(link updated) Ketema was previously an 800m specialist who had never raced farther than 10k, but now she has the fastest marathon debut ever. She dominated the race by over 2 minutes and now is #8 on the all-time list. Ethiopia's Addisu Gobena won the men's race in 2:05:01 (also his debut), 19 seconds ahead of Lemi Dumecha.
*MB: Dubai Marathon Discussion Thread
Archived Homepage For January 08, 2024
Archived Homepage For January 08, 2024
Weekend Road Action
XC Results
- World XC Champ Beatrice Chebet And World XC Silver Medalist Berihu Aregawi Come Through As The Favorites At Elgoibar XC Race Chebet beat Edinah Jebitok by 2 seconds while Aregawi won by 4 seconds over Rodrigue Kwizera and 6 ahead of Soufiane El Bakkali.
- World 10,000m Silver Medalist Daniel Simiu Ebenyo And Burundi's Francine Niyomukunzi Win Campaccio World XC Meet In Italy Italy’s Euro XC silver medalist Nadia Battocletti was 2nd, 4 seconds behind Niyomukunzi.
On The Boards
On The Boards
Sad News
The 2021 Chicago runnerup injured her foot while running Chicago a few months ago and now has to wait until 2028.
Oscar Pistorius Is Out Of Prison
- Oscar Pistorius Released On Parole 11 Years After Killing Reeva Steenkamp He'll be on parole until 2029 meaning he has to be home at certain hours of the day and is banned from drinking alcohol or speaking to the media.
- Could Oscar Pistorius Make Paralympic Return After Prison Release? Very unlikely in the near term as the conditions of his parole would mean he would need special permission to travel. He is also 37 and reports say he gained weight and started smoking while in prison.
Weekend XC Previews
- Beatrice Chebet And Berihu Aregawi Lead Fields For Spanish XC Meet In Elgoibar On Sunday Chebet is coming off setting the women's 5k road record last weekend with 14:13 in Barcelona. She faces 2022 winner Edinah Jebitok. Aregawi is up against World/Olympic steeple champ Soufiane El Bakkali and World Athletics XC Tour winner Rodrigue Kwizera.
- World 10,000m Silver Medalist Daniel Simiu Ebenyo And Euro XC Silver Medalist Nadia Battocletti Lead Fields For Italian XC Race Saturday
Yet Another Nike Coaching Change
The 2019 World champ has struggled with injuries of late. If it wasn't for Covid-19, he'd likely be an Olympic champ. Jordan Hasay is also no longer on the roster.
Dan O’Brien is mentoring Donavan Brazier about how to bounce back after failing to make the Olympic team as the best guy in the world “I learned more from one day (at the trials) in New Orleans than I did from all of those successes combined,” O’Brien said. *Video of O'Brien and Brazier
More Mid-D News
- 1:46 runner John Lester transfers from Stanford to Cal Poly
- Jake Wightman has run his first track workout since June and he made a video about it The session is 4 x 1200m off lap jog recovery.
- Upper body training for middle-distance runners
- More than 700 boys are entered in mile for Hispanic Games this weekend in NYC And more than 900 in the 55.
Rankings, Rankings, Rankings
Crouser is their men's AOY. Kipyegon is their women's AOY. *Men's Rankings *Women's Rankings
- Jakob Ingebrigtsen & Karoline Bjerkeli Grøvdal win Golden Shoes as Norway's runners of the year It's the 14th time Grøvdal has won the award.
- Simone Biles edged Faith Kipyegon for International Press Sports Association's AOY award Track athletes took 4 of the top 8 as Tigst Assefa was 5th, Femke Bol 7th and Yulimar Rojas 8th. For the men, Novak Djokovic (16.9%) ran away with the wared but Mondo (9.19%) beat out Messi (7.6%) for 3rd. El Bakkali was 8th but we are questioning the voters as they had Kipchoge ahead of Kiptum.
News of Note
*MB: RIP Harvey Glance - Glance died at 66 after having heart attack at practice, found unresponsive by Kirani James
This Week's pod
A little track and field trivia to end 2023. What is on tap for 2024? Listen to find out.
