Fisher analyzes what went right in 2022 and talks about his goals for 2023. "I wouldn’t say it’s medals or bust but the goal is to medal – 100%."
Archived Homepage For September 16, 2022
Archived Homepage For September 16, 2022
Enjoy Your Time Off - You Deserve It
Women In The News
- Former Iona runner from Canada sues her HS coach and school board for $3 million alleging sexual abuse The allegations are disgusting. She claims the coach told her she must be repressing past sexual abuse so they needed to hug naked together in bed to "mimic what the sexual abuse was like." The school board's insurer has in turn sued her mother saying, "some responsibility should lie with Kearley's mother, alleging her "conduct fell below the standard of a reasonable parent/guardian in the circumstances."
- Nigerian President confers Tobi Amusan the Order of the Niger (OON) He also gave the Nigerian track team 200 million Nigerian Naira (nearly 500k).
On The Boards
On The Boards
Upcoming Action / US Road 10k Champs Are This Weekend
- Sam Chelanga, Leonard Korir, Futsum Zienasellassie, Stephanie Bruce, Nell Rojas & Annie Frisbie all running US 10k road champs this weekend
- 15-yr old US U20 xc champ - Zariel Macchia - will race pros at USATF 10km Road Championships "My coaches think that it is not a smart choice to race the entire race as an all-out effort, so we have decided that I will get out with the leaders for two miles and then take it from there,” Zariel Macchia said.
*MB: Mary Cain 2.0? 15-yr-old teen phenom from NYC suburb to race pros this weekend at USATF 10k Champs - NBC is launching new monthly show on US athletes preparing for Paris 2024 and the 1st one-hour show is Sunday with Noah Lyles The 1st episode of Chasing Gold: Paris 2024 will air Sunday at 2:30 pm ET. *More
- 9 heptathletes with 6000+ PBs and 12 athletes with 8000+ pbs in the decathlon will battle for $30,000 1st prize this weekend in France
- World record holder Jacob Kiplimo to race the $268,000 Delhi Half Marathon on October 16
- Eilish McColgan will race Great Scottish Run 10k on October 2
- Chicago Parks Board will likely now have to vote to formally approve the Chicago Marathon each year Criticism has been building "over the use of public parks for large-scale events put on by private companies" and the Chicago Marathon is owned by the Bank of America.
Billions for Sports Stadiums 166k for Running
Run Elite Program has secured $166,000 in funding from the state of Utah to promote youth and community health and wellness initiatives.
Random
- 1st statistical reports of Eugene Worlds economic impact is out - Hotel room occupancy was up just 0.3% but the rates were a TON higher Nothing like gouging the outsiders for revenue. Room rates in the Willamette Valley region were up by 35.0% in July 2022 vs July 2021.
- Pomona-Pitzer hoping to be just 3rd NCAA D3 school to 3-peat on men's side
- DyeStat's early season boys top 40 xc teams Newbury Park is #1.
- DyeStat's early season girls top 40 xc teams Saratoga Springs is #1 while F-M is only #13.
- USOPC chair says IOC discussing "pathway" for Russia's return to sport with NOCs How about, you leave Ukraine and we'll let you back in.
This Week's Pod
The Track Talk podcast trio entertains and informs as usual.
*MB: Fair of Foul? Criticism of Jon Gault/LRC by Cooper Teare
*MB: Cooper Teare CONFIRMS Bowerman move s
The Kiwi talks about his breakthrough 2022 campaign, his goals for 2023, surfing and what it's like to live in mom and dad's basement as a married man.
*MB: Sam Tanner Q&A: "I want to break John Walker’s New Zealand record in the mile, the 3:49."
GOAT Season for the GOAT
SAFP won her 7th world title and accounted for more than a third of all sub-10.7 clockings in history in 2022. And she's a 35-year old mom. And if you compare it to Usain Bolt's best 100m season, it's still better.
*MB: Noah Lyles just completed the best 200m season in history! M
More Women In The News
- Recommended Read Kara Winger's final season in the sport was magical: "A Farewell Tour Years In The Making " Jeff Hollobaugh's feature on Winger's final season, her first being coached by her husband, is fantastic.
- Candian women's marathon record of 2:24:50 may fall in the next few weeks - will it fall in Berlin or Toronto or both? Current record holder Malindi Elmore will be in Toronto with fellow Olympian Dayna Pidhoresky while Natohsa Wodak goes to Berlin.
