Rupp says he has overhauled his form after years of injury issues -- "I hate going back and looking at videos of myself running last year."
Archived Homepage For October 06, 2023
Archived Homepage For October 06, 2023
Can Ruth Chepngetich, who ran 2:14:18 in Chicago last year, get close to Tigst Assefa's 2:11:53 WR? How will Sifan Hassan do after her World Championship triple six weeks ago?
Conner Mantz and Galen Rupp lead a strong US field; what can Kiptum do for an encore after running 2:01 in his first two marathons?
- Chicago Marathon: Kenyan paper says Kelvin Kiptum will be going for course record (2:03:45) not world record "I prepared well for the London Marathon in April because there was less rain compared to now. I have been battling the weather in training but I am determined to complete the programme."
- World Fastest Half Marathoner of 2023, Daniel Mateiko (58:36), is ready for marathon debut in Chicago, "Expect good things from me."
- Chicago Will Contextualize Berlin – Toni Reavis' Chicago Marathon women's preview
On The Boards
On The Boards
Why Didn't Anyone Think of This Sooner?
Has Robert Johnson found the Holy Grail in terms of making track and field relevant again? He thinks he has found an easy way to get fans to pay attention to 14 meets a year - not just 1.
The Latest Links To Pass Our Human Vetting Process
Moraa has never even seen a picture of her mom.
- Michael Johnson compares triathlon's struggle for popularity to track and field's "You want to try to be all things to all people, but that just doesn’t work and there’s no doubt about that. That’s been proven."
- NCAA transfer window is reduced from 60 to 45 days
The latests from Europe
- LRC: Norwegian paper reports Jakob's mom attended hs wedding but didn't sit at main table with other family members Henrik also apparently blew her off when she tried to talk to him.
- Jakob and Elisabeth Ingebrigtsen share beautiful photos from their honeymoon
- Meet British teen phenom Phoebe Gill who ran 4:19 at 15 and 2:01 at 16
- Jess Warner-Judd started her career as a World Jr medallist in the 800 but she just had the most fun in her life in the 10k at Worlds - "10,000m final was the most fun I've ever had"
- Laura Weightman talks about her retirement age 32 - "There was nothing more I could've done" Weigthman, was made 2 Olympics finals, retires with pbs of 4:00.09 and 14:35.44 after her body betrayed her.
- Former 1:45 man Paul Forbes broke world M65 record at European Masters Champs by running 2:13.74 last week
Weird, But True
- Good read: 800 star Wycliffe Kinyamal was born so small and prematurely that he was dumped in a bananna plantation and left for dead but a neighbor went and got him and took him to the hospital Even his dad admits he ran away from him the first time he saw him. The article requires a purchase but it only costs $1.
- MB: Some ultra runners are irate that USATF makes them wear Nike gear at Worlds but won't even pay their way at the World 24 Hr Champs It's crazy that they can't pay for this but somehow can pay Max Siegel more than $3 million. You can sign the proetest petition here.
- Maybe it's a good thing that Victoria dropped out of hosting 2026 Commonwealth Games New reports they spent more than $13 million already on plans for Athletes Village even though the budget was only $646,000.
- Japan Shut Out of Marathon Medals at Asian Games as China's Jie He (2:13:02) and Bahrain's Eunice Chumba (2:26:14) Win
- Asian Games: Neeraj Chopra overcamebizarre start to win javelin gold ahead of Kishore Jena as India finish 1-2 For some reason, they didn't measure his first throw so he had to re-do it.
*Chopra won with 88.88 seasonal best as Kumar Jena threw a pb of 87.54m for silver Barshim wins HJ gold with 2.35 CR. - Asian Games: Women at center of 100h DQ controversy Wu Yanni apologises to all competitors If you don't know what we are talking about,read this MB thraead: MB: Crazy story about the Chinese false start at the Asian games...
- Noah Lyles enjoys vacation with girlfriend Junelle Bromfield in Jamaica & couple is joined by Shericka Jackson and Micheal Campbell
- Noah Lyles one one-on-one with AW - "This is what I dreamed of. This is what I’ve been waiting for. This is what I wanted to happen.”