Benjamin Kiplagat Murder Case Updates
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- Two Suspects Arrested In Connection To Benjamin Kiplagat's Murder The knife suspected to have been used to stab the Olympian was recovered from the suspects who were already wanted criminals.
- CCTV Shows Benjamin Kiplagat's Killers Heading To His Car Run After It Ran Off The Road
- MB: Benjamin Kiplagat has been murdered
Sprint Stuff
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- Usain Bolt Considering Going Into Coaching He said, “I have always told people I have no patience to coach. Now that I have three kids, you have to have patience and I think I am leaning to maybe coach one day."
- Video Showing Off Sha'Carri Richardson's $580,000 Home In Florida
Hakone Ekiden In The Books
They destroyed defending champs Komazawa University by over six minutes even though Komazawa still ran the 5th-fastest time in the history of the event. It is Aoyama Gakuin's seventh Hakone title in the last ten years.
Olympic News
- InsideTheGames: Transgender Athletes Face Increased Restrictions Leading Up To Paris 2024 New rules mean biological men who went through male puberty aren't allowed to compete against women. Athletes like New Zealand weightlifter Laurel Hubbard (who was at Tokyo 2020) and NCAA swimmer Lia Thomas aren't eligible which is a great thing.
- Ukraine Considering Boycotting Paris 2024 Over Russian Participation Ukraine's Minister of Youth and Sport said they knew this "will hurt our athletes" because not only will they miss Paris 2024, but they could miss future competitions as well because Ukraine could face sanctions for boycotting.
- Snoop Dogg Will Help With NBCUniversal Paris 2024 Olympics Coverage Snoop Dogg provided commentary of the equestrian competitions at the Tokyo Games.
RIP
- Spain's Two-Time World XC Champ Carmen Valero Dies At 68 Valero was Spain's first female athlete to compete in track at the Olympics, racing both the 800m and 1600m at the 1976 Montreal Games.
*InsideTheGames Tribute To Carmen Valero She suffered a stroke and was taken off the respirator after being in a coma for several days. - In Memoriam: A Look Back At The T&F Athletes, Leaders And Icons We Lost In 2023 The too-long list includes Tori Bowie, Dick Fosbury and Bob Hersh.
- Athletics Weekly: Women's marathon pioneer - Leslie Watson - the "glamour girl of marathons” - dies at 78
More 2023 Review & Looking Ahead To 2024
- World Athletics: 10 Reasons To Be Excited For 2024 The Olympics, World Indoors and World XC are all this year.
- The Good, Bad And Ugly Of Team Kenya's Performance At 2023 Worlds Top sprinter Ferdinand Omanyala only finishing 7th in the 100m final was definitely a disappointment for many Kenyans.
- The Top 20 Most Popular Articles On Athletics Weekly In 2023 An article on Titus Eriku's (2:02:57 marathon) 10-year doping ban was #1 on their list.
- 2024 Calendar Of Events From the Olympics to big city marathons to World XC and Diamond League meets.
- DyeStat Shares More Of Their Favorite Photos From 2023 *Even More 2023 Photos From DyeStat
Distance News
Frerichs was with BTC for seven years during which she won an Olympic and World silver medal in the steeple. She will now be training with Alistair and Amy Cragg's group.
- Kelvin Kiptum Wants To Break The 2 Hour Barrier At The Rotterdam Marathon In April Kiptum says he plans on his mileage peaking at 125 and that he only sees his family once a week during these intense training periods.
- Toyota Beats Honda At Japan's New Year Ekiden They took the lead during the second stage and held it throughout winning the race by over 2 minutes.
New Year Action
She broke the previous record of 14:19 set by Ethiopia’s Ejegayehu Taye at this race in 2021. Taye was in this race and finished 2nd in 14:21. The men's race was won by Switzerland’s Dominic Lobalu in 13:12.
- Berihu Aregawi (27:15) And Ababel Yeshaneh (30:30) Win San Silvestre Vallecana 10k In Madrid Aregawi won handily over Mohamed Katir (27:30) while Yeshaneh just beat out Likina Amebaw by one second.
