There's a marathon to watch this weekend!
Here's your London marathon preview, a look at Canada's half-marathon world championship team and a thing called 'The Marathon Project' was announced.
Hello!
In this issue, we talk about the upcoming London marathon and the upcoming half-marathon world championships. It’s almost like a regular newsletter!
But then I also talk about The Marathon Project, which is an elite-only marathon being organized in Arizona to give (primarily American) athletes a chance to actually race in 2020.
Let’s get to it!
— Erin @ Run the North
The London marathon is Sunday, Oct. 4!
The elite-only London marathon is set to take place on Sunday, Oct. 4.
It was announced that Canadian Cam Levins has joined the field, meaning there will be two Canadians toeing the line in the UK: Tristan Woodfine will be there too.
There are two Canadians in the wheelchair field: Josh Cassidy and Brent Lakatos.
You can see the full elite fields here.
How’s this race going to work?
40 men, 27 women and 21 wheelchair racers will compete — the races are at different times, limiting the number of people competing at once.
According to Runner’s World UK, here are the race times:
The women’s race is set for 7:15 a.m. BST, which is 2:15 a.m. EST
The men’s race is set for 10:15 a.m. BST, which is 5:15 a.m. EST
The wheelchair races are at 1:10 p.m. BST, which is 8:10 a.m EST
The course is a 2.15km loop around St. James Park.
Runners must complete 19.6 laps of the loop to finish the marathon. The finish line is the same iconic run up the mall, with Buckingham Palace behind them — they’ll just have done that exact loop 18 previous times.
There are several elite pacers for both the men’s and women’s race, including British runner Mo Farah. Pacers are set to go out at various speeds, as the London marathon will count towards Olympic qualifying. The Kenyan and the American Olympic marathon teams have already been chosen, but Canadians, Brits and Australians all have a chance to improve their chances for selection with a great run in London.
The course is world record eligible. If the weather is good, we could see some truly fast times. Of course, we have no idea how COVID has impacted everyone’s training and how fit they are, but that’s what the race is for — to find out.
Will Cam Levins and Tristan Woodfine get the Olympic standard?
Two weeks ago, Cam Levins announced he was going to be running London.
He ran a solo half-marathon time trial in 62:12, which is technically a PB for him.
Tristan Woodfine is the other Canadian racing in London. His participation was announced when London first made public that te 2020 race would be elite only.
Both Tristan and Cam are looking for the same thing: an Olympic qualifying performance. There are two ways to get it in London: a top 10 finish (because London is a world major) or a sub 2:11:30 time.
Cam is the Canadian marathon record holder, his PB is 2:09.25. We know he can run the standard, he’s done it before.
Cam talked about training for London on the Terminal Mile podcast.
Tristan’s personal marathon best is 2:13.16, which he ran in Toronto in 2019. That run was a big leap for him at the time, his previous personal best was 2:15:19, which he ran in Houston in January 2019. THAT was a huge leap from his previous marathon PB too. The trend for Tristan is big jumps in his PRs — and if he does it in London, it puts him in Olympic standard territory. He’s been tailoring his training for the closed London course: he recently posted about a 40K training run on a 1.8K loop. He’s also fit, he ran a 10K PB of 28:49 on a track in training.
Tristan talked to Canadian Running about the race. “But now, this most recent build has been way beyond anything I’ve done before. I’ve got a lot of confidence going into this race. I think I can run standard, and I want to see how far under standard I can get,” he said.
There are two spots up for grabs on the Canadian men’s marathon team. Trevor Hofbauer was automatically named to the team when he won the Canadian marathon championships in Toronto in October 2019 and ran the standard with his performance. The other two spots will be selected by Athletics Canada in the spring, but no other men even have an Olympic standard performance right now.
Will Brigid Kosgei run away with the women’s race?
The women’s field features world record holder Kenya’s Brigid Kosegi, who destroyed Paula Radcliffe’s 16-year-old record in Chicago in 2018 with a run of 2:14:04.
But the field also features Kenyans Ruth Chepngetich and Vivian Cheruiyot.
Ruth’s PB of 2:17:08 is the fourth fastest marathon time ever. She ran that in Dubai in 2019. She also won the 2019 world championship marathon in Doha.
Vivian’s marathon PB is 2:18:31, which she ran in London in 2018. She won that race. She placed second at the 2018 New York City marathon, and has an impressive track and cross-country CV. she’s been to four Olympics, has an Olympic gold medal (2016 in the 5,000m) and has four track world championship titles and a world cross-country title.
It’s possible Brigid will just run away with it, like she did in Chicago. But it could become a battle to the finish, and if it does, Ruth and Vivian both know how to compete.
Will Eliud Kipchoge v. Kenenisa Bekele be as epic as everyone wants?
