Seb Coe Talks and We Listen

LRC Sebastian Coe Shares His Vision For The Future, Explains Diamond League Cuts, & Says Track & Field Has “A Lot of Work to Do” in the US Last month, Seb Coe spent 45 minutes discussing the Diamond League and his vision for the sport with LetsRun.com. Find out what he said here.
*TFN’s Gary Hill: Thoughts On The Diamond League Contraction Hill is for change but thinks if 4 events are going to be cut they should rotate the events.

Distance News

• Edward Cheserek and Sharon Lokedi get engaged The 17-time NCAA champ and the 1-time champ are set to be hitched as King Ches proposed to Queen Ches in Hawaii.
• Turkey’s Kaan Kigen Özbilen shares the keys to his 2:04:16 ER – “The majority of this comes from genetics.” Training with Eliud Kipchoge probably doesn’t hurt either.
• Good Read Not everyone wearing Vaporflys qualified at CIM. On Trying (and Failing) to OTQ at CIM
• Eliud Kipchoge was the #2 personality searched for on google in Kenya in 2019 The #1 spot went to  Safaricom CEO Bob Collymore while the INEOS 159 event was the 9th most searched for event.
• US Ambassador visits Kipchoge and goes for run with him 
  *MB: Kyle McCarter, US Ambassador to Kenya, runs with Eliud Kipchoge. What are his PRs? 
• Olympian Nicole Sifuentes talks about the key of learning to train by effort instead of being a slave to technology or a prescribed workout “Before you head out that door, think about the purpose of your run. If I was running so slowly and still felt tired, I would slow down or cut my run short. If I felt amazing and it was a hard workout day, I would push my limits.”
• Japanese authorities will now start testing at HS national champs for…. iron injections
• Looking for a unique xmas gift? Buy this classic 1965 steeple photo for £55
• Reporter who was grabbed on butt during road race, files police charges and appears on national TV Meanwhile, the groper has called her repeatedly to apologize and is trying to apologize in person. That hasn’t placated her.
• Runner who slapped reporter butt during Savannah Bridge Run is banned from future races
• Why Every Runner Needs Trail Shoes for Winter

Sprint / Field News

• 10.39/20.46/45.23 prep Tyrese Cooper will start his career at Hinds Community College and not Oreogn where he signed His HS coach said this, “I honestly have no idea why he is no longer at Oregon.”
• Kiwi pole vault star Eliza McCartney reveals she may “have a genetic disorder that causes autoimmune inflammation, particularly affecting tendons.”
• Pole vole mat flies into stands, seriously injures two in stands in Wellington, New Zealand

Doping News: WADA Drops The Ban Hammer On Russia

Russia Gets Four Year Ban – Will Miss 2020 Olympics And 2022 World Cup The ban has been handed down by WADA and RUSADA still has 21 days to appeal. And as it was previously, Russian athletes who can prove they are clean can compete as neutral athletes.

• The Telegraph: Russia Escapes Complete Sporting Exile Despite WADA’s 4-Year Ban With exceptions for neutral athletes and certain events that don’t fall under WADA’s jurisdiction, many, including Travis Tygart and WADA vice president Linda Hellelan are saying that this 4-year ban is too lenient.
  *The Telegraph: Doubts Raised Over Credibility Of WADA’s Sanctions Russia will still be able to compete in the European soccer championships and while they can’t play in the World Cup, they can play in their home qualifiers as Russia and in Russia.
• Travis Tygart Says Witnesses In Alberto Salazar Case Had “Death Threats Not To Testify” Tygart talks about possibly going after a longer ban for Salazar, calls Paula Radcliffe‘s comments “nonsensical” and touches on Russia and Lance Armstrong.
• WADA Vice President Linda Helleland: “I’m not happy with the decision we made today. But this is as far as we could go.”
• NY Times: Russia Banned From Olympics and Global Sports for 4 Years Over Doping
• Russian Fencing Federation President Tells Craig Reedie Not To Turn Fight Against Doping Into A “Lynching”
• NY Times Article Last Week: “Russian Doping Blurs Innocence And Guilt, With Olympics Caught In Middle”