- Italy's Nadia Battocletti Wins On Home Soil At BOClassic 5k In Bolzano Battocletti ran 15:30 to become the first Italian winner at this race since 1988. She beat out Kenyan world 1500m finalist Nelly Chepchirchir by three seconds. World half marathon champ Sabastian Sawe won the men's race in 28:00 over Italy's Yemaneberhan Crippa (28:03).
RIP
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Kiplagat was found stabbed in his car on a road near Eldoret. The car apparently hit a motorcycle which was used by the attackers to block him. Kiplagat represented Uganda at three Olympics, won 3000m silver at the 2008 world junior championships and had an 8:03 steeplechase PB.
2024 Will Start With A Bang In Japan
- January 2-3: Hakone Ekiden Preview Brett Larner says the big story for the 100th running of the Hokone Ekiden is, "Can Komazawa University become the first school to win all three major university ekidens two years in a row?" Watch Day 1 here if you have a VPN.
- New Year Ekiden Preview This is Japan's corporate men's national championships.
Best Of 2023
- World Athletics' Year In Review: Relays Team USA won 5 out of 6 relay medals at Worlds.
- The Oregonian: "The 25 Stories That Defined Oregon Sports In 2023" High school sprint star Mia Brahe-Pedersen made #5 on their list.
- DyeStat's Best Photos Of The Year
- MileSplit's Favorite Articles From 2023
- MileSplit's Top 12 Interviews Of 2023
- World Athletics' Year In Review: Race Walks
Mid-D News
- MB: Narve Nordas on Jakob Ingebrigtsen: 'As long as I manage to beat him in Paris, that is the most important thing.' Nordas had some quotes that are bound to turn heads after winning Afterbladet's 2023 sport's achievement award
- Jakob Ingebrigtsen finishes 3rd in Norwegian sportsman of the year voting, golfer Viktor Hovland wins award
- HSer Jaden Marchan runs 1:17.66 600m (#4 all-time) and beats sophomore phenom Quincy Wilson Wilson tied up and ran 1:17.81 - .01 slower than what he ran as a freshman.
The 100th Hakone Ekiden is Jan 2-3 and 71% of Japanese Say They'll Watch
- The 100th Hakone Ekiden is this year - or is it the 99th running or 102nd running? Brett Larner explains as Japan's WWII atrocities complicate things quite a bit.
- Brett Larner takes a deep dive into the history of the Hakone at 100: "(The race founder) conceived of an event that would focus on roughly the half marathon distance as a way of developing the next generation of marathoners and identifying those with Olympic potential...From the 2008 Beijing Olympics on, every male Japanese Olympic marathoner has had Hakone experience. The three men on the 2021 Tokyo Olympic team and the alternate were all Hakone stage winners."
- Back in the day, lots of Koreans ran in the Hakone Ekiden In fact, the only Hakone alum to win an Olympic medal was Korean - but he did it for Japan as Japan had taken over Korea.
- Fascinating read: Brett Larner breaks down how every single African athlete has done at the Hakone Ekiden in history "For the most part developing teams have used Africans to gain a foothold, but not a single one of the top-tier programs has ever recruited one....And while every male Kenyan Olympic marathon medalist from Wakiihuri in 1988 through Samuel Wanjiru in 2008 ran in Japan's corporate leagues, not a single African who has run Hakone has ever gone on to do anything internationally significant post-collegiately. Not one."
Other Recommended Reads
- Toni Reavis: What is it about running THAT people WHO don’t run don’t get?
- Q&A with Wejo and Rojo's favorite coach not named John Kellogg - Dan Pfaff: "I'm addicted to the puzzle of excellence in movement" "In athletics, I think respect for coaching has declined massively over the past decade or so from a community level all the way up to federation levels. We are our worst enemy at times. No other sport gives away the man hours and services that we give to our charges and helicopter parents are always shopping for the shiny toys on the internet."
News From Africa
- Hugues Fabrice Zango wants to be 'a symbol of hope' for Burkina Faso In 2021, he became the first Olympic medallist and in 2023 the first world champion for the country where two military coups took place in 2022.
- Faith Kipyegon reveals she's an Arsenal fan
End of Year Stuff
- Athletics deaths in 2023: notable figures we said goodbye to this year From Dick Fosbury to Tori Bowie to Jim Hines to Dave Martin, the port lost a lot of great people.
