Archived Homepage For December 15, 2023
Archived Homepage For December 15, 2023
End of Year Awards

After World Athletics chose not to name a single athlete of the year, we're stepping in and handing out our own award. Meet the finalists and give us your vote. Our two winners - one man and one woman - will be announced on Monday.
*MB: World Athletics won't name an AOY but we will - Let's here your 2023 LetsRun Award nominations

The Latest Distance News
On The Boards
On The Boards
The Latest Doping News
Random, But Interesting
This Week's Pod

We're always talking men's 1500 on the podcast + a little Euro Cross, Athlete of the Year, and the best thing in running this week.

Video podcast clip: 19-Year-Old Phenoms: Niel Laros upset by Axel Vang Christensen at European Cross

Who should be 2023 women's athlete of the year?

Results are hidden until the poll is closed.

Your vote has been counted. Thank you!

Who should be 2023 men's athlete of the year?

Results are hidden until the poll is closed.

Your vote has been counted. Thank you!

Who are you a fan of?

Results are hidden until the poll is closed.

Your vote has been counted. Thank you!

Who are you a fan of?

Results are hidden until the poll is closed.

Your vote has been counted. Thank you!
Middle Distance News
Random News That Passed Our Human Screening Process
NCAA News
Kenyan News
Miscellaneous
Admin/Other News
College / High School Running News
From Over The Weekend
Full men's race (cued to last 600m)

Akira Aizawa's 27:18.75 NR was destroyed as Olympic steepler Kazuya Shiojiri ran 27:09.80. Ririka Hironaka won the women's race in 30:55.29 as the top 4 women broke 31:00.
*MB: Not 1, Not 2, but 3. Yes, the top 3 men break Japanese national record at 2023 Japanese National Championship 10000 Champs!!

End-Of-Year Awards

In previous years there was just one male and one female athlete of the year, but for 2023, World Athletics broke it into event categories: track, field and "out of stadia." The winners were Kelvin Kiptum, Noah Lyles, Mondo Duplantis, Tigist Assefa, Faith Kipyegon and Yulimar Rojas. Kenya's world U20 gold medalists Faith Cherotich and Emmanuel Wanyonyi were named rising stars of 2023.

Doping News
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."

Big Road Action in Hawaii

Nuguse clocked 3:56.58 while the WR is 3:56.13. Nikki Hiltz won the women's race in 4:28.07

2023 Foot Lockers

It was a great day for the Pittsburgh, PA area and Notre Dame as Drew Griffith and Ryan Pajak (both Notre Dame commits) went 1-2, reversing their order of finish from the NE regional. Meanwhile, in the girls race, 10th grader Elizabeth Leachman judged things perfectly and dominated, after getting a huge lead at NXN and fading.

More HS News: Addy and Dathan Ritzenhein chat with Dyestat about her NXN win

Russia Olympic Updates
Euro XC Champs
Supporter's Club Content

Norway is one of the few countries in the world where tax lists are made public so we now know to the penny how much their top track and field stars made in 2022. Find out here how much the Ingebrigtsens made in 2022 - Jakob, Filip, Henrik and Gjert. Plus Karsten Warholm, Narve Nordas and Karoline Grøvdal.

World athletics Awards
Irish Pre-Euro XC Champs News

Friday 15

Big Savings at Nike

Big savings at Nike especially on the Nike Pegasus, the most popular Nike shoe on LetsRun.com.

    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?

    Fake News

    A content farm reported the news that Sha'Carri inked a new 4 year deal with Nike and the internet ran with it. But there is no other evidence of this deal.

    Valencia Marathon

    Sisay Lemma (2:01:48) was unreal, Joshua Cheptegei BLEW UP and finished 37th, Worknesh Degefa (2:15:51) is better than ever, Valencia's depth was record-breaking, BAD NEWS FOR US MARATHON FANS and Kenenisa Bekele is back baby!! *Results *WA Full Recap 

      BU Magical Track Produces More Magic
      BU Magical Track Produces More Magic
      NXN
      Nike/Cain Lawsuit Update
      Nike/Cain Lawsuit Update

      The Oregonian reports: "Attorneys for Nike and Salazar denied the claims, including in a recent 48-page motion for summary judgement... In the motion, the attorneys argued Cain’s allegations are “demonstrably false, and even contradicted by her own testimony and public statements.” Attorneys for Nike and Salazar also said her claims were barred because of a two-year statute of limitations."

      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."

      NCAAs That Were

      Plus meet the one-armed runner who led Tennessee to 6th place.

      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.

      *Watch LRC video expose of Siegel at 7 pm ET

      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.


        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."

        Review A Shoe & Win Free Shoes

        Fill out the LetsRun.com shoe survey and we will enter you into a drawing a free pair of shoes.

        Pick Your Shoe
        Overall
        /10
        Comfort
        /10
        Cushioning
        /10
        Durability
        /10
        Appearance
        /10
        Value
        /10
        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
        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


        Best of the LetsRun.com Track Talk Podcast
        Best of the LetsRun.com Track Talk Podcast

        Your latest American stars share their insights.

        Three legends of the sport.

        One of the greatest US runners ever.

        We chatted with Frank on the 50th anniversary of his Olympic Marathon gold

        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.

        LetsRun.com Pro Coaches Tour
        LetsRun.com Pro Coaches Tour

        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
        Embed from Getty Images
        Take Your Love of LetsRun to the Next Level
        Take Your Love of LetsRun to the Next Level
        LetsRun Classics
        LetsRun Classics
        Message Board