Americans Yared Nuguse, Cole Hocker, Hobbs Kessler, and Matthew Centrowitz have their hands full with a stacked field that also features World Indoor champ Geordie Beamish.
Archived Homepage For May 23, 2024
Archived Homepage For May 23, 2024
Prefontaine is Saturday
Prefontaine is Saturday
With just four weeks to go until the Olympic Trials, America and the world's best will descend on Eugene this weekend where an Ethiopian woman will look to make history and break the 29:00 barrier in the 10,000 in the midst fo the Kenyan Olympic Trials.
- MB: Kenyan Men AND Women's Trials at Pre Classic
- MB: Grant Fisher might medal afterall - Two world medallists won't be at 10,000 Trials as they didn't get Visa. Update: they got them!!
- MB: World 10,000 silver medallist Daniel Ebenyo and World xc bronze medalist Benson Kiplangat get visas at last minute & will compete at PRe Classic Initially, it was reported they didn't get a visa and as a result Athletics Kenya said only the top two across the line were going to Paris. Now it's not clear if it will be top 2 or top 3.
- Josh Kerr v Jakob Ingebrigtsen: Trash talking rivals set for first duel of Olympic summer - Mirror Online “I need to be better. I have to be realistic and know I’m not the current Olympic champion. It’s Ingebrigtsen’s title and it’s his title to lose," says Kerr.
This weekend's Prefontaine Classic marks 10 years since Jonathan Gault's first meet for LetsRun.com. He reflects on what he learned from his first trip to Eugene to cover David Rudisha and Galen Rupp in 2014.
- MB: We celebrate Jonathan Gault's 10 years at LetsRun.com!! Show your appreciation by signing up for the Supporters Club today as all $$ this week go directly to him.
Wed. Track & Field
MB Warholm falls just short of WR in season opener (33.28 in 300mh, WR is 33.26)
In other action at the WA silver meer in Norway, Narve Nordas won the 3000 in 7:35. *Results
NCAA Regionals Have Begun
- Official 2024 NCAA East Regionals Discussion Thread
- Official 2024 NCAA West Regionals Discussion Thread
- Tom MF Brady is headed to Eugene! The men's 10,000 finals were Wed. night and the Michigan athlete qualified in the 10,000 - an event that neither Nico Young or Ky Robinson bothered to enter. NCAA favorite Habton Samuel (28:26.91) won the West regional while Victor Kiprop (29:06.56) won the East.
- Looks like Valby going for 10K/5K Double
- No Duke 800/1500 athlete advanced past 1st round, none qualified for 5000 / 10000
- East Region Announcing is TERRIBLE
- Johns Hopkins D3 jump star (6.33/13.43) is ready to defend her lj/tj titles before heading to Texas A&M as a grad transfer Her 13.43 would rank her #1 in D1.
On The Boards
On The Boards
More Distance News
- Inside the NN Running Camp in Kaptagat, Kenya - What's A Normal Week Like
- The Mara Yamauchi interview: “The acceptable number of males in the female category is zero” Yamauchi,"> who wrote a guest column on LRC with Rojo in 2022, makes things very simple in her talk with Athletics Illustrated. "The Female category is for females. The entire purpose of it is to exclude male advantage, thereby allowing for fair and safe competition amongst females. The acceptable number of males in the Female category is zero. If you begin the debate about how much of an issue it is, you have already conceded that some males in the Female category is acceptable. "
- 800m world leader Prudence Sekgodiso's goal for 2024 is to run 1:56 and make Olympic final "The young star’s coach Samuel Sepeng – the brother of Olympic silver medallist Hezekiel Sepeng and former mentor to Semenya – has conditioned Sekgodiso to chase after a spot in the final, where ‘anything can happen’."