- Top 10 Canadian running performances of the year Marco Arop's 800m win is #1, Cam Levins NR in the marathon #2 with Andre De Grasse's 19.76 DL win #5.
- Top 10 trail stories of 2023 American Courtney Dauwaulter leads the way as she was the first to win the triple crown of Western States 100, Hardrock 100 and UTMB in a single season.
- Katharine Merry: Why Budapest 2023 was a World Champs to remember
Will Hassan make history in 2024?
Is she goes for the 5,000-10,000-marathon triple, she'll get at least one day off between every race while the quadruple would require her to run the marathon less than 12 hours after the 1500 final. Vote in our poll.
*MB: How many events will Sifan Hassan run in Paris?
Nothing to See Here
Spanish Anti-Doping agency didn't ban several athletes who tested positive between 2017-2022 including marathon NR holder They came up with ingenious ways not to bring case like by sending notifications via mail and not email so the statute of limitations might pass. In the case of Majida Maayouf, who is the Spanish and Moroccan national record holder in the marathon, they retroactively gave her TUEs.
*MB: Major, ongoing, long-term doping scandal in Spain
Sprint / Jump News
- AW Q&A with their U-20 men's AOY - Erriyon Knighton Knighton, who will only be 24 at his third Olympics in 2028, admits LA will be his Olympics. His goal for Paris - a medal of any color.
- AW Q&A with their U-20 women's AOY - America's teenage sprint sensation Shawnti Jackson The US HS record holder at 100m (10.89) reveals that the 200 (22.35 pb) is her favorite event. Plus did you know the Razorback sign d an NIL deal with Brooks?
- Shericka Jackson didn't get the 200m WR in 2023 but she did break 22 7 teams, meaning she's done it 17 teams in her career - the most ever The previous record was 16 for Merlene Ottey while Flo-Jo did it only 7.
- 15 years later, Cuba's Yargelis Savigne is awarded 2008 tj bronze after 2 others are stripped for doping
The End Of 2023 Is Almost Here
- The Best Photos On MileSplit From 2023
- Runner’s World's end of 2023 article From best dressed, to best social media follow, to best nickname or comeback, they've got you covered.
- Citius' end of 2023 article Awards handed out include coach of the year, most underrated athlete, most improved, bold predictions, etc.
- Have you watched the BBC documentary on Eilish McColgan and her mum? Eilish McColgan: Running in the Family You can watch it if you use the VPN we use. Get your VPN today.
- Mo Farah retired in 2023 - AW takes a look back at some of his greatest races Meanwhile, Bekele is still going strong in his 40s.
This Week's Pod
In this week's podcast which Rojo secretly recorded without Jonathan or Wejo's knowledge, Robert shares his biggest surprises and disappointments from 2023, wonders if Evan Jager can have a Joe Flacco-type moment in 2024 and gets super excited Paris Olympic marathon where a sub-4 mile in the midst of it is much more likely than a sub-2 clocking. Plus what percent of top 3 finishers at USAs and Worlds repeat a top 3 finish the next year? Along the way, Yared Nuguse Krissy Gear, Lamecha Girma, Narve Nordas and Addy Wiley get some love while Cooper Teare gets a little heat.
News From Africa
- MB: Kenyan govt is so upset they've lost their dominance in men's steeple - they are investing $1.2 million in 42 training camps - LetsRun.com
- Kelvin Kiptum's uncle admits they told him he was "headed nowhere" when he started focusing on running instead of school
- Elana (Meyer) van Zyl and Tegla Loroupe team up to empower women in Africa
News From India
- Olympic champion pole vaulter Katie Moon to be Mumbai Marathon ambassador An interesting choice for the January 21 race.
- India's first WC medallist LJer Anju Bobby George (brone 2003) says she was born in the wrong era The way Neeraj Chopra is celebrated as compared to her is vast.
Did you forget to get someone an xmas gift?
- Looking for a great last second gift? LetsRun.com Supporters Club memberships 25% off here
- At the in-laws? You definitely don't want them knowing what websties you are surfing. Get the VPN we use.
