The Infamous Delhi Race Where Everyone Fled From Drug Testers Tested Positive Himself The sprinter claims he is innocent or he would "would have fled like the rest" and suggested coaches are trying to frame him. At the time of the race he said, "‘I was really looking forward to running against the best athletes, but nobody turned up. Everyone was scared of getting tested. As an athlete, I feel very hurt and let down."
*MB: Dope Testers Show Up at Delhi State Athletics meet - most athletes BOLT! - AIU Appealing Norah Jeruto Decision Which Overturned Her Drug Suspension Last Month
*LRC Steeplechase World Champ Norah Jeruto’s ABP Drug Suspension Overturned By Tribunal
Assorted Distance New
- Australian Olympian Eloise Wellings Went Blind During The Valencia Marathon And Still Ran 2:25 She says blood sugar issues caused her to temporarily lose her vision in the later stages of the race.
- Ireland's Andrew Coscoran (27:56.37) And Australia's Lauren Ryan (32:54.00) Win Zatopek:10 This race served as the Australia 10,000m championships so national titles went to Ryan and Jack Rayner who finished a close second behind Coscoran in 27:57.87 (former NCAA champ Patrick Tiernan was 3rd in 28:00.79). *Results/Race Video
- Top US Marathoners Recently Previewed The Olympic Trials Course In Orlando Talking about the course, Keira D'Amato said, "I loved it. It was flat, it was fast, I appreciated that aspect of it, and I enjoyed the scenery of it."
- Full Fields For The 2023 Foot Locker Nationals This Saturday
Mike Fanelli Keeps Getting Tributes
British News - It's Not Just USATF Posting Big Financial Losses
- The Telegraph: Crisis-Hit UK Athletics Post Losses Of $4.7 Million As Struggles Without BBC Income Grow The BBC ended their £3 million a year broadcast deal with UKA in 2020 and UKA has no major sponsor. The UK chairman Ian Beattie says they will continue making cuts, but "will survive." So was ex-head coach Stephen Maguire lying when he said not sending qualified athletes to Worlds wasn't about money?
- Josh Kerr Going For 2 Mile World Record At Millrose Games On February 11
*MB: Josh Kerr Going For 7:59 Two Mile At Millrose - British Sprinter Bianca Williams Banned From Driving For Six Months For Traffic Offenses This is the sprinter who pressed charges against London police officers (two of who were recently fired) for misconduct during a traffic stop.
- International Athletics Could Return To Crystal Palace Stadium In Five Years The track was in extremely rough shape last summer, but since then, cleaning and repairs have been done so the once famous stadium might eventually be fit to host big meets again.
End-Of-Year Awards
- Cool Photo With A View From Below Of A German Decathlete Pole Vaulting At Worlds Wins World Athletics Photograph Of The Year Award The photographer is Mattia Ozbot who says he skipped covering the marathon to be at a morning track session where he got the winning shot.
*Digital Exhibit Of The Other Finalist Photos Can anyone tell us what's going on with the shirtless photo of Italian HJer Gianmarco Tamberi where it looks like a first-person perspective of the photographer going in to grab him. - Femke Bol's Coach Wins World Athletics 2023 Coaching Achievement Award
- Togo Athletics Federation President Falilatou Tchanile-Salifou Wins World Athletics' Woman Of The Year Award
Good News
We've got good news. USATF has told LetsRun that they will honor the order of finish at the Trials for men who have broken 2:11:30. Confusing language in USATF's selection criteria document had caused us to wonder if the order of finish at the Trials or world rank would determine the third US men's Olympic spot (if the US gets a third spot). But have they not thought of a doomsday scenario where Scott Fauble gets left off the team despite winning the Trials?
Fake News
A content farm reported the news that Sha'Carri inked a new 4 year deal with Nike and the internet ran with it. But there is no other evidence of this deal.
Marathon News
- Kenya Names Provisional Marathon List Of 20 Athletes For Paris 2024 The list (which includes Eliud Kipchoge, Kelvin Kiptum and Hellen Obiri) will be whittled down to five men and five women in January.