- Nike now has a supershoe out for trail running - the Nike Ultrafly - Full review
Post World-Half News
- World half silver medallist Daniel Ebenyo tries to explain what he was doing with hang gestures at end of race, says he was letting Sawe win
- Perse Chepchirir dedicated World Half win to her husband who has been her rock
- After finishing 4th at Worlds in 5000, 14:23 woman Margaret Chelimo is thrilled to have won silver at World Half
This Week's pod
Hobbs Kessler is the new world record holder and world champion in the road mile, Peres Jepchirchir got her 3rd world title, Faith Kipyegon's perfect season came to an end, and Yomif Kejelcha came up just short as Alberto Salazar's doping ban came to an end. We break it all down and look ahead to Chicago.
Road News
- BBC Asks Tigst Assefa, Her Coach, Renato Canova And Alex Hutchinson If A Woman Can Go Sub-2:10 In The Marathon Canova and Hutchinson both think it will happen, but likely thanks to more improvements with shoe and fueling technology.
- Twin Cities Marathon Race Director Defends Cancelling The Marathon And 10 Mile An Hour And A Half Before The Start RD Eli Asch says he hasn't "doubted the decision for a second" and that, "we saved lives."
- LRC: Tracksmith BQ Qualifier Singlet Being Attacked Some aren't happy the special singlet is only available to Boston Marathon qualifiers.
- Kelvin Kiptum Ahead Of The Chicago Marathon: “Get ready for the show."
Other Distance News
- MB: Biological male 5th at Maine XC festival of champions in the seeded girls' category World Athletics has banned this. US high schools need to do the same.
*Daily Mail article Includes video with at least one person in the crowd cheering, "Way to cheat, bro!" - Team USA Ultrarunners Have To Pay Their Own Way To 24-Hour World Championships In Taiwan At least USATF sends a full team and gives them the option to pay their own way there. The UK just doesn't even give athletes that option; they just don't send them.
- GB's Two-Time Commonwealth Games Medalist Distance Runner Laura Weightman Retires From The Sport "To Protect [Her] Long-Term Health" The 32-year-old has struggled with injuries, surgery and rehab. She said, "In order to protect my long-term health, I've made this very difficult decision. I'm heartbroken I won't get to race just one last time."
The LetsRun.com Better Shoes Database collects detailed reviews from the most experienced and knowledgeable runners in the world to help you find the best shoes. Learn more.
Climate News
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- Ben Blankenship Wins IOC Climate Action Award Blankenship helped establish the Fast Forest project which plants trees for every American miler who goes sub-4 (men) or sub-4:30 (women).
- GB Runner Innes Fitzgerald Wins Young Athlete Of The Year At BBC Green Sport Awards Fitzgerald made headlines earlier in the year for taking trains to Euro XC in Italy (rather than a flight) and skipping World XC because she didn't want to fly to Australia.
- Parisian Green Party Proposes Paris Go Car-Free For The Six Weeks Of The 2024 Olympics And Offer Free Public Transport This proposal is unlikely to get passed.
A Lot Of Drama At The Asian Games In China
- Indian Heptathlete Swapna Barman Says She Deserves Asian Games Bronze Medal After Accusing Her Compatriot Nandini Agasara Of Being Transgender Agasara finished in 3rd beating out Barman by just 4 points for the bronze medal. Agasara has denied the transgender accusation, saying, "How can someone say something like this about another woman. ... Now that I have won, all these trolls have come out."
- Asian Games Official In Stable Condition After Being Hit By Stray Hammer Throw The official suffered a broken leg and serious bleeding after a hammer was thrown out of the cage sideways, but is in stable condition.
- Chinese Censors Block "Tiananmen" Image Of Two Athletes Hugging At Asian Games The Chinese 100m hurdlers had the hip numbers '6' and '4' inadvertently making a reference to the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre which is often reference as "6/4."
- Controversy In Asian Games Women's 100H As Chinese Officials Allow Chinese Hurdler To Run Under Protest And Do Celebration Lap After False Start Replays showed that Yanni Wu clearly false started, but there are accusations of favoritism after the officials still allowed her to race (she finished 2nd) and do a celebration lap with a Chinese flag before officially DQing her.