- Joggling inventor, Bill Giduz, dies at 72 The man who invented the concept of juggling and running at the same time live an incredible life, travelling the world, working at Davidson, and raising a family. We highly recommend his obituary here. *2nd obit here
- Athletics Kenya hasn't named team for Africa Championships in Cameroon as it needs to figure out who has passed correct # of doping tests
Time Flies When You Are Having Fun
After a decade with LetsRun.com, Jonathan Gault counts down his 10 favorite races he has seen in-person. Usain Bolt, Matthew Centrowitz, and Jakob Ingebrigtsen all make appearances - who claims the #1 spot?
Other Links That Passed Our Human Vetters
- Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone to run the 400m hurdles for the first time since August 2022 next weekend at Edwin Moses Legends Meet
- Kenny Bednarek is very thankful for his mom who adopted him and 3 others + reveals he wants to meet Usain Bolt to pick his brain
- Serbian long jumper Ivana Spanovic has won gold everywhere but the Olympics - can she do it at age 34 in her 5th Olympics
Leonard Korir Updates
- Leonard Korir Says They May Get US Army Lawyers Involved In Fight For Olympic Marathon Spot Krori said, "My coach and I might use a US Army lawyer to help us so that we can explain to them [World Athletics] how they were supposed to do it. The more we make a lot of noise, the more World Athletics will listen, and maybe they will increase the field."
- Good News For Leonard Korir? Marathoner From Kyrgyzstan Removed From Olympic List After Being Given Universality Place
- MB: Petition to World Athletics to add back into the Paris Olympic marathon the athletes bumped out by the universality places
Sprint Stuff
- World Athletics Profile: "At Peace, Michael Norman On Journey To Olympic Redemption" The 2022 World 400m champ has had a lot of ups, downs, and changes over the last Olympic cycle and ended up taking a big break from the sport in 2023.
- Rai Benjamin Was Pushing His "No Bib" Campaign At The LA Grand Prix Benjamin said, "I'm not wearing that thing. It's a waste of money and the uniform looks too good to wear a bib, so I'm continuing my no bib campaign here today." Michael Johnson has ripped bibs in the past calling them a "distraction" and "reeking of amateurism."
- Michael Johnson Previews US Sprinting At The 2024 Olympics: "The world has caught up to us." Talking about potential breakout stars he mentioned Yared Nuguse and said, "As a track fan, I've always been sort of desperate for another really good American 1500 meter middle distance runner to be able to get in there and mix it up with everyone else in the world." Ummm, ever heard of Matt Centrowitz?
- World Athletics Inside Athletics Episode On Trinidad And Tobago's 2022 World Indoor 400m Champ Jareem Richards
Distance/Mid-D News
- BBC: "Keely Hodgkinson, From Olympic Underdog To Golden Expectations" She might not be an underdog, but she's still been the first loser three times (Olympics, Worlds, Commonwealth Games), something she is "going to try and change" in Paris.
- Runner's World Interview With Athing Mu: She Doesn't Rule Out Racing A 1500m This Year, Although Her Focus Will Just Be On The 800m
- Crazy Story: Runner Gets Hooked By Fisherman During Half-Marathon, Costing Him Second Place Estonian runner Leonid Latsepov had to finish the race with four hooks in him when a gust of wind took a fisherman's line off course when he was crossing a bridge.
- MB: Courtney Frerichs tears ACL, out for 2024 season
- Athletics Weekly Poll: "Who Is The Greatest Supermiler Of All Time?" Seb Coe won when they last did this poll back in 2004.
Other News
- BBC: Fake Taylor Swift And Olympic Tickets Are The Two Biggest Scams Consumers Are Likely To Encounter This Year But if you see something about Taylor Swift at the Olympics with Ryan Crouser, don't worry, that is totally legit.
- Good News: Another Sport (Sailing) Blocks Any Man Who's Undergone "Male Puberty" From Competing Against Women
- USADA/WADA Drama Continues: USADA Criticizes WADA President For "Attacking" US Athletes USADA accused Banka of distoring facts to distract away from the Chinese swimming controversy.
- Arkansas Men Remain #1, Texas A&M Jumps To #2 In Latest NCAA Rankings Florida and LSU are 3-4.