- Kenenisa Bekele Hoping To Make Ethiopia's Olympic Team After Valencia Comeback He says he was about 75% in Valencia and is considering doing another marathon before Paris 2024 (assumingly to improve his chances of selection).
- Valencia Marathon Wants The Marathon World Record To Be Set There One Day And Plan To Continue Offering One Million Euros To The Person Who Does It
*MB: Valencia Marathon Promises €1 Million for WR in 2024
Euro XC Champs Are Sunday In Brussels
- AW Euro XC Champs Preview: Belgium's Isaac Kimeli Vs Italy's Yeman Crippa And Henrik Ingebrigtsen Women's race has Norway's Karoline Bjerkeli Grøvdal vs Italy's Nadia Battocletti.
- U23 Preview: Strong British Contingent Poised To Dominate The Races Again
- U20 Preview: The Netherlands' Niels Laros Goes For Third Continental Gold Of The Year
- Euro XC Champs Mixed Relay Preview
Valencia Marathon
Sisay Lemma (2:01:48) was unreal, Joshua Cheptegei BLEW UP and finished 37th, Worknesh Degefa (2:15:51) is better than ever, Valencia's depth was record-breaking, BAD NEWS FOR US MARATHON FANS and Kenenisa Bekele is back baby!! *Results *WA Full Recap
- MB: Official 2023 Valencia Marathon Official Discussion Thread
- MB: Bekele is 41 and just ran a 2:04 master WR - It's BEKELEMANIA!!!
- MB: Could Bekele be chosen for the Olympics based on his Valencia time?
- MB: Rojo runs 2:07 in Valencia
- MB: Top 100 Men and Woman Results at Valencia Marathon
Shocking USATF Development
Based on today's Valencia results, Scott Fauble is going fall out of the World's Top 64 and USATF's selection criteria states, "In the case that USATF is not able to select a full team of Qualified Athletes from the Selection Event...the U.S. will fill any unfilled quota positions with Qualified Athletes based on their rank order on the Road to Paris rank list following the close of the qualification period on May 5, 2024." So we are reading that to mean that unless 3rd placer at the Trials is under 2:08:10, the 3rd US team member will be the one with the highest world rank and not the one who finishes third.
BU Magical Track Produces More Magic
BU Magical Track Produces More Magic
Valby is the first collegiate woman (and youngest American) under 15:00 while Blanks is just the third US man to have hit the 2024 Olympic standard of 13:05.
- GRAHAM MF BLANKS 13:03.78 CR
- PARKER VALBY FIRST COLLEGIATE EVER UNDER 15!!! 14:56.11
- Nico MF Young - 7:37.67, wins first big collegiate meet
- Nico Young talks to LRC after winning 3000 in 7:37
- BU MENS 5K elite race
- Graham MF Blanks = next Grant Fisher?
- Olivia Markevich talks to LRC after winning 3000 in 8:40 (#2 in NCAA history)
- BU Performance Lists
- BU'S obviously short track
BU Interviews
NXN
Utah runner Jojo Jordan was the surprise winner in the boy's race.
- DyeStat Recap: Addison Ritzenhein, Academy Girls Highlight Huge Day For Colorado At NXN
- DyeStat Recap: Jojo Jordan, Herriman Boys Give Utah A Sweep Of The Individual And Team Titles At NXN
- Official NXN discussion thread
- RITZ WINS NXN
- ENGELHARDTUHHHH WHAT HAPPENEDUHHH
- Worst national meet in 5 years
- NXN won in 15:16?
- California runners can't run in the mud
More Road News
- Yuki Kawauchi Wins Hofu Marathon In 2:08:32 It was a close race with only 8 seconds separating the top-3. Sakiho Tsutsui won the women's race in 2:27:38.
*MB: Yuki Kawauchi wins Hofu Marathon 2:08:23 - CIM Results: CJ Albertson (2:11:09) And Grace Kahura (2:29:00) Win
- Kenya's Machael Githae (2:07:08) Wins Fukuoka Marathon Norway's Sondre Nordstad Moen was a close 2nd in 2:07:16. Kyohei Hosoya was the top Japanese finisher in 4th (2:07:23).