NCAA XC Rankings
- T&F News' NCAA Cross Country Preview — Men’s Top 10 Teams They have OSU ranked first ahead of NAU and BYU.
- T&F News' Women's Team Preview: NC State Ranked #1 Over NAU And Notre Dame
- T&F News' Men's Individual Preview: NAU's Drew Bosley Ranked #1 They have Stanford's Ky Robinson, BYU's Casey Clinger and NAU's Nico Young 2-4.
- T&F News' Women's Individual Preview: Katelyn Tuohy Ranked #1 Ahead Of Parker Valby Alabama's Doris Lemngole and NC State's Kelsey Chmiel are 3-4.
- No Changes In Men's NCAA Coaches' Poll As NAU Remains #1 OSU, BYU and Wisconsin are ranked 2-4. *Regional Rankings
- No Changes To Top Women's Teams In Updated Coaches' Poll NC State is #1 with NAU, OSU and Notre Dame 2-4. *Regional Rankings
Asian Games Recaps
- Bahrain's World Champ Winfred Mutile Yavi Easily Wins Asian Games Steeplechase In Games Record Of 9:18 (Previous Record Was 9:31) India’s Avinash Mukund Sable won the men's record in a Games record of 8:19.50.
- Philippines' World Silver Medalist Ernest John Obiena Highlights First Two Days Of Asian Games With 5.90m Pole Vault Win He broke the meet record by 20cm. Bahrain swept the men's and women's 10,000m thanks to Birhanu Balew and Violah Jepchumba.
- Day-By-Day Japanese Highlights From Asian Games
Road News
- Tigst Assefa Berlin Marathon World Record Running Form Analysis - Was It Was The Shoes? Comparing Assefa's form from the 2022 Berlin Marathon to 2023, there are noticeable differences which likely came from the new adidas $500 super shoes. She also had a higher cadence (more footsteps per minute) which could be down to the shoes being lighter.
- Sam Prakel Rescheduled His Wedding To Compete At The World Road Running Championships Prakel was supposed to get married last weekend, but postponed it a week to race in Riga.
- Vincent Mutai (60:35) And Mestawut Fikir (68:13) Win Cardiff Half-Marathon
Ultra News
She ran 22:35:30. Fotis Zisimopoulos broke the men's record with 19:55:09.
Shoe News
The World's Oldest Shoes? Sandals Found In Bat Cave In Spain Are Thousands Of Years OldCorrection: The World's Oldest Shoes Are Actually from Oregon and Fittingly in a Museum in Eugene.- WSJ: How Adidas Outran Nike With Its $500 Super Shoe Unlike its other shoes that adidas tests with ordinary runners, they only tested them with elite athletes. They also developed a new rubber which saved weight without sacrificing grip.
There was a heat wave across much of the US on Sunday
We hope in the future, races tell participants what their cut-off WetBulb Globe Temperature is. In this case, it was 69.
1st WA Road Champs
The 20-year-old Kessler won the first road mile world title as Diribe Welteji upset Faith Kipyegon in the women's mile. Peres Jepchirchir won a record-tying 3rd title in the women's half.
Granted the "world record" in the road mile was a joke, but Kessler was the surprise winner at the World Road Running Champs.
NCAA XC
- Top-Ranked NC State Women Beat #4 Notre Dame 44 To 53 Points At Joe Piane Invy NC State had 5 in the top 15, led by Kelsey Chmiel in 2nd (16:15). Alabama's Doris Lemngole won in 16:05. On the men's side, #9 Notre Dame beat Florida State 87 to 95 points. Kansas' Chandler Gibbens won the individual race in 23:08. *Results
*LRC: 2023 Joe Piane Notre Dame Invite
- Penn State's Evan Dorenkamp (23:53) And The Yale Men, South Carolina's Judy Kosgei (19:54 For 6k) And Utah Valley Women Win At Paul Short *Results
- Results: Harvard Men And Women Sweep Coast-To-Coast Battle In Beantown 2023 Harvard's Graham Blanks (23:26) and Maia Ramsden (17:00) got the individual wins.