Ever since Kenenisa Bekele ran 2:01 in Berlin in 2019, people have been dreaming of a matchup between him and Eliud Kipchoge: the greatest marathoner of all-time versus the greatest long-distance runner of all time who finally unlocked his marathon potential.
Kipchoge and Bekele have raced each for years, on the track, in cross-country and even in the marathon.
They’ve run 42.2K together five times previously, with Kipchoge besting Bekele every time:
2014 Chicago: Eliud won in 2:04:11, Bekele came fourth in 2:05:51
2016 London: Kipchoge won in 2:03:05 and Bekele came third in 2:06:36
2017 Berlin: Kipchoge won in 2:03:32 and Bekele dropped out
2018 London: Kipchoge won in 2:014:17 and Bekele placed sixth in 2:08:53
Over shorter distances, Bekele won more races than Kipchoge. According to Citius Mag, Bekele is 16-9 overall when all race distances are counted.
If they are fit and the weather holds up, it could be everything we want. But if one of them isn’t 100%, it might be a bust. BUT they aren’t the only ace runners in the field. Could we see an upset?
Everyone’s talking about Kipchoge and Bekele, but we shouldn’t sleep on Ethiopia’s Mosinet Geremew. His marathon PR is 2:02:55, which he ran when he placed second to Kipchoge in London in 2019. It’s the third fastest marathon time in history behind, yes, Kipchoge’s 2:01:39 and Bekele’s 2:01:41. The 28 year old placed second at the world championships in Doha, running 2:10:44, proving he can grind it out in terrible conditions as well as run fast as hell.
Will the biosphere be safe and secure?
Athletes will be tested frequently and they are not allowed to leave the “biosphere” the entire time they are in London — it does feature 40 acres of parkland to train in.
American Jared Ward was on Citius Mag podcast and in part of the conversation he talked about the safety measures the marathon is taking. He was tested beforehand, he flew out six days before, was tested upon arrival and will be tested several more times while in London. After the race, he will leave the next day and will be tested before and after his flight.
American Molly Seidel told Women’s Running that runners will be given a sensor that will go off if they get closer than six feet to someone.
But with so many athletes travelling internationally to come and compete, it remains to be seen how safe and secure the whole thing is. It is a good test drive for future international multi-country championships, like the Olympics.
How can I watch?
FloSports had the broadcast rights in Canada.
If you have VPN, you can use that to set your location to the UK and watch on BBC.
Canada announces world half-marathon championship team
The world half-marathon championships are set to take place on Oct 17 in Gdynia, Poland.
Like many things, they were delayed form the spring due to COVID. There was supposed to be a mass half-marathon as part of this event, but that got cancelled, making the race elite-only.
Canada is sending six runners: Rachel Cliff, Trevor Hofbauer, Justin Kent, Phil Parrot-Migas, Benjamin Preisner and Thomas Toth.
Rachel, Trevor, Ben and Thomas were all named to the original team set to compete in March.
Because of COVID, a time trial was organized in BC in September for athletes to prove their fitness to be eligible for selection for the new race date.
Rachel boasts a half-marathon personal best of 1:10:06, which she ran in December 2019. At the time, it was the Canadian half-marathon record, but it was quickly broken by Natasha Wodak and Andrea Seccafien over an impressive six-week period. At the beginning of 2020, Rachel was both the Canadian half-marathon and Canadian marathon record holder, but both records were broken in Houston in January.
Trevor is the reigning Canadian marathon champion, and one of few athletes who booked their ticket to the Tokyo Olympics before the pandemic began. His half-marathon PB is 1:03:02.
"Our team is strong and I'm looking forward to sharing this milestone with the rest of the team. We are in a good position to improve our world ranking. This year has tested every fibre of who I am, which I've had to be adaptable and accepting of every situation that has arisen. To put my feet on the start line and to give it my absolute best will make up for some of the downs this year," Trevor said in the Athletics Canada press release about the team.
Justin ran a 1:04.20 in the time trial to qualify for this event. Justin has been making the most of his COVID summer, on July 1, he won the Canadian 10K virtual national championships.
"He has been running well all year and a world championship experience will be very valuable to him,"his coach Richard Lee, told CBC Sports.
Ben Preisner won both the Vancouver and Toronto half-marathons last summer. He was set to make his marathon debut at London in April, but when the pandemic began, he decided to run a solo marathon time trial instead. He ran 2:15:24 on April 18, being paced by his girlfriend on a bike,. Ben’s half-marathon PB is 1:03:08, which he ran in Toronto in 2019.
Phil’s half-marathon PB is 1:03:56, which he ran in Houston in January. He was added to the team after he successfully appealed not being selected.
Thomas’s half-marathon PB is 1:04:28, which is from 2016. He came second at the Canadian half-marathon championships in June 2019, running 1:05:27 to finish behind Tristan Woodfine.