- Australian YouTuber Matt Fox Gets Banned From The Ageo City Half Marathon For Life For After Running With Another Runner's Bib He posted that he ran 66:33 for 203rd place and he claims that he got the bib through a friend of a friend and didn't realize it wasn't transferred to his name.
Other Valencia News
- Australia's Genevieve Gregson Runs 2:23:08 For 9th Place In Valencia That's #3 on the Aussie all-time list.
- It's Bekele's Fault: Kenenisa Bekele Wouldn't Give Joshua Cheptegei Any Tips Ahead Of His Marathon Debut “I think he doesn’t need my advice you know…all the athletes who are here have a professional coach who instructs them on what to do. Before they came here, they learned how to run the marathon. If not, he will have great advice on Sunday."
- Eliud Kipchoge Thinks Joshua Cheptegei Has A "Huge Chance To Break A World Record In The Marathon" Cheptegei's coach said he thought 2:03 was "realistic" and he'll run "much faster" in the future when he's 100% focused on the marathon.
- Clara Evans Sets Welsh Marathon Record With 2:25:04 In Valencia
- Ireland's Fionnuala McCormack Hits Paris Olympic Auto Qualifying Standard With 2:26:19 In Valencia (34th Place)
Need Some Christmas Gift Ideas?
- World Athletics' Christmas Gift Guide For Track Fans They have some recommendations for books, shoes and track-related artwork.
- Athletics Weekly's Christmas Gift Guide For Athletes However, many of these gifts are for someone with a pretty high budget.
24 Hour World Champs
- Japan's Miho Nakata Breaks Women's World Record To Win IAU World 24-Hour Championships She ran 270.363km (167.995 miles, 8:34 pace) beating Camille Heron's record by just 246 meters. Lithuania's Aleksandr Sorokin won the men's title with 301.790km (187.523 miles, 7:41 pace).
Cheater News
- Former Olympic 400m Silver Medalist Luguelín Santos Gets 3-Year Ban For Age Cheating Santos lied about his birthday to compete at the 2012 World Junior Championships where he won gold. He is stripped of that medal, but keeps his the Olympic silver he won at the London Games later that year.
- Kenya's World Under-20 1500m Champ Brenda Chebet Gets 3-Year Doping Ban She tested positive for a steroid, but won't lose her world U20 title as that was from last year.
Friday 15
The LetsRun crew broke down the Valencia Marathon and Joshua Cheptegei's debut, Kibiwott Kandie's and Almaz Ayana's return, and yes Kenenisa Bekele. Plus the BU 5000s and should Ritz consider the CU job? Want this as a podcast? Last week to subscribe to Supporters Club for 50% off 1st year with code GOAT50.
Pro XC In USA
HOKA NAZ Elite had a big day at the Cross Champs in Austin as they swept the team and individual titles but a quick-thinking spectator was the real MVP as he saved Wasserman after she ran off-course in the finishing stretch
Pre Valencia News
For the 1st time in nearly 50 years, the men's 5000 and 10,000 WR holder will debut in the marathon while still being the best in the world on the track. Former HM world record holder Kibiwott Kandie and Kenenisa Bekele are also running, while Almaz Ayana, Genzebe Dibaba, and 2019 Boston champ Worknesh Degefa lead the women's field.
- MB: Official 2023 Valencia Marathon Official Discussion Thread
- MB: Valencia: Cheptegei predictions?
- Don't sleep on 2:03:00 runner Gabriel Geay in Valencia Much of the pre-race attention has gone to Joshua Cheptegei, Kibiwott Kandie, and Kenenisa Bekele.
Pre-NXN News
- Tully Runners projections & preview for NXN Nationals They have American Fork winning by 1 for the boys and Niwot winning by 5 for the girls.
*MB: Official 2023 NXN Live Discussion Thread - American Fork and Herriman give Utah two changes to win its first NXN team title
- 5 girls to watch at NXN
- 5 boys to watch at NXN
- Foot Locker West preview
- RIP to longtime DyeStat contributor Landon Negri who has died at 52 He leaves behind 3 kids and a wife. Donate to help pay for the service that will celebrate his life here.
Twin Power
Twin Power
- Stanford's Leo and Lex Young Sign NIL Deal With On You don't even have to crack the top 70 at NCAA xc to get an NIL deal in the year 2023. Meanwhile, their much more accomplished brother doesn't have a deal.
