The greatest distance runner in history sounded very confident when we caught up with him this morning in New York. "On Sunday, I expect a good day and good result," said Bekele who has recovered nicely since Berlin.
Archived Homepage For November 05, 2021
Archived Homepage For November 05, 2021
Updated with quotes from Sally Kipyegon and Stephanie Bruce.
Non LRC NYC News
- RRW: Peres Jepchirchir Hope To Make History By Becoming 1st Olympic Marathon Champ To Win New York City Marathon If Kenenisa Bekele wins it, he will be the first male Olympic champion to win the Olympics and NYC. One woman has won Olympic gold (on the track) and NYC - Derartu Tulu won the 10,000 gold in 1992 and then NYC 17 years later in 2009.
- NPR: Only 1 person from the original NYC Marathon will also run the 50th Two guys were going to do both but sadly one was tragically paralyzed by a wave while on vacation in Australia in 2017.
*MB: Meet Larry Trachtenberg, the only person to run the 1st and 50th NYC Marathon - Athletics Weekly: Here's why Kenenisa Bekele is the greatest male distance runner in history Or if you are a visual learner, take a look at this video.
- Bekele, in New York for marathon, appeals for ceasefire in Ethiopia He hopes the two sides "come down to the negotiation table and discuss a settlement.”
On The Boards
On The Boards
Non NYC News of Note
- NCAA 5k runnerup Katie Wasserman joins HOKA Northern Arizona Elite
- Toni Reavis reminds us the 36th LA Marathon is this weekend And the favorites are the brothers of US Olympian Leonard Korir, John (2:09:14 pb) and Evans Korir (2:06:35 pb).
- British sprinter Imani-Lara Lansiquot made the most of her 2-week Olympic quarantine - she wrote a play
- Strava's shares the hilliest Canadian streets
- Cool story: In Feb of 2020, a Malawi soccer player entered a local xc race as she needed money and she won her first race ever and €37, she ended up running in the Olympics in Tokyo (as a sprinter)
- CAS upholds six-month ban for former World Athletics council member Al-Kamali after gifting watches, but wipes out his $5,500 fine He says he gave watches worth $40. Said Aouita said they were Rolexes.
- 2021 Instanbul Marathon elite field There are 5 sub-2:07 men and 1 sub-2:25 woman.
- Top British sprinters told to cease immediate contact with Rana Reider This seems crazy to us. Let them know of the allegations but if they want to still be coached by him, they should be allowed to do so until if and when he is sanctioned for something. *Discuss
- 1948 Olympic 100 silver medallist Dorothy Manley dies aged 94
- AW: Will Neeraj Chopra's Olympic javelin gold awaken the sleeping giant of athletics, India? Our answer, "No."
NYC Race Previews
The greatest distance runner in history will race NYC for the 1st time as will American Ben True. Can True break the American NY course record?
*MB: NYC men: How do Bekele and Kandie do? Can Ben True break the American course record and run 2:08 in NY?
Not since Frank Shorter in 1972 has an athlete won the Olympics and doubled back to win a fall marathon later that year. That's what Jepchirchir is trying to do on Sunday in New York.
*MB: 2021 NYC Women's Preview: Could Molly Seidel win? Actually, yes but expect Peres Jepchirchir to extend her win streak to 2+ yrs.
What About The Sport?
Getting rid of the rule that automatically DQd a runner for stepping on the line in a race is a good start, but World Athletics needs to join the modern world in terms of officiating. Before the runners leave the track, they and everyone in the stadium should know if a foul has been called. It should then immediately be reviewed with the outcome and explanation announced just like in the NFL.
*MB: Rojo: Track and field needs to join the modern world when it comes to officiating
NYC Podcast and Podcast Highlights
NYC Podcast and Podcast Highlights
More NYC Related News
We LOVED this piece by David Monti on Thweatt who led a lot the 2020 Olympic Trials before finshing 5th.
The American record holder's marathon career began just weeks after 9/11 with a 2:26:58 7th place showing.
- Ben True Ahead Of His Marathon Debut In NYC: “I’d love to keep racing. The way that my body has felt for the marathon build has made me think I can do this for a lot longer.” One of True's training partners says True recently did a solo 12k time trial and came within 10 seconds of the national record.