- Hellen Obiri enjoyed her GNR win and now is pumped for her marathon debut “I am so excited about my marathon debut but I'm also aware of the tough competition that awaits me."
- Neeraj Chopra’s went skydiving in Switzerland after winning the DL title (video)
- UK TV personality Jenni Falconer talks about what running means to her "If I got out for a run, I take myself out of the situation – and suddenly put everything into perspective,” she shared. “I’ll come back, I’ll be a completely different person, very chilled out, and I can see everything with clarity.”
Random Links That Passed Our Vetting Process
- New Oscar P documentary that got great ratings in South Africa reveals Pistorius kneels in tearful apology to victim's father “He gave me his truth, but I didn't get my truth. He came in, he went on his knees and he took my hand and shook it. He thanked me and told me how sorry he was and how he can't stop thinking about that moment. I didn't say I forgive you, I just said 'Thank you',” said her father. You can watch the trailer that was used to raise money for the documentary above. It's only out in SA as of now.
*‘My Name Is Reeva’ documentary brings to light how Oscar Pistorius was obsessive over Reeva Steenkamp - 2nd AbbottWMM Wanda Age Group World Championships will be held as part of Chicago Marathon this year
- Michael Johnson calls triathletes 'ultimate endurance athletes', praises PTO for being an athlete-owned organization
- 10 Storylines to follow at Woodbridge Cross Country Classic A Newbury Park boy has won the last 3 boys races but Leo and Lex Young are sitting this one out so Aaron Sahlman will have to rise the occasion.
Quote Of The Week
Quote Of The Week
“It just was a season full of trying to take advantage of each moment. And I don’t think with all of my injuries I’d ever been able to do that before. Having been so significantly injured early in my career, it was always that much scarier to attempt the limits of what was possible. I’ve heard so many people say, ‘Just show up and be grateful and you never know what can happen.’"”
Two Interesting Marathon Debuts Next Month
Dibaba holds the 1500m WR at 3:50.07 and ran 65:18 in her half-marathon debut in 2020, but DNF'd her only race this year. Ayana is the former 10,000m WR holder and finished 3rd in 67:10 at the Great North Run last weekend.
Assorted Distance News
- Register Guard: After Injury Ruined Cole Hocker's World Champs Dream, He Was Able To Finish The Season With A Handful Of Races Culminating At The 5th Ave. Mile With so much time off this spring Hocker plans on not taking too much rest time before starting his buildup for next year's worlds. He also didn't rule out trying to qualify for World XC in February.
- MB: Sara Hall out of Berlin Marathon - still planning on running NYC She said she suffered a setback with her IT band so is just focusing on NYC.
- Ireland's Ciara Mageean On Doping Accusations That Come With Her Big Improvements: "I find it a bit frustrating, a bit insulting, a bit annoying, but look, f**k it, it is what it is. I know I’m clean." She added, "I always welcome the people coming to test me. When they come I say, ‘Thank you so much, you’re doing me a service.’”
- Nell Rojas, The Top American At The Boston Marathon Last Year In 2:25:57, Talks About The Mental Side Of Her Running And Approach To Training She says too many of the amateur runners she coaches take a “no pain, no gain” approach to training and train too hard trying to "skip all the steps."
Non-Distance News
- SAFP Says 10.5 Is Possible “I’ve always believed that I can run 10.6 and I’ve always believed that I can run 10.5. And as long as I have that self-belief, as long as I continue to work and trust that it’s out there and there is something special that is coming, then I am going to continue working towards it until the wheels fall off. To be able to end the season with a 10.6 is really special. I didn’t get the 10.5 but next year is another year.”
- The Indian Express Asks "What Will It Take For An Indiana To Run 100m Under 10 Seconds? Amlan Borgohain recently broke the national record with 10.25 seconds.
- World Athletics: Brooke Andersen (USA), Camryn Rogers (Canada) And Janee Kassanovoid (USA) Lead New Era For North American Hammer Throwers Eugene worlds was the first time a European didn't make the podium in the hammer throw as North American women swept it.