*MB: Young Bros On NIL / What is ON thinking? Signs the Young twins to an NIL
*MB: Nico not Young Enough to Get an NIL deal before Brothers *MB: U of Tennessee NIL Money What Tennessee and many other schools do really isn't NIL - it's a collective - and seems to be against NCAA rules. - Rich Perelman points out that USATF has 500k cash in reserves while USA Swimming has $41.28 million in reserves
- Paul Tergat is upset that Kenyan athletes have to pay $1.21 (200ksh) to access some tracks If $1.21 is too much, how are they affording $300 super shoes?
The Latest From Outside Magazine
The Latest From Outside Magazine
- The Mysterious Case of the Asthmatic Olympians In his latest column, Alex Hutchinson says the fact that so many Olympians are on asthma meds isn't because they are cheating. This has long been a topic of discussion on LRC.
*2023: MB: Alex Hutchinson: Don't be alarmed so many Olympians take asthma meds - they need it as they train harder than you
*2014: MB: INHALERS=UNFAIR!!!!
*2009: MB: Does any tough runner call themselves asthmatic?
*2005: MB: Athletes using asthma to cheat - Why Your Next Vacation Should Be a Marathon
- Q&A with former marathon American record holder Deena Kastor In addition to being inducted into the NYRR HOF this year, she commentated on the international broadcast. Why she wasn't on the US broadcast ahead of Juan Luis Barrios is almost criminal.
This Week's Pod
The NCAA Champ opens up about winning the title, his training, and a lot more. Full podcast here. Video highlight above.
The Latest News of Note
- Former CU runner Bret Schoolmeester is proud of the Nike's Alphafly 3 which comes out Jan. 4 The shoe is 15% lighter than the Alphafly 2 and is designed "to offer smoother heel-to-toe transitions for all foot strike patterns. "We have testers going up to 200-250 miles on the shoe. We’re confident it’s going to last as long as any of the super shoes out there.”
*MB: Nike is "proud" its Alphafly3 super shoe will only cost $275 - a real bargain compared to adidas $500 - MB Big Ethiopian Bust: 9th fastest marathoner in history, Ethiopia's Tsehay Gemechu (2:16:56) popped for ABP The Tokyo runner-up was scheduled to be the #1 seed in Valencia this weekend.
- Lauren Fleshman's book Good For A Girl wins William Hill sports book of the year prize "The prestigious award comes with a £30,000 prize and it is the first book about women in sport, authored by a woman, to win in the 35-year history of the award. It is also the first outright book about athletics or running to win the accolade." Purchase the book here.
- Rana Reider hopes to put 5 men in Olympic 100m final, talks big about Marcell Jacobs Possibilities include Jacobs, Trayvon Bromell, Andre De Grasse, Hakim Sani Brown, and Jerome Blake. On Jacobs, he said, "He’s here to run 9.80 again and he can do it."
- Kenya launches endowment fund and a pension scheme for star athletes It's not clear where the fund is going to get money from and many stars seem hesitant to give to it.
Nike/Cain Lawsuit Update
Nike/Cain Lawsuit Update
The Oregonian reports: "Attorneys for Nike and Salazar denied the claims, including in a recent 48-page motion for summary judgement... In the motion, the attorneys argued Cain’s allegations are “demonstrably false, and even contradicted by her own testimony and public statements.” Attorneys for Nike and Salazar also said her claims were barred because of a two-year statute of limitations."
This Weekend's Long Distance Action
- Joshua Cheptegei Making His Marathon Debut In Valencia On Sunday He faces Kenenisa Bekele as well as 10 men with PBs in the 2:03-2:05 range. The women's race has Tsegay Gemechu (2:16:56), Almaz Ayana (2:17:20), Worknesh Degefa (2:17:41) and Genzebe Dibaba (2:18:05).