- No Changes To Women's Top 13 Spots In Updated NCAA Rankings; LSU At #1 Arkansas, Oregon and Texas A&M are 2-4.
Our Week in Review
Last week, Cole Hocker and Cooper Teare both broke 13:00 in LA but what does that mean in an era where 12:58 places you 11th in the race? And we explain how it was a good week for Paul Chelimo, Matthew Centrowitz, Jake Wightman, Hobbs Kessler, Hillary Bor, Matthew Wilkinson, Diribe Welteji, Elle St. Pierre, Madie Boreman, Kate Grace, Ceili McCabe, Rose Davies, Joselyn Daniely Brea, Prudence Sekgodiso, Fiona O'Keeffe, and Elly Henes and a tough week for Grant Fisher, Evan Jager, Clayton Murphy, Letsile Tebogo, Abel Kipsang, Josh Thompson, Ajee Wilson, Courtney Frerichs, and Raevyn Rogers. And it was good and bad for Jakob Ingebrigtsen who didn't even race.
Olympic News
- Carl Lewis Helps Unveil Purple Track At The Olympics The uniquely colored track is three colors, dark purple, lavender and grey on the outside.
- Ukraine Will Compete At Paris Olympics Despite War With Russia And Previous Threats To Boycott
- Vladimir Putin Rejects Calls For An Olympic Ceasefire He said, "Today's international sporting officials are themselves disobeying the principles of the Olympic charter. ...They are committing violations against us and demand fulfillment from us. Dear friends: we won't get far that way. No one has ever come to an agreement that way."
- Riots Force Torch Relay Cancellation In New Caledonia The many riots have caused the death of six people (including two police officers) as well as hundreds injured.
More From The Weekend
- Colin Bennie (37:01.5) And Julia Vasquez Giguere (43:48.94) Win Bay To Breakers 12k In San Francisco Former All-American Bennie won by over a minute.
- Olympic Champ Damian Warner Wins Hypo Meeting Decathlon For 8th Time (8678 Points) While Olympic Silver Medallist Anouk Vetter Scores World Leading Heptathlon Win (6642 Points)
- Former European U23 Champ Ruben Verheyden Leads Belgian 1-2 In Fast 1500m In Rehlingen He ran 3:33.62 ahead of teammate Jochem Vermeulen (3:33.70).
- Ali Ince Wins 800m/1600m Double (2:05.33/4:44.86) At Illinois State Meet She also ran a leg on the 2nd place 4x400.
- Katarina Johnson-Thompson Shows Good Early Season Form With 1.86m HJ Win And 100H And 4x400 Runs In Loughborough
- Omar Ahmed (28:47) Hannah Irwin (33:18) Win Cardiff Bay 10k
Morocco DL
Soufiane El Bakkali got the win before the home crowd, Prudence Sekgodiso got a world leader in the 800, Emmanuel Wanyonyi kept winning and Shericka Jackson got the 200 win, but in a slow time, as Olympic champs Emmanuel Korir and Conseslus Kipruto were awful.
Doping News
- Kenyan Olympian Rodgers Kwemoi Gets 6-Year Doping Ban And Stripped Of 7-Years Of Results Results he's DQ'd from include his 2018 Commonwealth Games bronze medal, his 4th place finish at 2019 Worlds, 7th place finish at the Tokyo Olympics and the world junior title he won in 2016.
*MB: Rodgers Kwemoi - former training partner of Kipchoge - banned 6 years for blood doping - WADA Founder Dick Pound Chimes In On USADA-WADA "War Of Words" Over Chinese Swimmer Scandal Pound attacked USADA saying, "I am deeply disappointed and disgusted by the deliberate lies and distortions coming from USADA, including that WADA has swept doping cases in China under the rug."
- WADA Reiterates Chinese Swimmer Positives Were From "No-Fault Contamination" And Not Doping They say that despite harsh criticism from USADA, most members support them on this controversy.
