Friday, August 5, 2016

Kenya
Victah Sailer

Anti-Doping Officials Declare Kenya Compliant With Policies

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) said on Thursday that Kenya has reformed its policies and is now compliant with its regulations.

Although athletes from the country were never banned from competing at the Olympics, Kenya was placed on the International Association of Athletics Federation’s (IAAF) monitoring list in March because the anti-doping legislation the government passed was deemed inadequate.

The situation in Kenya is different than that of Russia, which is currently banned from track and field competition for the Rio Olympic Games. In Russia, officials and athletes were involved in a state-sponsored doping program, bribery, and corruption. In Kenya, the issue has been an inadequate drug-testing agency and procedures, although some officials have also been linked to allegations of bribery (asking athletes for money in exchange for lenient doping punishments).

At the 2015 IAAF World Championships, Kenya won 16 medals in track and field. At the 2012 London Games, the East African nation brought home 11 medals, including two golds. Since 2011, 40 athletes have been found guilty of doping.

The Rio Games begin Friday with the opening ceremonies.

-- Erin Strout

Strava Adds Detailed Safety Feature to Its Tracking App

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If you regularly ask a loved one or friend to call or text when they get done with their run or bike ride, the popular fitness tracking program Strava wants to give you better piece of mind.

On Thursday, Strava announced a new feature of its premium membership called Beacon. The main goal of Beacon is to provide selected contacts real-time, on-the-go tracking for friends and family who want reassurance that everything is okay when you’re out running, biking, or doing other tracked activities.

Beacon works like this: Runners or cyclists add three safety contacts to their Strava app. When you activate Beacon before a run or ride, your contacts receive a text that provides a secure URL, which allows them—even without a Strava account—to watch where the athlete is out in the world, monitor if they’re in cell range, and even see their battery life.

With the feature, the goal is to let your specified contacts know your exact location as long as you have a phone on-hand and the app running. If you paused for a period because of an injury or you just stopped to chat with a friend, your contacts can have a better sense if it’s worth reaching out.

Strava Premium costs $6 a month or $60 for a year. For more on how Beacon works or to try out their app for iOS or Android, check out the Strava blog.

-- Brian Dalek

Wednesday, July 6, 2016

Pistorius Gets Six Years in Prison

Oscar Pistorius, who qualified for the 400 meters in the 2012 Olympics, was sentenced to six years in prison by a South African judge on Wednesday for the 2013 murder of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, the New York Times and other media outlets reported. The sentence was shorter than the 15-year minimum prosecutors were seeking.

Originally, Pistorius was sentenced to five years in prison for manslaughter but served slightly less than one year before being released in October and consigned to house arrest.

Pistorius, 29, claimed that he killed his girlfriend, a model and reality television star, by mistake on Valentine’s Day in 2013. Prosecutors believe he killed Steenkamp intentionally after an argument. The former South African Olympian, a double amputee, will be eligible for parole after three years, according to the Associated Press.

Thursday, June 30, 2016

Ryan Hall’s Return to Running

While it’s not a comeback to one of the World Marathon Majors, Ryan Hall is eager to quite literally run the world.

The two-time U.S. Olympian in the marathon and American record holder in the half marathon told Sports Illustrated that he’s planning on taking on the World Marathon Challenge, which requires running seven marathons, on seven continents, in seven days.

In January, Hall retired from competitive running at 33 because of chronically low testosterone and extreme fatigue, which made it harder for him to train at the level necessary to compete. Hall’s personal best in the marathon was 2:04:58.

For most of this year, he’s spent his time in the weight room, bulking up 165 pounds. (You can read about his workout here.) 

It’s no easy task, but the idea of the World Marathon Challenge was enough to get Hall excited about running again.

“I’m not going to be in 2:10 shape,” Hall told Sports Illustrated. “I am going to train for it and I will be prepared for it. I want to run something decent.” He added that his goal would be to run a leisurely 6:00 to 6:30 per mile pace.

The World Marathon Challenge will take place next January, and Hall says he will run for The Dream Center.

Wednesday, June 29, 2016

A High-Level Run

Now this is how you start a meeting.

Instead of going to, say, a golf course to hash out the latest trade agreement, why not just slip on a pair of running shoes and hit the streets?

That's what Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (left) and Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto did Tuesday in Ottawa.

Their route took them across the Ottawa River on the Alexandra Bridge.

Several commenters took note of their kits, which included short running shorts.

No judgment from us, nor from the Canadian Press.

“The prime minister wore black shorts and a Saskatchewan Jazz Festival T-shirt,” the CP reported. “Peña Nieto wore black shorts, a fluorescent green T-shirt and even brighter fluorescent green shoelaces.”