A Big Name Retires
Pierre-Ambroise Bosse has failed to recover from the surgery he had on his right thigh last year and says, "I no longer enjoy athletics. There is something unhealthy in this tendon, it's no longer there. The days go by, the Games are coming and at this rate, I will never be there. ...I bottled things up a lot. At first I did not dare to tell my loved ones so as not to hurt them. My mother's dream was for me to go to the Games in Paris. The end of my career is still hard to admit."
Let's hope the real Josh Kerr does the same
Click above for a video clip from a recent podcast where the "fake" Josh Kerr says he's a championship racer and will be at World Indoors.
More Distance News
- Recommended Read: Indy Star Profile On 41-Year-Old Mother Of Three Andrea Pomaranski And Her Journey To The Olympic Trials Pomaranski was a star runner in high school and a solid college runner, but eventually quit when she was diagnosed with osteoporosis at 28. After that she struggled with a blood-clotting disorder and the grief from losing her premature twin newborn sons. But now, ten years later, she's overcome her osteoporosis, has three children, is the American masters 50k record holder, a 2:31 marathon PB and is heading to the Olympic Trials.
- Ireland 1500m Runner Ciara Mageean Says She Has "Unfinished Business At The Olympic Games" The Worlds 4th placer didn't make the final in Rio and tore her calf the week before Tokyo. She says she's "going to throw everything and the kitchen sink" at training for the Paris Games this year.
- World XC Champ Beatrice Chebet Is Targeting The 5k World Record At The Cursa dels Nassos Raod Race In Barcelona On New Year's Eve
- Joshua Cheptegei Says Training With Eliud Kipchoge And Other Teammates Has Helped His Running Career "The team plays a very vital aspect in having a generally good mindset, especially the support of the team in training and out of training. Being together, talking over life issues, talking over the career, and talking over the barriers we encountered in the sport and also in life in general is a plus for me."
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Other News
- IS USATF In Financial Trouble? 2022 Audited Financial Statements Note "USATF's Ability To Continue As A Going Concern" USATF is heavily reliant on its long term sponsorship deal with Nike which made up 58% of its revenue in 2022.
- IOC Rejects Ukraine's Demands On Russian/Belarusian Athletes Not Competing At The Olympics IOC president Thomas Bach says he isn't afraid of an Ukraine Olympic boycott and said the fact that neither Russia nor Ukraine were totally happy with the final outcome means that they have "found a balanced solution."
- World Athletics Year In Review: Jumps Mondo Duplantis dominated the pole vault as usual, breaking his own world record two more times this year.
UK News
- Good Read: Josh Kerr On Olympic Medals: “I’ve got a bronze. ...I’m bored of the color and I want to get a really good one.” Kerr estimates he only missed 10 days of training in 2023 through illness/injury and says that he maxes out around 75 miles a week in 6 days.
- Eilish McColgan Plots Her Comeback After Year Of Injury “Right now it feels quite far away, because I am really starting from scratch again, but if you’ve been there and done it once then it does give you that belief that you can do it again.”
- BBC Asks Some British Pros If They Keep A Strict Diet During Christmas Time Katarina Johnson-Thompson and distance runner/triathlete Beth Potter both say they train enough they don't have to worry about it. They both also apparently love pigs in a blanket.
More 2023 Year In Review
- T&F News Chooses Ryan Crouser’s 23.56m World Record As Their Men's Performance Of The Year Mondo Duplantis’ 6.23m PV record was #2 and Kelvin Kiptum's 2:00:35 marathon WR was #3.
- Faith Kipyegon's 3:49.11 1500m WR Gets Voted T&F News' Women's Performance Of The Year Shericka Jackson’s 21.41 world champs victory was #2 on their list and Tigst Assefa's 2:11:53 marathon WR was #3 (even though it received almost as many #1 votes as Kipyegon's WR).
- T&F News' US Men's AOY Top 10 Voting Ryan Crouser got 24 out of 26 of the #1 spot votes with Noah Lyles taking the other two.