- MB: Kenyan 2:16 Marathoner Kemei Kiprono Gets Doping Suspension
More Weekend Action
- Australia’s Rose Davies Breaks Meet 5000m Record 29th 14:41 At Seiko Golden Grand Prix In Tokyo New Zealand’s Zoe Hobbs won the women’s 100m in 11.17.
- Adidas Atlanta City Games - Akania Simbine 9.90 WL, Grant Holloway 13.07 WL & Noah Lyles 14.41 150m Highlight Lyles time was 0.15 faster than last year.
- MB: Colorado State HS Meet--Addison Ritzenhein Quadruple
*DyeStat Colorado State Meet Recap: NXN Champ Addison Ritzenhein Wins 1600/3200 And Anchors Winning 4x800 Her Niwott teammate Rocco Culpepper (son of Olympians Alan and Shayne) won his own triple, taking the 800, 1600 and anchoring the winning 4x800.
- Olympic Champ Marcel Jacobs Wins With 10.07 In Rome
- MB: Daniel Simmons Blasts An 8:36 To Win Utah State Meet 3200m The meet was at 4,600 feet altitude.
- Will Brunner and Porter Middaugh both run 9:01 to break Colorado state 3200 record
- US's Michelle Atherley And Switzerland's Simon Ehammer Lead After Day One Of Gotzis Multi-Meet
LA Grand Prix
LA Grand Prix
SML doesn't race often but when she does it's almost always incredible. Bryce Hoppel appears to be at a new level in 2024 and is there still a little magic left in Centro?
The runners from Africa ran in the back early but dominated late and went 1-2-3-4 as Grant Fisher was fifth (12:53.30). Teammates Cooper Teare (12:54.72, 9th) and Cole Hocker (12:58.92, 11th) broke 13:00 for the 1st time. In the women's 5000, Elle St. Pierre lowered her pb from 14:58.17 to 14:34.14 and won as Venezuela's Joselyn Brea set a South American record in 2nd (14:36.59).
Day 1 MB Talk
Controversty at Oregon HS State Meet
(link fixed) A biological male won the 200 and nearly won the 400 at the Oregon state meet but the crowd booed the trans athlete and cheered wildly when "she" lost the 400. You can hear the boos at the end of the 200 in the video above.
Night Of The 10,000m PBs
Top American honors went to Paul Chelimo in 4th (27:34.04) and Fiona O'Keefe (31:03.46).
- MB: Night of the 10,000m PBs - London 18 May 2024
- Athletics Weekly: Megan Keith Seals Olympic Selection In Night Of The 10,000m PBs Thriller Keith already had the Olympic standard coming in, but had to finish as the top-2 Brits to make the team for Paris.
Sprints Stuff
- Bobby Kersee Says Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone Will Race Only The 400H At The Olympics Trials (Not The Flat 400m)
- Trayvon Bromell Pulls Up Injured In 100m At Italian Meet He ran 10.34 in the heats before getting injured in the final.
- Marcel Jacobs Eyeing Sub-10 100m At Sprint Festival In Rome This Weekend He ran 10.11 last month.
Field Event News
- Mondo Duplantis "Super Excited" For Euro Champs In Rome Next Month Duplantis looks back at the 2018 Berlin Euro Champs where he won at just 18-years-old (his first senior medal).
- Preview: World Champs Women's Javelin Rematch Highlights Seiko Golden Grand On Sunday In Tokyo
- Preview: Global Medalists Head Strong Fields For Gotzis Hypomeeting This Weekend Olympic champ Damian Warner and Olympic silver medalist Anouk Vetter are among those competing.
The King is Back at the Olympics
Twenty years after his first Olympic gold and 12 years after his last Olympic appearance, Bekele will return to face Eliud Kipchoge on the sport's biggest stage in Paris.
Universality Controversy
- Chilean Marathoner Hugo Catrileo Accuses World Athletics Of Changing Rules After He Loses Olympic Spot To Universality Athletes Like Leonard Korir, 2:08:44 man Catrileo lost his Olympic spot to one of the 11 universality places World Athletics gave out for the Paris 2024 men's marathon. Catrileo complained, "It would be good if the new entrants could go, but behind the 80 who have already qualified on merit. For this shame, it is better to have only a minimum standard and let the rest of the places be filled out of pity. I'll send them an email with my story to see if I can qualify for Los Angeles 2028 in a throwing or jumping event."