Peña Nieto was in the Canadian capital for trade talks with Trudeau and President Obama, who arrives today.

Wednesday, June 29, 2016

Mindy Kaling sets a PR

We take a moment to congratulate actress Mindy Kaling, who posted on social media today that she accomplished a long-held goal: to run a 9:30 mile. 

In April 2014, Kaling listed several goals for herself, including running a 9-minute mile. 

We don't know whether Kaling is following the training plan we made for her—expressly for this purpose!—but whatever she's doing, it looks like it's working.

Monday, May 16, 2016

Boston Police Commissioner Finishes His 50th Marathon

Boston Police Commissioner William Evans, 57, completed his 50th marathon on Sunday, in Biddeford, Maine, at the Maine Coast Marathon. Evans finished in 3:39:28, good for second in his age group.

“Not bad for an old guy,” he said in a statement released by the Boston Police Department after the race.

Evans had hoped to run his 50th at the Boston Marathon this year, but after the Brussels terror attacks on March 22, he decided to delay his attempt in order to focus on security measures for the race. 

Evans, who has completed 18 Boston Marathons, was appointed commissioner in January 2014. He hasn’t run his home city race since the attacks. He told the Associated Press in March, however, that his 50th race won’t be his last, as he doesn’t plan to stop running any time soon.

Tuesday, April 26, 2016

Visually Impaired Athlete Is the First to Finish Boston 2 Big Sur

Last Saturday, Sarah Dever finished the Boston 2 Big Sur Challenge, becoming the first visually impaired runner to complete the two marathons that occur within seven days. She was also the first to finish the Big Sur Marathon.

Dever, who suffers from retinitis pigmentosa, sees less than three percent of what most people see with full vision. Guides accompany her while she races. 

Dever finished Boston in 5:44:47 and Big Sur in 4:53:57.

“I had a huge smile crossing the finish line,” she said. “I’ve trained for so long to do this and now that I’ve done it, I hope I’m not the last.”

Friday, April 8, 2016

Jim Beam Will Toast Marathon Finishers With Personalized Bourbon Bottles

The Boston Marathon may have an official apple, but down in Kentucky, races come with an official bourbon.

At the Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon & miniMarathon in Louisville, that sanctioned libation is Jim Beam, and finishers can toast their accomplishment with a personalized bottle of the local whiskey.

The nearby distiller is offering engravings of participants’ finish times on bottles of Jim Beam Urban Stillhouse Select to runners who present their bibs at a tasting location a few blocks from the finish line.

Though the booze isn’t free, the engraving is. Plus, a few sips from the commemorative bottle may help alleviate any post-marathon soreness. 

Tuesday, March 22, 2016

Vashti Cunningham Strikes Gold, Cashes In

A day after her gold medal performance in the high jump at the IAAF World Indoor Championships in Portland, Oregon, Vashti Cunningham signed a deal to compete professionally, reports the Las Vegas Review-Journal

Clearing 1.96 meters (6 feet 5 inches) at the meet, the 18-year-old became the youngest American ever to medal at world indoors, and the youngest woman to ever win the high jump at worlds.

Cunningham’s athletic prowess may come as little surprise to those who followed her father’s feats on the gridiron two decades ago with the Philadelphia Eagles. Randall Cunningham was a predecessor of the modern run-and-pass quarterback. His fleet-footed style opened up the field, kept defenses off guard, and thrilled NFL fans.

Her brother, Randall Cunningham II, is an All-American high jumper at USC.

Cunnigham is the latest prep star, joining Mary Cain and Alexa Efraimson, to forego her college eligibility to sign with Nike. In December, 16-year-old sprinter Candace Hill, who is still a junior in high school, signed a deal with Asics.

Friday, March 18, 2016

Scott and Jenny Jurek Expecting Their First Child

Scott Jurek, a renowned ultrarunner who holds the record for the fastest thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail, may be entering the most challenging phase of his career: fatherhood.

Jurek and his wife, Jenny, told Runner’s World in an email that they are expecting their first child.

Jurek hinted at parenthood last August after completing the Appalachian Trail—in 46 days, 8 hours, and 7 minutes—saying he was going to take a step back from competitive racing while trying to start a family. Jurek has also won seven consecutive Western States Endurance Run 100 milers, and formerly held the U.S. record for distance run within 24 hours at 165.7 miles.

Naturally, the baby is due on June 3—just two days after National Running Day.

Tuesday, March 15, 2016

Watch Kevin Hart Challenge an All-American Sprinter

When comedian Kevin Hart ran into the LSU track & field team heading out for practice before the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships this weekend, he took the opportunity to challenge two-time All-American Jada Martin to an impromptu 50-yard dash. 