- After battling bulimia and depression, Molly Seidel realized "everything I get to do now is a gift"
- Shalane Flanagan says she won't start with elite women in NYC
- WSJ: "Shalane Flanagan Aims to Finish Her Sixth Marathon in Six Weeks—On Two Rebuilt Knees" (behind paywall)
More Distance News
- 2022 World Half champs postponed from March 27 to November 13, 2022 due to Covid We suggest they just move them out of China.
- How a coaching change, a DQ and a year of injury led Japan-loving Massimo Stano to Olympic gold We aren't big fans of the race walk but found this profile to be a good read.
- Eliud Kipchoge Coy On Whether He'll Run Paris 2024 (He'll Be 39-Years-Old) "I will make that decision later. Three years is still a lot so, the future will tell."
- 1992 Olympian Judi St. Hillaire Expected To Recover After Being Hit By A Car While Biking The 1992 10,000m 8th placer sustained 12 broken ribs, punctured lungs and two broken collar bones.
- MB: Boston Marathon 2022 Requires Vaccination
Sprints / Jumps
- 12-Time US High Jump Champion And Cancer Survivor Chaunte Lowe Wants To Increase Breast Cancer Awareness Lowe emphasizes the importance of early detection and talks about how she had to push for further testing after a doctor initially dismissed her lump as a lymph node.
- The Telegraph Tells The Story Of Ethel Scott, The First Black Woman To Represent GB At International Track Competition Little was known about Scott, a trailblazer who ran 11.1 for 100m between WWI and WWII, until her nephew did extensive research to uncover her athletic story.
- Sweden's Multi-Time European Pole Vault Medalist Angelica Bengtsson Retires At Age-28 Bengtsson was regarded as a "teen prodigy" winning back-to-back world U20 titles, but never won a senior world or Olympic medal.
Assorted Admin News
- Leading Sprint/Jumps Coach Rana Reider To Be Investigated Over Sexual Misconduct Claims
Reider coaches a lot of top athletes including Andre de Grasse, Christian Taylor and Adam Gemili. UKA has actually told GB athletes like Gemili that the can no longer work with Reider or will lose their funding. Reider says the allegations were "news to [him]" and that SafeSport hasn't issued any notice. *Discuss - New UKA Chair Ian Beattie Says He'll Give Athletes Direct Say In How The Governing Body Is Run This includes input on new hires like replacing recently resigned CEO Joanna Coates.
- Tokyo 2020 Produced $1.76 Billion In Revenue For NBC Universal Their revenue for the Olympic quarter was up 58% from the previous year.
- WADA Investigating New Strategies To Retain Whistleblower Anonymity They should probably start by not throwing whistleblowers under the bus as they did in the past with Russia.
- Atlanta Track Club Announces Long-Term Partnership With Adidas
- WADA Adds Three National Anti-Doping Organizations To Compliance Watchlist Romania, Belgium and Montenegro.
2021 Superlatives
- Voting Open For 2021 USATF Athletes Of The Year Award Choose your top athletes, top Olympic performances and best breakthrough.
- Vote In The 2021 Athletics Weekly Readers' Choice Awards Make your pick for top international and British athletes for the year.
- The Diamond League Chooses Their Top 5 Quotes Of The Year Sha'Carri Richardson is first on their list.
Japan Road News
- Brett Larner Criticizes Japan's World Champs Marathon Selection System For Being Too Complicated Compared To USATF's He says the USATF policy "fits in one 4-page PDF, with the actual selection criteria taking up six paragraphs that can be summarized in one" while "the JAAF's selection criteria are in a 2-page PDF, but to understand it you need to wade through five other graphic and data-packed PDFs and JAAF site pages."
- March 13th Shizuoka Marathon In Japan Canceled Over Organizers' Fears Of Sixth Wave Of COVID Japan Running News' Brett Larner noted that the current new case count for this area is only 1 and that the weekly average for all of Japan is less than NYC and they're still running the NYC Marathon this weekend.
- February's Kashima Yutoku Half Marathon Canceled Due To Pandemic And Possibility Of Flu Outbreak We're not going to start cancelling races because it's flu season are we?
- Junichi Ushiyama (2:17:03) And Mai Fujisawa (2:35:52) Win Kanazawa Marathon, Japan's First Full-Size Mass Participation Races Since February 2020 The race had almost 10,000 runners.
- December 6: Kyohei Hosoya (2:06:35) And Ryu Takaku (2:06:45) Lead Field For Fukuoka Marathon
More Recent Results
- Meijo Wins Fifth-Straight National Title, 18-Year-Old Seira Fuwa Sets Sendai on Fire at National University Women's Ekiden Fuwa ran 28:00 for 9.2k to break the fifth stage record by 1:14, a time equivalent to about a 30:37 10k.