NCAA / HS XC
- NAU Men Hold #1 Spot In Week 1 NCAA Coaches' Poll OSU, Stanford and BYU are ranked 2-4. *Regional Rankings
- NC State Women Ranked #1 In Week 1 NCAA Coaches' Poll New Mexico, Colorado and OSU are ranked 2-4. *Regional Rankings
- DyeStat: John Hopkins Enjoying Pursuit Of Record Eighth NCAA D3 Women's XC Title Johns Hopkins is currently tied for the record with SUNY Cortland. Cortland won 7 titles in the 1990s while coached by Jack Daniels.
- MB: HS runner suffers heart attack after XC race Gabriel Higginbottom was transported to the hospital and had surgery to clear a blocked artery and now is recovering, hoping to leave the hospital this week.
- Iowa State's Ezekiel Rop And UC Colorado Springs' Afewerki Zeru Are D1 Athletes Of The Week They each won their season opening XC races.
- DyeStat: Mental Health Studies Aim To Better Understand Risk Factors In College Athletics
Non-Binary Entries At Two Major Marathons
- Boston Marathon To Include Non-Binary Category For 2023 Race They're apparently still working on establishing qualifying standards for non-binary runners so currently they have to qualify based on their biological sex. That's really the only fair way to do it since a time in between would be too easy for males and too hard for females.
*MB: Non-Binary qualifying times for Boston??? - London Marathon Follows Boston In Adding Non-Binary Category For Mass Participation Race
This Week's Pod
Enjoy. Listen above or click on the link above to listen in your favorite podcast player.
Admin / Olympic News
- World Athletics Publishes 2021 Annual Report And Accounts IOC independent research determined that track and field was the #1 Olympic sport at the Tokyo Olympics.
- Seb Coe Is Pushing To Have City Street Events As Part Of The Paris Olympics Watching some track events with something like the Eiffel Tower as a backdrop would definitely be cool.
- Nearly Half The UK Population Watched The 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games
- Former Tokyo 2020 President Questioned As Part Of Deepening Corruption Scandal Multiple officials have been arrested as part of sponsor bribery allegations.
Week That Was
The last big week of the 2022 track and field sesaon entertained and we break it down for you, along the way we talk about a 17-yr old phenom as well as 40-yr-old Kenenisa Bekele.
More Recent Results
- World Champ Alison dos Santos (47.61/400H) And Wayde Van Niekerk (44.33/400m) Highlight With Meet Records In Bellinzona, Switzerland Van Niekerk won a close race with Kirani James, beating him by .05. Natoya Goule won the 800m in 1:59.08 and South Sudan's Dominic Lobalu won the 3000m in 7:38.16. Marie-Josee Ta Lou took the women's 100m in 10.86. Joe Kovacs beat Ryan Crouser again, 22.19m to 21.79m.
*MB: Bellinzona, Swiss fast times, Lobalu 7:38.16 drags 8 runners sub 7:50. Van Niekerk 44.33, Dos Santos 47.61 shine (400/400h) - European Under-18 Champions Jolanda Kallabis (Germany) And Niels Laros (Netherlands) Break Records In Germany Laros broke the 46-year-old European U18 3000m best with 7:48.25. Kallabis ran 6:07.72 to set the world U18 best in the 2000m steeplechase.
- Three Meet Records Go Down On Day 2 And 3 Of Japan National University T&F Championships In the team competition, Nittai University women and Juntendo University men both repeated their national titles.
- France's Robert Loic And Kenya's Joyce Njeru Win Canfranc Classic 16k Mountain Race In The Spanish Pyrenees Njeru's win secures her the Mountain Running World Cup title, despite there being three more races to go in this year’s series.
- Bravin Kiprop (28:39) And Purity Komen (32:35) Win Kapsowar 10k In Kenya
5th Avenue Mile
Wightman won in 3:49.6 in a close race over countryman Jake Heyward (also timed at 3:49.6)). Muir broke Jenny Simpson's event record with 4:14.8 to win over Nikki Hiltz (4:17.4).
- Cathal Dennehy: Ireland's Ciara Mageean And Andrew Coscoran Below Their Best As They Finish Seasons In NY Mageean was 17th (4:30) and Coscoran 16th (3:55).