Euro XC Champs *Results *Race Replays

• Sweden’s Robel Fsiha Defeats The Favorites To Win Euro XC Champs Fsiha beat out Turkeys Aras Kaya by 11 seconds as well as Julien Wanders (4th), Andrew Butchart (5th) and defending champ Filip Ingebrigsten (12th).
• Turkey’s Yasemin Can Wins Her Fourth Consecutive Euro XC Title She won the race by 15 seconds ahead of Norway’s Karoline Bjerkeli Grovdal.
• Jakob Ingebrigtsen Cruises To His Fourth Euro XC U20 Title He won the race by a record margin 38-seconds ahead of second place. Italy’s Nadia Battocletti won the women’s U20 race.
• GB Win Five Team Gold Medals, Including Men’s And Women’s Senior Races At Euro XC Champs In the men’s race they nipped Belgium by just 2 points while the women beat out Ireland by 15 points. *BBC Article
• Fionnuala McCormack’s Fourth-Place Finish Leads Ireland Women To Team Silver *BBC article
• France’s Jimmy Gressier Wins His Third Straight U23 Title; Denmark’s Anna Emilie Moller Defends Her U23 Title

Other Distance Stuff

• Intersex Former Ugandan Mid-Distance Runner Anneet Negesa “Relieved And Happy” To Be Granted Asylum In Germany She claims that she was pressured into a harmful surgery and that she feared for her life if she returned to Uganda.
• Short Random Q&A With Jo Pavey: “Tokyo 2020 Will Be My Sixth Olympics”

2019 NXN *NXN Results / Streaming

LRC Katelyn Tuohy Three-Peats In Dramatic Fashion As Nico Young DOMINATES To Lead Newbury Park To NXN TItle Tuohy barely edged Taylor Ewert and Sydney Thorvaldson after leading by 6+ seconds at 2 miles; Saratoga (78 points) won the girls’ team title. Young set a course record of 14:53 to win by 13 seconds.

• Video Interview With Katelyn Tuohy
• DyeStat: Nico Young Turns Championship Double Play As Newbury Park Edges Great Oak In Boys Thriller
• RW: Katelyn Tuohy Wins Third Nike Cross National Title
• MileSplit: How Saratoga Came Away With A Dominant NXN Win

MB Talk

• Katelyn Tuohy almost gets beat!?!?!? But rallies to 3-peat in EPIC race.
• NICO MF YOUNG WINS NXN
• NXN LIVE
• Who is the better pro/Olympic prospect? Nico Young or Katelyn Tuohy? I think you’ve gotta say the answer is….
• Katelyn Tuohy to Oregon
• Josh methner clutches up

International Distance News

• Nick Willis Writes Letter To His Younger Self; Says He Shouldn’t Have Felt Guilty About Skipping Training To Play Other Sports When He Was Young Willis also says that “you can only explore your absolute limits after two years of uninterrupted training.”
• Athletics Weekly Profile On Self-Coached GB 2:26 Marathoner Steph Twell Twell talks about the benefits and challenges of being self-coached and how she took inspiration from Molly Huddle and Emily Sisson when deciding to race the Doha 10,000m just a month before the Frankfurt Marathon (where she ran her PR).
• The Independent: “Phenomenal Fionnuala McCormack Proves The Only Size That Really Matters Is The Size Of Your Heart” Eamonn Sweeny writes, “McCormack is the toughest because nothing is tougher than competitive cross-country running.”
• RIP Former Aussie Olympic 1,500m Runner Graham Crouch, 71 Crouch was part of a historic 1,500m race at the 1974 Commonwealth Games where Filbert Bayi ran 3:32.16 to break Jim Ryun‘s WR (Crouch was 5th in a NR of 3:34.42).

Mo Farah Isn’t The Only One Moving From The Marathon To The Track For 2020

Gwen Jorgensen Switches Her Focus From The Marathon To The Track For The 2020 Olympic Trials After a setback requiring heel surgery earlier this year, Jorgensen has decided to try to make the Olympic team in the 10,000m and possibly the 5,000m. She says she hasn’t given up on her marathon goals, but has put them on hold for the Paris Olympic cycle.
*MB: Jorgensen announces move to track for 2020
*LRC Archive: A Year And A Half Ago, The LRC Staff Discussed If Jorgensen Should Move To The Track Over The Roads