*LRC: Bad News for Leonard Korir: World Athletics Adds 11 Universality Places in 2024 Olympic Maratho - MB: Petition to World Athletics to add back into the Paris Olympic marathon the athletes bumped out by the universality places
Paris 2024
- Paris 2024 To Feature The First-Ever Olympic Village Nursery This will be a place for athlete parents to spend time with their babies and young children during the Games.
- MB: Anti-sex beds have arrived at Paris Olympics.
- Independent Report Says Olympics To Provide Between $7-11 Economic Boon For Paris Region
NCAA News
- Full List Of Official Qualifiers For NCAA DI Regionals The East Regional is at Kentucky and the West at Arkansas next week. *Live Results
- The Bowerman Award Men's Post-Conference Champs Watch List Nico Young and Colin Sahlman are the two distance runners on the list.
- The Bowerman Award Women's Post-Conference Champs Watch List Parker Valby, Maia Ramsden and Michaela Rose all still on the list.
Diamond League News
This is not the first time Kenya used Pre as their Olympic Trials. They also did it in 2012. Let's hope the runners have visa and were getting ready for the race.
*MB: Kenyan Press: Kenya to Select 10,000m Teams at Pre Classic
- MB: Wild story from Kenya: Daniel Komen's wife is suing Eliud Kipchoge, Brimin Kipruto and her own husband in property dispute In 2011 unbeknownst to her, she alleges Kipruto and Komen swindled her husband and bought 200 acres of prime land for $71,000 that she says is worth $710,000.
- Alexander Mutiso is excited for Olympic marathon and warns everyone, "I'm good at uphills. I want to show what I can really do."
- Bummer: Faith Kipyegon Withdraws From Prefontaine Classic With Injury Issue She said, "Some weeks back I got a small muscle problem that was handled well. I’m now back in full training, focusing to start my season in 4 weeks time at the Kenyan Trials for the Olympic Games."
UK Related News
- Keely Hodgkinson runs 51.61 400m pb in 1st race of 2024 in Savona
- 19-year-old Mattia Furlani of Italy breaks U-20 world record in long jump with 8.36m in Savona In the shot, Leonardo Fabbri broke the 36-year-old Italian record with a 22.95m.
- Molly Caudery had always been focused on 2028 being her peak but after winning World Indoor gold, she's moving it up to 2024
Distance News
- WSJ: Buzunesh Deba Finally Got Her $75,000 In 2014 Boston Marathon Prize Money - But Not From Boston (Paywall) Deba finished 2nd at Boston 2014, but was elevated to first when Rita Jeptoo was DQ'd for doping. However, Boston never paid Deba the winner's purse because they already gave the money to Jeptoo and were trying to reclaim it. A random businessman heard about Deba's story and decided to give her the money himself.
- Judges In European Court Of Human Rights Will Hear Caster Semenya Case On Wednesday Before Final Ruling The verdict in this case is not open to appeal, so hopefully either way it's over. And the case concerns the Swiss government (and their ruling against Semenya), not World Athletics, so the decision is "unlikely to immediately affect" current DSD rules anyway.
- MB: Japan's Kazuto Iizawa runs #2 1500 time in Japanese history (3:35.77)
- MB: Former NCAA Champ Chad Noelle Suspended By USATF Safe Sport
Sprints / Jumps
- BBC: "Black, White And Shades Of Grey - What's Behind Sprint's Race Divide?" A white man hasn't won an Olympic 100m medal since 1980; why is that? The BBC takes a look at the many theories including genetics, unnatural selection related to the slave trade and cultural/environmental factors.
- Fred Kerley Tweets That He'll Break The WR Next Time He "Touches The 100m" Is this his way of announcing he's focusing on the 200m this year?