Weekend Track Action
He ran 7:38.83 to beat Kenyan world U20 1500m champ Reynold Kipkorir Cheruiyot by just .0001. Morgan McDonald was 3rd in 7:39.05; Linden Hall took the women's mile in 4:21.10. Other winners included Marvin Bracy-Williams (9.85 - 100m), Grant Holloway (13.19 - 110H) and Joseph Fahnbulleh (20.07 - 200m). *Full Results
*MB: Kincaid MF Woody
- Ryan Crouser Throws 22.19m To Win Zagreb Street Meet Shot Put Over Joe Kovacs
- Japan National University Track and Field Championships Day 1 Recap Collegiate record holder Seira Fuwa returned from an Achilles injury to win the 10,000m in 32:55 (over 2-minutes slower than her record). Philip Mulwa won the men's 10,000m in 28:36.
Great North Run
Jacob Kiplimo (59:33) And Hellen Obiri (67:05) Win Great North Run Half-Marathon
The WR holder Kiplimo won by over a minute over Olympic 10,000m champ Selemon Barega (60:39) and Kenenisa Bekele (61:01). Obiri won a close battle with Olympic marathon champ Peres Jepchirchir by 2 seconds and Almaz Ayana was 3rd in 67:10.
- MB: Great North Run Discussion Thread
- MB: Great North Run 2022 - Bekele in shape?
- Tributes Paid To Queen Elizabeth II Before Great North Run Included a minute of silence before the start.
- BBC: More Sports/Athletes Pay Tribute To Queen Elizabeth II Mo Farah said, "Meeting her was one of the greatest honors of my life. We will remember her for her warmth and dedication to the British people throughout her reign." Paula Radcliffe, Adam Gemili and Linford Christie also paid tribute.
Doping News
- MB: Laila Traby, ex French female 5000 Champion faces EPO doping charges, prison time
- Italian Steeplechaser Ahmed Abdelwahed Tests Positive For Doping Abdelwahed won European Champs silver in the steeple last month, but now may lose that medal. He claims he took a contaminated supplement.
- Georgian Shot Put Record Holder Benik Abramyan Gets 7-Year Doping Ban Abrayman tested positive last year while at the Tokyo Olympics (before he competed). He was going to get 8-years for his second doping offense, but was given 7 because he admitted to it and accepted the sanction.
Course Record for Muir
Wightman Wins
World Champ Wightman
Sage Hurta Breakout Year
50 Years after 1972 Olympic Marathon Gold
Frank Shorter joined us for a fascinating talk about his 1972 Olympic gold, his training, the massacre at the 1972 Olympics, Steve Prefontaine's snow skiing abilities and a lot more.
Guest Post
Shorter was asleep on the balcony of his Olympic Village apartment when he heard the first gunshots. Why was sleeping out there? Ask Dave Wottle.
2024 Will Be Here Before You Know It
The Trials were supposed to be awarded by July 14. USATF's Adam Schmenk told us why that decision has been delayed.
Looking Ahead To Marathon Season
With the major marathon fields are (mostly) set, it's time to get excited for another busy fall of road racing.|
- MB: 26.2 fans, these are the storylines you want to pay attention to this fall according to Jonathan Gault
- World Champ Tamirat Tola withdraws from London:"Unfortunately, since the World Champs I have had problems with muscle fatigue."
Brosnan Q&A
Which Newbury Park stud does Brosnan compare to Galen Rupp, who does he think can win an NCAA 1500 title and who will be the best pro?
Worlds Post Mortem
From Max Siegel scheduling a press conference in the middle of the meet while it was going on to Galen Rupp only finishing 19th in the marathon, Rojo reveals what stunned him at Worlds.
Jakob Ingebrigtsen listens to the Letsrun podcast. Why don't you?
Ross Tucker Speaks
We paid one of the top sports scientists in the world to analyze the Shelby Houlihan doping case and CAS ruling. He has 2 pieces for us, the piece above is an opinion piece where he answers our questions. In a 2nd more technical piece, Ross goes through the CAS decision step by step and outlines in clear terms exactly what Houlihan argued and why he thinks CAS ultimately (correctly) ruled against her.
Are The Marathon Trials In Trouble?
As USATF searches for a bidder for the 2024 Trials, those in charge of recent Olympic Marathon Trials in Houston and Atlanta believe the Trials' financial model is unsustainable. Will anything change?
The new and improved LetsRun.com forum is here. Read about the new features. Or just check them out yourself.
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
‒Kara Winger, explaining her remarkable 2022 during which she grabbed the American record and won her first global medal - all in her last year of competition. Winger, who had never medalled globally before this year, also says, "The message has always been there’s value in the journey even without the objective success that people are looking for.”