Hart—known to host 5K runs in cities while on tour and a dedicated runner himself—proved too eager in his race with Martin, though, taking off early.

Despite the false start, Green almost came from behind as Hart claimed the victory. He was caught on video telling Martin, “100 thousand people just saw me smoke you from the start.”

Although Hart’s win wouldn’t stand in a sanctioned race, he still boasted on Instagram and talked some light-hearted trash.

Friday, February 12, 2016

Asics Acquires Runkeeper App

Runkeeper, the popular fitness tracking app with more than 45 million users worldwide, said Friday it is being acquired by footwear manufacturer Asics.

In a post on Medium, CEO of Runkeeper Jason Jacobs wrote, “it seems clear that the fitness brands of the future will not just make physical products, but will be embedded in the consumer journey in ways that will help keep people motivated and maximize their enjoyment of sport 

“By putting these two pieces together (digital fitness platform and world class physical products), you can build a new kind of fitness brand that has a deeper, more trusted relationship with consumers and can engage with them in a more personalized way.”

Asics’ acquisition of Runkeeper is the latest in a series of deals involving mobile apps being bought by apparel manufacturers. According to CNET, MapMyFitness was purchased for $150 million in November 2013 by Under Armour, which later acquired both Endomondo and MyFitnessPal for $85 million and $475 million, respectively. Adidas bought Runtastic for $240 million last August.

Jacobs added in his post that Runkeeper will continue to be run independently, though one could expect to see synergy between the technology and shoes, as is being done with Under Armour’s SpeedForm Gemini 2 RE.  Full terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Wednesday, February 10, 2016

Kenyan Track Star Releases Rap Video

Wearing his country’s warmup suit while sitting on top of his many trophies, Caleb Ndiku, a top Kenyan 5,000-meter runner, just released a rap video titled “Run Caleb Ndiku.” 

The middle-distance star is expected to vie for a gold medal at the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro later this year. But first, he’s dabbling in the music industry with the help of fellow Kenyan hip-hop artist, Machakos Kyalo. 
 
Be warned: The chorus in this song may lodge in your brain for eternity.
 
According to Christopher Chavez from Sports Illustratedthis is not the first rap single from a Kenyan track athlete. Javelin world champion Julius Yego released his own music video last September.
 
Chavez notes, “The Rift Valley is lit.”
 
It is indeed. 

Thursday, February 4, 2016

Meet Mark Zuckerberg’s Running Partner

In January, tech billionaire Mark Zuckerberg made a New Year’s resolution to run 365 miles in 2016. In order to accomplish that goal, he has called in a running buddy—his 5-year-old Puli named Beast.

Wednesday night, Zuckerberg posted a photo of the Hungarian sheep dog, known for its dreadlock-like fur, and revealed that Zuckerberg had run 36 miles in January, so he’s well ahead of the mileage goal he had set for himself.

For tips on running with dogs, see the Runner’s World guide to running with your pooch.

Wednesday, February 3, 2016

Bernard Lagat Announces Final Track Season

No doubt that Bernard Lagat’s track career will be among the most historic, but at age 41, he says that after the 2016 Olympic year is over, he’ll be trading in his spikes for road racing flats.

In an announcement on the International Association of Athletics Federations website, Lagat said his goal is to qualify for the U.S. team at the IAAF World Indoor Championships, to be held in Portland, Oregon, in March. His final goal on the oval is to make the Olympic team at the U.S. track and field trials, which are in July. If he makes it to the Rio Games, most likely competing in the 5,000 meters, it will be his fifth Olympics.

“I would have retired at the end of the 2015 season, but something inside was telling me, ‘Why retire one year before the Olympics? You can still do this,’” Lagat said.

Lagat, a Kenyan who became a U.S. citizen in 2005, will turn 42 next December. He holds two U.S. indoor track records (3:33.34 for 1500 meters and 3:49.89 for the mile) and three U.S. outdoor records (3:29 for 1500 meters, 7:29.00 for 3,000 meters, and 12:53.60 for 5,000 meters). In 2015—his first year in the age group—he set six masters world indoor and outdoor records on the track and a new masters 10K road record (27:48), which matched the open American record.

In the next phase of his career, Lagat will take to the roads, he said.

“We have all these road races in America which I’ve always wanted to do,” he said. “I still want to be competitive but I want to have fun also.”

His longest training run to date is 16 miles, but Lagat is also eyeing a marathon.

“I won’t be doing it for the money, it’s just to say that I ran a marathon,” he added.