- T&F News' US Women's AOY Top 10 Voting Sha'Carri Richardson got the lion's share of the #1 votes (18 out of 24) with #2 ranked Chase Ealey, #3 Katie Moon and #4 Valarie Allman also receiving some #1 votes.
- World Athletics 2023 Review: Hurdles And Steeple
Japan Distance News
- 71% of Poll Respondents Say They Plan to Watch 100th Hakone Ekiden The Hakone Ekiden (run just after the New Year) is crazy popular in Japan.
- Elite Fields Announced For Osaka Women's Marathon And Osaka Half-Marathon (January 28) Workenesh Edesa (2:18:51) leads the marathon field along with a few 2:20 women.
- Kamimura Gakuen Girls Win in Last 50m, Saku Chosei Breaks Boys' CR at National High School Ekiden
Not Many Races Around Christmas, But They're Still Running Parkruns
- Ireland's Ciara Mageean Breaks Parkrun Record In Belfast She ran 15:13 to break the previous record by 12 seconds and beat her boyfriend by one second.
*MB: Park Run World Record is Dumb
- MB: Look who showed up at the local parkrun today - Jake Wightman races for 1st time since Jan. 8th 14:52 FTW (second place was 15:55).
Sprints / Mid-Distance News
- Athletics Weekly Profile On British Miler George Mills Who Turned His Season Around After Missing Out On Worlds Mills finished one spot out of making the 1500m team for Budapest at the British trials, but kept putting in the work. He was rewarded with a third place finish (behind Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Yared Nuguse) at Pre where Mills ran 3:47.65 (#3 on the British all-time list).
- Sha’Carri Richardson: “I want to be a competitor, not one of those athletes who just runs the 100. I’m a 1-2 runner and I want you guys to see this, and I want to bring that out, so I’m excited about next year.”
- Woman Breaks World Record In The Backwards Mile Ann Marie Pierce ran 7:24 while being paced by the men's record holder (who ran forwards).
- A Year For Ties: Ciara Mageean And Rhasidat Adeleke Split Athletics Ireland's Athlete Of The Year Award They both finished 4th at Worlds.
Long Distance News
- Sifan Hassan: "I think I'm addicted to the pain [of marathon running.]" But Hassan says she isn't decided on which distance(s) she'll run at the Paris Olympics.
- Kenyan Marathoners Thomas Kutere (2:08 PB) And Maurine Chepkemoi (2:20 PB) Get Doping Bans One for EPO and one for steroids.
*MB: "It seems that Kenyan athletes have a serious doping culture. That is the difference between the Kenyan and everyone" - NCAA.com Takes A Look Back At The Highlights Of Katelyn Tuohy's Collegiate Career Four NCAA titles and several collegiate records.
- Sport And Exercise Nutritionist Gives Advice On Fueling Before, During And After Long Distance Races Whatever you do, practice with it beforehand in training because you do not want to "try anything new" on race day.
- Mountain Running World Cup Schedule Released For 2024
Miscellaneous
- Nike Making Significant Layoffs Seeking $2 Billion In Cost Saving Over 3 Years
*MB: What does Nike 'Restructuring' mean for Running World? - World Athletics Publishes Another Study On Online Abuse Towards Athletes During The World Championships World Athletics monitored 1344 athletes and found that 47 of them received some kind of social media harassment (258 posts total between the 47 athletes). However, of those 47, two athletes received 44% of the posts (study doesn't say which two athletes). Men received slightly more posts, 51% to 49%.
- French President Says Paris Olympic Opening Ceremony On The Seine River "Could Be Reconsidered" Due To Security Concerns
NCAA News
- MB: Graham Blanks says he’s signed an NIL Deal (announcing soon)
- Washington State And Oregon State Join West Coast Conference For Cross Country For The Next Two Seasons Washington State and Oregon State are the only two schools left in the "Pac-12" after the other ten announced they're leaving after this year.
- Pac-12 Legal Battle Ends As Departing Schools Agree To Settlement With WSU And OSU As part of the settlement, the ten departing schools “have agreed to forfeit a portion of distributions over the remainder of the 2023-2024 year" which should leave WSU and OSU with quite a bit of extra money.