- World Records Under Threat As Camille Herron And Lithuania's Alexander Sorokin Target World Titles At IAU 24-Hour Championships This Weekend
Sound Running Cross Champs Are Thursday In Austin
- Last Year's Winner Edwin Kurgat Returns To Sound Running Cross Champs To Defend His Title Against Charles Hicks, Olin Hacker And Wesley Kiptoo South Africa’s Adriaan Wildschutt (13:02, 27:24 PBs) is also in the race. Ednah Kurgat leads the women's race with Kenya's Mercy Chelangat and US steeple champ Krissy Gear.
Assorted Distance News
- Kenyan Runner James Karanga Could Face Harsh Penalty After Winning Race During His Doping Suspension He was suspended earlier this month after failing a drug test, but got $700 for winning a trail half-marathon in Malaysia on Sunday.
- Frank Shorter Receives "Lifetime Of Leadership Award" From Yale
- MB: Mary Cain / Atalanta NYC Rings NASDAQ Market Closing Bell on Nov 2, 2023 (Video) The video was projected on the side of a building in Times Square.
- AW: Brits Name Strong Squad For Euro Cross In Brussels On December 10th Team includes Hugo Milner (senior men), Jessica Warner-Judd (senior women), Megan Keith (U23 women) and Innes FitzGerald (U20 women).
- Yemaneberhan Crippa And Nadia Battoclett Lead Italy's Team For Euro XC Champs
Non-Distance News
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- Sha'Carri Richardson Makes Forbes 30 Under 30 2024 Sports List See the full list here.
- Sandi Morris Is Putting Out A 2024 Calendar Featuring Her "ROAR" Faces
- World Athletics Ratify USA's Mixed 4x400 Record From Budapest
- Armand Duplantis Faces Top Line-up In The Mondo Classic Pole Vault On February 6 Field includes US's Chris Nilsen.
Olympic News
- NY Times: Not Much Hope For World Peace For The 2024 Olympics The author writes, "Amid two prominent wars and other conflicts around the globe, a biennial call at the United Nations for peace during the Games felt even more symbolic than usual."
- Paris Mayor Says Public Transportation Won't Be Ready For 2024 Olympics She said another issue will be shelter for the homeless.
- Paris Metro Tickets Will Almost Double In Price During The Paris Olympics Regular local commuters won't be affected because the cost for annual and monthly passes aren't affected.
- Japan's Prime Minister Grilled Over Alleged Gifts To IOC For Tokyo's Olympic Bid One government official admitted to using "secret funds" to purchase gifts for IOC members during the bidding process.
- IOC President Thomas Bach Says Peace Between Israel And Palestine Is Possible Because Their Olympic Committees Have Been "In Peaceful Co-Existence For Decades"
RIP
- MB: RIP Mike Fanelli - track and field super fan and historian has died at 67 Read a message from Mike's wife, Renay, here.
*Runner's World Obituary - MB: RIP PhD And Exercise Physiologist Owen Anderson Anderson wrote several training books and coached Kenyan athletes.
Big USATF/Nike News
It's the fifth straight year that Siegel made more than $1.2 million. USATF's says the large loss came from "planned expenses related to the 2022 World Athletics Championships."
Our Weekly Recap
It's going to be a great week in running and we get you ready for it. Migh a 10th grader win NXN? Plus can a Fast Horse turn around Oregon's distance struggles and meet Keita Sato the Japanese teen who trains with the OAC and has every Japanese U20 record from 1500 through 10,000.
High School News
- Japan High Schoolers Kaito Iida And Shunpei Yamaguchi Run 13:34 At Nittai University Time Trials Iida finished 4th in 13:34.40 and Yamaguchi 5th in 13:34.59. The race was won by pro Takuma Sunaoka in 13:32.12.
- T&F News Names Hana Moll As Their High School Girls Athlete Of The Year This year Moll raised the prep pole vault record to 4.65m, finished 3rd at USAs and tied for 9th in the final at Worlds. Sprinter Shawnti Jackson finished a close second in the voting.
Elish McColgan Updates
- The BBC Is Airing A Documentary On Scottish Distance Runner Elish McColgan And Her World Champion Mother On Thursday - "Eilish McColgan: Running in the Family" McColgan talks about her relationship with her mother and early years as a runner. She also talks about being a big partier in college before she got serious about running: "I was out partying and eating kebabs at 3am. I did what every other student does. But I was still going to training on Saturday mornings. Yes, I turned up hungover but I was there."