- MB: Ivan Siuris, former Moldavian 400 m runner (50.62) wins Bucharest marathon in 2:16:35.
- MB: Rheinhardt Harrison 15min 5K In Florida Monsoon! Includes video.
- MB: NAZ's Aliice Wright Breaks UK 1 Hour Track Record She ran 17,050 meters in an hour (5:39 pace).
- Burundi’s Rodrigue Kwizera And Kenya’s Lucy Mawia Muli Win Soria XC Meet
- AW Extensive Weekly Round-Up Several Brits did well at their NCAA conference championships.
- Germany'sFilimon Abraham And Italy's Francesca Ghelfi Win World Mountain Running Nations Cup In Italy
Training Advice
- Medical Experts Give Advice To Athletes On Coming Back From COVID Everyone's experience will be different, but coming back to fast could slow recovery.
- Athletics Weekly: How To Lighten The Load On Your Hamstrings
- World Athletics Asks If Elite Athletes Can Succeed On A Vegan Diet US Olympic sprinter Kaylin Whitney is vegan.
Updated NCAA Rankings
- Women's Post-Conference Champs Rankings Have Top-4 Teams Close With NC State Moving Back To #1 New Mexico moved down to #1 while Colorado and BYU are ranked 3-4. *Regional Rankings
- NAU Men Remain Ranked #1 As Colorado And OSU Move Up To 2-3 Iowa State moved down to 4th. *Regional Rankings
- Butler's Simon Bedard, Minnesota's Megan Hasz, Colorado's Abby Nichols Named NCAA XC Athletes Of The Week After Conference Wins
Better Late Than Never
World Athletics say it's been on their agenda since the 2018 World Indoor Champs where 21 athletes were DQ'd for lane violations. Now, they are treating it like race walking, where "some one-off lane infringements are now permitted."
Week That Was
In this week's weekly recap, we take a look back at last week's NCAA conference xc champs and start to get pumped for the upcoming NCAAs. The New Mexico, NC State, BYU and Colorado women all look tough to beat. Plus a look at the best celebrations, big individual wins by Wesley Kiptoo and Mercy Chelangat and a celebration of the Hasz twins.
Follow-Ups On Oregon Weight Tracking Controversy
- Runner's World: Former Duck Katie Rainsberger Corroborates Accusations Of Body Focus In The Oregon Track Program Rainsberger says she thinks she got hurt her sophomore year because she got too lean during her freshman year. Runner's World also talks to Mauricia Powell about her different approach to weight and DEXA scans. Rainsberger ended up leaving Oregon to follow the Powell's to Washington.
- Ken Goe Does Half Hour Podcast Talking About His Article On Body Shaming In The University Of Oregon Track Program
Kipchoge News
Friend of LRC Cathal Dennehy travels to Kenya to get a behind the scenes look at Kipchoge's training and lifestyle. He learns about Kipchoge's daily routine, aversion for celebrations, views on training and if he's thinking about Paris 2024.
- More Than 1000 Runners Win Places In Paris 2024 Mass-Participation Race After Beating Eliud Kipchoge Over 5k The pursuit-style race marking 1000 days to go until Paris, saw Kipchoge take off after the masses and anyone who finished ahead of him won a free spot to the 2024 race. Kipchoge said, "This is the first time I am happy to have lost." *Discuss
More Distance News
- Viola Cheptoo Will Run Her First Marathon With Her Brother, Bernard Lagat, On The Broadcast Cheptoo, who ran 66:47 for her half debut in 2020, says, “It’s a unique thing because I don’t think a lot of people get to have a family member commentate on one of their races, let alone be there to just watch them. So, this is going to be fun.”
*Bernard Lagat And Deena Kastor To Join NYC Marathon Broadcast Team
- Francine Niyonsaba Says She Wouldn't Move Back To The 800m Even If She Could “I would never go back. ...I have forgotten about the 800m because I am now focusing on the longer distances."
- Mo Farah Wants To End His Career With A Final Summer Of Glory Next Year The article says Farah would like to try for one of the three big events next summer (Worlds, Commonwealth Games or European Champs), but Farah's quote mentions going out possibly on the roads from the 10k to marathon distance.