- Kansas State Reveals New Indoor Track Facility
2023 In Review
- World Athletics' 2023 In Review - Middle And Long Distance Josh Kerr won world 1500m gold, but Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Yared Nuguse were 1-2 in the world rankings.
- World Athletics' 2023 Review - Road Running WR setters Kelvin Kiptum and Tigist Assefa finished on top in the world marathon rankings.
- Ciara Mageean Named BBC Northern Ireland Sports Personality Of The Year The world champs 4th placer Mageean broke Sonia O'Sullivan's 29-year-old Irish mile record as well as the Irish 1500m and 800m records.
- The 50 Most Read Stories On MileSplit Over 2023 Their most read story was from the Florida coach who pulled his runner off the start line for a state qualifying mile race because he didn't think he went all-out in the 800m.
*MB: Fair or foul: HS Coach scratches athlete from state qualifying mile race as coach didn't like effort he gave in 800 - NXN Champ Addy Ritzenhein Is MileSplit's Girls Athlete Of The Year
- MileSplit Chooses Foot Locker Winner Drew Griffith As Their Boys Athlete Of The Year
- Japan Running News' Most Read Articles Of 2023 Their most-read was also their first, the Hakone Ekiden recap.
Tokyo Gets 2 Big Names
Kipchoge set the CR in Tokyo in 2022 while Hassan is making her Tokyo debut.
- Kipchoge holds press conference and says timing was key to Tokyo as Olympic 3-peat would be historic Only one man, Usain Bolt, has won the same Olympic running event three times. Kipchoge also revealed he's currently reading The Art of People by Dave Kerpen. Next up on the list is Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferrazzi. He just finished John C. Maxwell's Failing Forward.
- Inside the design of Alphafly 3, Nike’s (and Kipchoge's) newest marathon shoe The upper side of the shoes, which go on sale Jan. 4, "went through 62 variations before landing on the final version."
- Discussion: Eliud Kipchoge and Sifan Hassan both announced they're running Tokyo March 3
Sub-30 Here We Come
Monson, who set American records in the 3k, 5k, and 10k in 2023 and finished 5th in the 10k at Worlds, will open her 2024 season by running the 2-mile at the Millrose Games on February 11. She also reveals she'll skip World Indoors and World XC to try to become the first American woman to break 30:00 in the 10,000 at The TEN.
Houston Half
Right now, a 60:47 half marathon clocking for Rupp would move him up to #64 on the Road To Paris Rankings.
The LRC Awards Part II
From Sha'carri Richardson to Noah Lyles, Sifan Hassan to Yared Nuguse, we honor the best and most entertaining athletes and races of 2023, and yes, of course, Jakob Ingebrigtsen makes the list.
2024 Will Feature World Indoor & World XC But Who Will Show Up
Wightman's coach (and father) Geoff tells LRC that Jake will not compete at World Indoors while Kerr's coach Danny Mackey explains why the world champ is considering skipping World Indoors. Plus World Athletics president Seb Coe weighs in.
WA Was Scared To Name 1 AOY, But We Have No Fear
Noah Lyles pulled off an incredible double, Mondo Duplantis and Ryan Crouser had record-breaking years, but there is no need to split this award: Kelvin Kiptum is our 2023 Men's Athlete of the Year. Faith Kiypegon (duh) wins our women's award.
The 2023 Bowerman Awards Go To.....
It's the first time ever that two international athletes won the Bowerman in the same year. Hibbert, the youngest winner and 1st Jamaican winner, jumped 17.54m indoors and 17.87m outdoors while Alfred set CRs in the 60 (6.94) nd 200 (22.01) indoors while running windy 10.72 in the 100 and 21.73 in the 200 outdoors.
*MB: Jaydon Hibbert's got SWAG and personality. Check out these videos from him winning the Bowerman
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."
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.
Big Savings at Nike
Big savings at Nike especially on the Nike Pegasus, the most popular Nike shoe on LetsRun.com.
- Nike Pegasus 40 $83.97
- Nike Pegasus 39 $81.97
- Nike Pegasus 38 $99.97
- Nike Pegasus Turbo $104.97
- Nike Pegasus Trail 3 $99.97
Want to save on Tights, Shorts, Bras?
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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.
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?
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."
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