- Zharnel Hughes On His 19.96 From The Weekend: “You can’t sleep on me ...I’m just as good as anyone right now. I’m among the best.”
- Sculpture Celebrating The First 6.00m Pole Vault (From Sergey Bubka In 1985) Goes On Public Display In Paris There will be two other sculptures on display as well. One for Dick Fosbury's Olympic high jump gold from the 1968 Olympics and another for Mike Powell's world long jump record from 1991.
- World Athletics Podcast: Sanya Richards-Ross, Kelly Sotherton And Richard Kilty Recap The World Relay Champs
NCAA News
- UTSA Sprinter Michael Roth Loses American Athletic Conference 400m Title For Showboating He initially won in 45.78, but was DQ'd for looking back and making a hand gesture to his competitor as he won.
- Arkansas Men Jump Four Spots To #1 Team In Post-Conference Champs NCAA Rankings Florida dropped to #2 with Alabama and Texas A&M 3-4.
- No Changes To Top Four Ranked Women's Teams In Post-Conference Champs NCAA Rankings LSU is ranked #1 and Arkansas, Oregon, Texas A&M are 2-4.
Our Written Weekly Recap
What a week. The NCAA conference action was HOT, particularly on the track at the SEC Champs and we break it down for you. Might a guy who didn't even make NCAAs indoors be the 1500 favorite? Plus meet the latest teen phenom and more.
News That Passed Our Human Vetting Process
- HSer Sadie Engelhardt plans on hitting 4:06.00 Olympic Trials standard soon Only two US HSers have run the 1500 at the Trials and both Jordan Hasay and Kate Murphy ran 4:14.5.
- Runner Elle Purrier St. Pierre gets big feature in People
- Russian Ekaterina Poistogova-Guliyev will appeal her ban so Alysia Montano will have to wait for case to conclude to get her 2012 Olympic medal
- Recommended Read Coaching conversations with former UK Athtetics coach Frank Dick We LOVED LOVED LOVED this piece on Dick, who was the British Athletics Federation’s Director of Coaching for 15 years and also the personal coach to two-time Olympic decathlon champion Daley Thompson.
*MB: Coaching and aspiring coaches, you must read this piece on Frank Dick - Q&A with 44-year-old Helen Gaunt who didn't start running until her 30s but wants to break 2:30 for 26.2 She was the only master in London and has a pb of 2:35 and three kids.
- MB: Japan's Kazuto Iizawa runs #2 1500 time in Japanese history - 3:35.77 (video) Everyone who thinks the Japanese are better at the marathon than the US due to coaching needs to watch this video and understand the role genetics plays in athletics.
Track Fest Was Saturday Night
After a night that saw him win two races, Grijalva called out Mo Katir for his whereabouts violations. Plus Val Constien looked good in her return to the steeple (Evan Jager was 8th in the men's race) and Craig Engels talked big after finishing last in the 800. The women's 10k ended up being a huge letdown as anyone thinking of going for 30:40 was a DNS - D'Amato, Henes, Kurgat, Infeld, and even China's WuGa He even though some of them warmed up.
Our Written Weekly Recap
In track and field, did you know you can win when you lose and lose when you win? We explain. Plus Nico Young and Colin Sahlman remain on fire. And why are the men's 100 guys so slow?
NCAA / High School News
- Star Sprinter Quincy Wilson Signs With William Morris Endeavor Agency After Clocking Fastest 4x400 Split In Prep History (44.37) Wilson already has a NIL deal with New Balance.
- Cal Men Crush Stanford In 129th Big Meet; Stanford Women Break Cal Three-Year Win Streak The Cal men won 114 to 48 while the Stanford women scored 90 points to Cal's 72.
- MB: Ky Robinson, Lex Young, Leo Young Double (Or Triple) At Big Meet Robinson won the 1500/3000.
- Florida Men Jump Three Spots To #1 In Latest NCAA Rankings Texas A&M, LSU and Alabama are raked 2-4.
- Updated Women's NCAA Rankings - LSU And Arkansas Stay 1-2 Oregon moved up to 3, Texas A&M down to 4.