- Ruth Chepngetich's 64:02 Half-Marathon WR And Francine Niyonsaba's 5:21.56 2000m WR Ratified By World Athletics Granted Chepngetich’s record has already been broken by Letesenbet Gidey's ridiculous 62:52.
NCAA XC Conference Championship Weekend
NCAA XC Conference Championship Weekend
(link fixed) The USTFCCCA recaps all of the conference action for you. Watch the end of the Pac 12 men's race above. *USTFCCCA Weekend Preview
- Dyestat PAC 12 Champs Recap: Charlies Hicks Wins Over Cooper Teare; Abby Nichols Leads Colorado Women To Team Title Colorado men also won the team title, 39 points to Stanford's 52.
- Maggie Donahue's Individual Win Leads Georgetown Women To Big East XC Championship
- Butler Men Repeat As Big East XC Champs They beat Georgetown by 14-points.
- Furman Men And Women Win Sweep Ninth Straight Southern Conference XC Champs
- UC Davis Women Win Big West Conference Title
- UC Santa Barbara Men Win Big West XC Champs
- New Mexico Women Score Perfect 15 Points To Extend Mountain West Championship Streak To 14; Air Force Men Repeat New Mexico's Amelia Mazza-Downie and Boise State's Dario De Caro were the individual winners. *Results
- OSU Men And Women Sweep Big 12 XC Champs Iowa State's Wesley Kiptoo got the individual win in 23:32, but his team lost to OSU by 7-points who took places 2-4. It was even closer on the women's side as OSU only beat Iowa State by 1-point with West Virginia's Ceili McCabe the individual winner.
- Wisconsin Men Win Big Ten XC Champs Badgers Bob Liking and Olin Hacker went 1-2. *Results
- Minnesota Women Take Big Ten XC Title Megan Hasz took the individual win to help the team beat out Wisconsin by 6-points. *Results
- Princeton Takes Men's Ivy League Team Title, Harvard's Matthew Pereira Captures Individual Crown
- Harvard Takes Women's Ivy League Team Title, Yale's Kayley DeLay Wins Individual Race
- Lumberjack Men And Women Sweep Big Sky XC Titles Drew Bosley in 23:15.6 just ahead of Nico Young (23:16.0). Taryn o'Neill won the women's race (16:31.6). *Results
World Famous Messageboard NCAA XC Chatter
- 2021 ACC XC IS Friday!!!
- Hand them the title now? #2 NC State women CRUSH 2021 ACC champs with just 20 points
- Hand them the title now? #1 New Mexico women CRUSH 2021 Mountain West Champs, go 1-2-3-4-5-6-7
- SEC Championship Predictions
- PAC12 XC turns in perhaps the most pathetic course in all of XC. Course just loops around recreational soccer fields for 6K/8K
- COOPER TEARE GOES HOMES DEVASTATED!!!! RS freshman Charles Hicks spanks Teare at Pac 12s
- New coach Bernard Lagat goes home DEVASTATED as Arizona men DNF and women rack up 343 points at PAC12s
- Big East Championship
- Big Ten Predictions
- Big West Rankings and Prdictions
- 2021 Ivy League XC predictions...?
- XC Champs Watching
- 2021 Ivy League XC predictions...?
- GLIAC XC 2021
- Big Sky Cross Country Championships GMAC 2021
- MIAC XC 2021
- Mid-Atlantic 2021 Men's XC Thread
- NESCAC XC 2021 Thread
- My coach is pissed about guys on my team lying about their height!
- Hardest D1 XC Conferences to be All-Conference In
WTF USATF?
Two years after botching the selection process for the Pan American Games, USATF has messed up again, leaving athletes in a web of confusion and frustration. Earlier this week, they announced a radically different marathon qualifying system that is based on just four races - three of which have already been held. Go figure.
Prediction Contest Winners
Who predicted the Chicago and Boston two-step the best?
Bonus Podcast
The LRC team breaks down today's action for our SC members in our weekly bonus Friday 15 podcast. Which women's team was most impressive? Do the Notre Dame men have a chance? Are Cooper Teare's dreams of an individual crown over? How about Megan Hasz, who like her twin sister, is the 2021 Big Ten Champ.
Full ACC broadcast
Big Sky Highlights
Big East Women's Highlights
MVC Men (Epic Celebration)
Mountain West XC Highlights
SEC Men's Highlights
SEC Women's Highlights
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
Lauren Thweatt talking to David Monti about how Des Linden asked her why she led much of the 2020 US Olympic Marathon Trials.