- Eilish McColgan Hoping She Can "Sneak A Bronze Medal" In The Paris Olympic 10,000m Originally she had been hoping to run the marathon in Paris, but she had to skip her debut in London this year due to injury and feels the time frame is "a little bit too tight" to be ready for the marathon at the Olympics.
- Eilish McColgan Talks About Dealing With A Big Injury In 2023 After Her Breakthrough 2022 “I was in the best shape of my life so when it started to crumble away with this injury, I didn’t want to let it go. But I’m a very realistic person and I know that just because you have one good year, it doesn’t mean the next year will also be good. Athletes are constantly dealing with that – one year you’re feeling great, the next year you’re ill or injured."
BU Season Opener Is Saturday
- MB: PARKER VALBY RACING BU
- MB: BU MENS 5K elite race Entries include Graham Blanks, Nico Young (as well as Leo and Lex), Drew Bosley, Ky Robinson and many more.
- MB: BU entries are crazy! WTF $107 for indoor 5k
Weekend Results
- Philimon Kiptoo Kipchumba Sets Chinese All-Comers' Record With 2:05:35 Victory At The Shanghai Marathon It was a close race as the top-3 were separated by just seven seconds. Ethiopia's Siranesh Yirga Dagne won the women's race in 2:21:28.
*MB: Cam MF Avery - 2:12 debut at Shanghai Marathon
- Burundi’s Rodrigue Kwizera And Ethiopia's Likina Amebaw Win Alcobendas, Spain XC Meet
*MB: Crazy xc finish in Spain. Runner slams into finishing clock. DQ or no DQ? (Video)
- Kieran Lumb And Ceili McCabe Win Canadian XC Championships McCabe dominated by 41 seconds while Lumb outkicked Philippe Morneau-Cartier by 2 seconds. *Results
*MB: Ceili McCabe wins Canadian XC Championships 10k
- Keita Sato Runs Japan 10,000m Under-20 Record With 27:28 At Hachioji Long Distance Meet The time is also #5 on Japan's all-time list. Sato finished 11th in the race won by Amos Kurgat in 27:10.
- Hugo Milner And Megan Keith Win Liverpool Cross Challenge To the surprise of many, Carl Lewis was there on a recruiting trip for the University of Houston (where he is head coach). Lewis spectated and even handed out some of the winners' medals.
- Sweden’s Sarah Lahti Retains Her Warandecross Title In Tilburg, Netherlands Norway’s Senay Fissehatsion won the men's race.
- Sekisui Kagaku Wins Japan Corporate Women's National Championship At Queens Ekiden
High School XC
- Ryan Pajak Runs Franklin Park Course Record To Win Foot Locker Northeast, Zariel Macchia Beats Ellie Shea
- Rachel Forsyth, Thomas Westphal Make It A Michigan Sweep At Foot Locker Midwest
- Monroe-Woodbury Boys Win NXR New York By Two Points; Saratoga Girls Qualify For NXN For The 16th Time
*MB: Is it time to get rid of the NXR New York regional?
- Union Catholic Club Girls Win NXR Northeast; Brothers TC Boys Earn 14th NXN Berth
- Patrick Koon, Elizabeth Leachman Win Fast Races At Foot Locker South
- California State Meet Boys Recap Evan Noonan had the fastest time of the day with 14:35.
- California State Meet Girls Recap Sadie Engelhardt had the fastest time of the day with 16:40.
- NXN At-Large Berths
- High School Boys National Team Rankings
- High School Girls National Team Rankings
Doping News
- Jamaica's Olympic 110H Bronze Medalist Ronald Levy Faces 4-Year Doping Ban After B Sample Is Positive
- Kenyan 30:15 10k Runner Esther Borura Gets 3-Year Doping Ban For Nandrolone She waived the right to have her 'B' sample tested and admitted to taking banned substances.
NCAAs That Were
Plus meet the one-armed runner who led Tennessee to 6th place.
Tuohy did not get the repeat individual title but today's gutsy run may have been her finest hour in what may have been her final race for NC State. Our Jonathan Gault breaks it down in 3,000+ words.