- High Schooler Hadley Lucas Qualifies For Olympic Trials In Shot Put She threw 16.73m (tied for #3 prep all-time).
Gender Controversy Fallout
- MB: Middle schoolers who protested trans athlete in girls' shot put competition banned from 1 future competion and lawsuit filed
- Parkrun Prepares To Delete Runners' Statistics As It Prepares To Double Down On Records Controversy They may move to a system where results can only be viewed by friends or followers you accept. All this to avoid the gender issue.
*MB: Glad Parkrun are finally driving the elitism out of Parkrrun
Coaching Advice Column
LetsRun.com has launched a new coaching advice column. In column #3, John Kellogg and Robert Johnson share their favorite 800 workouts.
Our 2nd Coaching Advice Column Is Out
LetsRun.com has launched a new coaching advice column. In column #2, John Kellogg and Robert Johnson share their favorite mile workouts.
Who Won't Make Paris 2024?
History says 1 out of 2 people who made Team USA in 2023 WON'T make it in 2024. In our weekly bonus SC podcast, we tell our Supporter's Club members who will miss out on the Olympics.
Noah Lyles and Lance Brauman Podcast
What does Noah Lyles think about the doping problem in the sport? He tell us.
Noah Lyles and his coach Lance Brauman have their eyes set on golds in Paris. They believe Lyles can possibly break Usain Bolt's world record in the 200m, but they know first comes the most brutal meet in the sport - the US Olympic Track and Field Trials. Article and podcast.
Get Your Training Questions Answered By John Kellogg
In the year 2024, there are all sorts of advice columns all over the Internet, but we’ve never seen one for distance running. There is one now as Robert Johnson and John Kellogg are here to answer your questions in our Dear Distance Gurus (DDG) column.
The Best of LetsRun.com
A doctor, nuclear engineer, and D1 runner won our Marathon Trails contest and one of the top online coaches triumphed in our NCAA XC contest to become the king of LRC contests.
Rest In Peace: Henry Rono 1952-2024
Rono achieved legendary status in 1978 when he set four world records in four different events in 81 days. Robert Johnson, who has an autographed poster of Rono on his office wall, pays his respects.
Past MB Talk On Rono
- 2004: 2006: Henry Rono
- 2006: Henry Rono training for masters mile record. PART II link fixed This was a 186 long page thread where Rono talked about his training.
- 2007: Was Henry Rono the greatest distance talent ever???
- 2013: Henry Rono
- 2003: How Henry Rono beat Alberto Salazar (Good Read)
- 2020: The HENRY RONO Base of Yore
RIP Kelvin Kiptum
In just three races, Kiptum turned the marathon world upside down, setting a world record, and running the three fastest second halves ever in a marathon. Jonathan Gault recaps his life and career.
- MB: RIP: Marathon WR Kelvin Kiptum has died in a car accident at the age of 24
- MB: Kelvin Kiptum's final 2 training sessions - 35km long run on Thursday, 18.6 km fartlek on Saturday
- MB: Kiptum's father: "Strange people looked for him 4 days before his death" Kiptum's father says the four men said they were from the State House, but could not produce identification to prove it. He now wants the Kenyan government to investigate.
Let the Anticipation Build - Only 178 Days until The Olympic 1500 Final
Stavanger Aftenblad's Erlend Nesje went to Jakob's house to catch up with one of the sport's biggest stars who is on the comeback trail from injury. After finishing up an hour-long run, Jakob had some interesting comments to say about fame, Josh Kerr, and Jake Wightman.
BetterRunningShoes.com Presents
We present to you the LetsRun.com Shoe Awards for 2023. What is the best shoe of 2023, the supershoe of 2023, the newcomer of the year and more?
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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
‒Josh Kerr's coach Danny Mackey of the Brooks Beasts, saying he doesn't mind the trash talking that has been going on between Kerr and Jakob Ingebrigtsen, who will race for the first time since Worlds on Saturday at the Pre Classic.