- Arkansas Men And Women Dominate Their Home Meet At Chile Pepper Festival Arkansas' Kirami Yego (23:14) and Paityn Noe (16:09) won individually.
- DII Rivals Adams State And Grand Valley Faced Off At Lou Classic The Grand Valley men beat Adams State by just 1 point while the Grand Valley women won their race by 37 points.
Doping News
- Nijel Amos Accused Of Violating The Terms Of Doping Ban By Still Associating With The Sport He was recently photographed at the launch of a marathon in Botswana, alongside another past doper, Amantle Montsho.
- WADA Seeking Answers From Indian Athletics Officials Over Meet That Had Mass Withdrawls After It Got Out Anti-Doping Officials Were There The federation president also said they are looking into the issue, but talking about the 100m final where seven of the eight sprinters pulled out he said, "There is no rule set by WADA by which we can actually take action on the seven."
- WADA Publishes 2024 Prohibited List They note an important update is banning the narcotic tramadol in competition.
Olympic News
- France Fighting Against Bed Bug Problem Ahead of Paris Olympics The bed bug problem in France (and especially Paris) is so bad that it's even an issue at the Paris airport.
- Russian Athletes To Compete As Neutrals At The Paralympics The Paralympic Committee voted against a full ban on Russia and Belarus.
- USA Today: IOC Still "Dodging The Question" On Whether Russians And Belarusians Will Be At The Olympics And It May Be Different For Each Sport
- Warsaw, Poland Is Bidding For The 2036 Olympics Poland has never hosted the Olympics before and never made a bid to host the summer Games. They've had two failed bids to host the Winter Olympics.
- Athens 2004 Olympic Stadium Closed Due To Concerns Over Roof Safety
LRC's NCAA XC Previews
Tuohy, who won the individual last year, opted to return to Raleigh and is one of four women on the NC State roster who finished in the top 20 last year.
NC State women without Tuohy win Joe Piane Invite This race is generating a lot of buzz on the messageboard. *Discuss *All NCAA results
Our pre/midseason top 10 is here. NAU is loaded, but OK State could be even better than '22, when they lost NCAAs to NAU on a tiebreaker.
Weekend NCAA XC Preview It's not as big of a weekend as last week but Paul Short and Chile Pepper are taking place.
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.
Berlin Marathon
Berlin Marathon
Assefa took the women's world record to another stratosphere as she skipped the 2:12s and 2:13s and ran 2:11:53 to shatter Brigid Kosgei's 2:14:04 world record. Eliud Kipchoge got the men's win in 2:02:42 as no Americans hit the Olympic standard.
Kipchoge surpassed Haile Gebrselassie for most Berlin wins and now owns 5 of the 8 fastest times in history.
Berling MB Talk
- Official 2023 Berlin Marathon Live Discussion Thread - 3:15 am ET (9:15 am in Berlin)
- American men bombed, are we not going to send 3 to the Olympics?
- QUEEN ASSEFA 2:11:53 WR
- 2:11:53 - not possible w/o drugs, supershoes?
- Man I feel for Scott Fauble, DNF before 30k
- Jared Ward battling back, he may beat Assefa
- Kipchoge needs to just focus on 3 peating at Olympics
- I don't think Kipchoge runs faster than 204-205
- Tadese Takele, 21 years old future marathon crack
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.
XC Super Fan
Mahon, 61, has been to more than 52 meets a year over 38 seasons and has no plans on slowing down.
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?
The Latest LRC Feature
Zouhair Talbi has had an unconventional path to 2023 Boston Marathon where he became one of a handful of men who can say they beat Eliud Kipchoge in the marathon.
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.
Coaching News
Brosnan, who coached the greatest boys' HS distance team in history at Newbury Park, has confirmed to LetsRun.com that he won't be returning for a 2nd year at UCLA. "I'm disappointed. I'm bummed. I'm upset. I don't want to pretend like [I didn’t want to stay]. I wanted to be there. And I wish they would have kept me," said Brosnan.
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
‒800m world champ Mary Moraa, voice craking, talking to Michelle Katami in a WA profile.