- SC Post NCAA full breakdown podcast now out Our bonus podcasts are for our SC members only. Support independent journalism, get a free tshirt and big shoe discounts today.
Valby was sensational but Tuohy was heroic as she gutted it out for her team. Talk about the race on our messageboard.
- 2023 NCAA Cross Country Championships Live Thread!
- Parker Valby says she only run 2-3 days per werk
- Parker Valby NCAA DI Women’s Champion - Official Thread
- Let’s give it up for NC State!
- Tuohy is still the People’s Champion
- Parker Valby says she only run 2-3 days per week
- Official TUOHY VALBY STAY In SCHOOL USE All your Eligibility Thread!
- Breaking: Kelsey Chmiel WILL NOT RACE 2023 NCAA XC Champs due to injury
- Tuohy will win and win convincingly
- Kelsey threw her crutches to celebrate with her team on one leg
- Perhaps the greatest NCAA XC Team WIN ever
- Is Tuohys career over before it started?
- ITS VALBYMANIA!!!
- Katelyn Tuohy is done
- Addy Wiley Wins NAIA
Dave Smith's Oklahoma State Cowboys were amazing as they put 5 in the top 15 to end NAU's dynasty 49 to 71. Harvard's Graham Blanks was sensational as well as for the first time in 20 years an American under the age of 22 has won the individual title.
Everyone's still looking for an edge
Kelvin Kiptum, Faith Kipyegon, Keely Hodgkinson and everyone in the OAC are among the stars who experimented with Maurten Bicarb System in 2023 ($65 for 4 doses). The big question: does it work? (paywall lifted)
BetterRunningShoes.com
We think most of you could guess the #1 brand, but the #2 might be a surprise. We break down the most popular brands overall, and for road, trail, and racing.
Max Siegel's Contract Gets Extended and We're Not Happy About It
Max has been the CEO since 2012. Max put USATF on sound financial footing by signing the 23-year Nike deal but there has been a lot of chaos with the organization during his tenure. The press release says his tenure has been "marked by record financial growth." Revenue actually declined from 2016 ($35.0) to 2021 ($33.7) but the press release talks about the budget being $40 million so perhaps 2022 (financials have not been released yet) was higher. Revenue was $21.9 million when he took over in 2012.
Winners
Twoggle, the Shelby Houlihan defender, and a guy who took up the sport in 2016, were the big winners in our $200,023 Worlds Prediction Contest and take home some great Suunto watches.
LRC Q&A
Q&A with Twoggle who wrote the piece titled, "Houlihan, Burrito-Gate and the Problems of Sports Drug Testing"
Kiptum's 2nd Half in Chicago Was Wild But Not As Wild As Initially Reported
Kiptum's reported 4:21 19th mile and 4:18 22nd mile were the two fastest splits ever recorded in a marathon, but after an investigation by LetsRun.com, race organizers have confirmed discrepancies with those splits.
Sick of Shoes that Break Down Too Soon?
Running shoe construction has changed a lot in the last decade. Runners are still looking for more durable running shoes, but we take a look at some of the most durable shoes and what makes them stand out.
Looking To Paris 2024
We have good news US marathon fans. Scott Fauble is #61 in the marathon so it looks like the US will be sending 3 Olympic men's marathoners to Paris.
Get a Better Running Shoe
Stack heights on shoes are getting bigger and bigger. Runners are liking these shoes more and more. We try and make sense of the cushioning revolution.
More Kiptum / Marathon News
As running prepares for some of its biggest barriers to be broken in the coming years, guest columnist Stephen Lane argues it is time for World Athletics to take action.
- Recommended Read No, Kelvin Kiptum Is Not the Next Kipchoge (But Sifan Hassan just might be) Writing for Outside, Martin Fritz-Huber cites the LetsRun.com forum and includes the following quote from Molly Seidel, "Who’s the GOAT?’ Who fucking cares? Who’s got the story that’s going to get people excited?”
*MB: Molly Seidel: "Who’s the GOAT?’ Who fucking cares? Who’s got the story that’s going to get people excited?” - Kelvin Kiptum told his manager he wanted to withdraw from Chicago 1 week out as he had tonsilitis and a thigh injury but his coach told him he'd be fine The rest is history. *Discuss
- Chepng’etich still wants to WR despite losing to Hassan in Chicago - "Smashing the world record is still in my plans"
Inside Kiptum's Training
Kiptum, who regularly runs 150+ miles a week, runs so hard in training that his coach Gervais Hakizimana wants him to slow down: "I told him that in five years he would be done, that he must calm down to last in athletics."
- Kelvin Kiptum's dad is very proud and says his son has never had a drop of alcohol
- Kelvin Kiptum says he's ready to race Kipchoge: “It will be exciting to meet Kipchoge, who has inspired many. I am ready to race against him.”
- Kelvin Kiptum returns to Iten & reveals the secret to his success: “My secret is training not any other thing." He received a hero's welcome.
Better Running Shoes
The ASICS SUPERBLAST tops the first LetsRun.com shoe rankings for everyday trainers. The shoe is a worthy winner as it is the epitome as to how super shoe technology has made its way over to everyday trainers. Asics and HOKA each put 3 shoes in the top 10.
Ross Tucker Speaks
After Assefa's WR, sadly doping allegations swarmed the Internet, but could it simply be the shoes? "I hate these shoes, and I truly wish the authorities had acted to prevent this entirely foreseeable situation," writes Ross Tucker.
2024 Olympic Trials
Eugene fatigue is real but don't tell that USATF. This will be the fourth straight US championships at Hayward Field and the fifth straight US Olympic Trials. Eugene paid them at least $3 million for the last Trials and we all know that USATF needs at least $3 million just to pay Max Siegel. Ridiculous.
Ingebrigtsen Wants ALL of the WRs
After his double victory at Pre, Ingebrigtsen shared advice for those attempting double threshold and why he believes he can break every WR from 1500 through the marathon.
Better Running Shoes a Click Away
Want to know what running shoes real runners like best? We've got some answers for you as our Better Running Shoe review site is now open to the public. Real reviews, from real runners, with data science.
Max Siegel & USATF Are Getting Sued
Estes lawsuit stems from USATF's decision to disqualify Chattanooga's bid for the 2024 Olympic Marathon Trials because Estes worked as a consultant on Chattanooga's bid. The idea that Siegel cited that conflict of interest as a deal breaker is laughable to us considering "under (Max) Siegel’s watch, USA Track and Field has awarded hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of business to an Indianapolis marketing firm that once advertised itself as “a Max Siegel company.”
XC Video Game
The XC video game that former Wisco runner Ryan Craven spent time developing during much of the Covid lockdowns is now available to play on your phone and it's free!!
Justyn Knight Joins The BTC
The former NCAA star announced earlier today and he is now a Nike and BTC man. We talked to him before it was announced about why he made the move and what does he have think he has left in the tank?
A legend speaks
Michael Johnson was the guest on the LetsRun.com Track Talk podcast on the anniversary of his 19.32 double gold world record to share his thoughts on the sport and its current crop of stars.
2024 Trials Update
Are the mid-day start times great so it can be shown live on TV? Or too hot? We give you our thoughts.
Karsten Warholm Q&A
Recently Alex Geula sat down with Karsten Warholm and his coach, Leif Olav Alnes, at the IK Tjalve club in Oslo to understand Warholm's beginnings, his career, and the sprint side of Norwegian training.
The Most Untalented 3:29 Guy Ever?
Is Nordås the least talented runner to break 3:30 in history? He thinks so, "I can guarantee you I'm the slowest sub 3:30 guy in history." Text highlights from his appearance on the LRC Track Talk podcast.
Paywall lifted!
Paywall lifted!
The Latest JG Feature
What links Jakob Ingebrigtsen, the NAU cross country team, and Sebastian Coe? Double threshold training, which is having a moment in 2023. Note, most of this article is behind our SC paywall for 72 hours (until Saturday).
How do you explain the ridiculous indoor distance times?
Are all the fast times merely a product of supershoes? Or is it something more? We spoke to coaches Dathan Ritzenhein, Jason Vigilante and Dave Smith to figure it out.
Kipchoge loving the LetsRun Shirt in Berlin
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