Because of the pandemic, a few countries have decided to not participate in the event, including the United States and Japan.
There will be a marathon in December for elite North Americans
The Marathon Project was announced this week, a marathon in December for elite North American athletes who have had their seasons wiped out because of COVID.
It will be held in Chandler, Arizona, set for Dec. 20 and will adhere to the health and safety standards set by World Athletics, USATF and the Arizona government.
The project is being organized by Northern Arizona Elite coach Ben Rosario, BOOM Management agent Josh Cox and Big River Race Management event organizer Matt Helbig.
Runner’s World has a great piece about how the race came to be and what to expect.
Who is this race for?
It’s being set up as an opportunity for elite North American athletes to actually race a marathon in 2020.
The field will be limited to 50 men and 50 women. To automatically be eligible for the race, athletes must have finished in the top 25 at the U.S. Olympic trials, run under 2:28 (women) or 2:13 (men) later than January 1, 2017, finished in the top 15 at a 2018 or 2019 world major or ever won a world major marathon.
To provisionally be eligible for the race, athletes must have finished in the top 50 at the U.S. Olympic trials, run under 2:40 (women) or 2:20 (men) after January 1, 2017 in a marathon or 1:12 (women) or 1:04 (men) in a half-marathon after January 1, 2018. There are also some provisional qualifying times for shorter distances, but you can check those out for yourself.
Eligible athletes can apply by Oct. 11.
Where is the race?
The race is taking place in Chandler, Arizona.
The course will be a 4.3-mile loop:
The weather should be pretty good: winter temps in Arizona are usually in the high single digits to low teens.
Who is running?
So far one Canadian is committed: Rory Linkletter, who trains with NAZ Elite.
Elite Americans who have committed include Scott Fauble, Martin Hehir and Augustus Maiyo on the men’s side and Stephanie Bruce, Emma Bates and Kellyn Taylor on the women’s side.
It remains to be seen if this race will count towards Olympic qualifying. If it doesn’t, it’s doubtful any other Canadians will end up on the starting line. If it does, we might see a few names eager to get the standard hop in, providing they are able to get to Arizona safely.
If they do, I’ll let you know.
Strides: Other stuff to know about
🥇CBC Sports did a retrospective for the 1984 Olympics this past weekend. 1984 is notable for the Russia boycott and for having the first marathon for women.
🦄CBC British Columbia profiled local age group runner Rod Waterlow. The 83 year old was the oldest person to qualify for the 2020 Boston marathon. He participated in the virtual edition of the race, running 4:56:04. "I'm just thrilled, thrilled to have finished. I encourage everybody to get out there and stay active as long as they can," he told CBC. "I think we're capable of doing more than we know."
⚖️Honorary Canadian, runner and New York Times editor Lindsay Crouse, wrote about how Ruth Bader Ginsburg has inspired her fitness journey:
Justice Ginsburg was notable for embracing exercise as a performance tool — not for boosting how she looked, but for how she worked. Watching her invest in her own strength for the sake of it felt like the literal definition of empowerment.
Her athleticism — like so many parts of herself — was something she defined on her own terms, on whatever schedule was available to her.
If you missed it, RBG’s personal trainer Bryant Johnson paid tribute to the late justice by doing pushups as she laid in state.
🧕🏼The Toronto Star profiled the running group, A Women’s Run. It’s a group for women BIPOC runners, it was started in 2019 to make the sport more inclusive:
“As a Muslim hijabi woman, to think that I’m going to be running on the streets of Toronto ... I kind of felt shameful. It’s the fact that you don’t see it,” Ramadan said, adding because seeing a hijabi woman running in the street for sport isn’t common, she was very conscious of being watched and “looking funny.”
Her sister who also wears hijab has told her she had that same feeling going out for a run, saying it was difficult “to take that first step, in front of everyone.”
Ramadan said she thought maybe she could run with her scarf on a treadmill, but on the streets she felt out of place and conscious of people watching.
It is this type of experience that led Ramadan to creating A Women’s Run, a welcoming running space for women of colour in 2019.
👟Reid Coolsaet has launched a coaching business called Coolsaet GO. You can DM him on Instagram for more information.
📺Canadian marathon champs Trevor Hofbauer and Dayna Pidhoresky were both on the most recent episode of the Runners Hi video series. They talked to Kate Van Buskirk about training through COVID and the Olympics being postponed. You get a good sense of both Trevor and Dayna’s personalities in the video.
🌟The Sydney Opera House showed Cathy Freeman’s 400m gold medal performance at the Sydney Olympics to honour the 20th anniversary of the event. Cathy was the first Indigenous Australian to win Olympic gold in an individual event:
That’s it for this week!
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Run the North comes out on Monday mornings.
Next week, I’ll recap London for you, and there will be other stuff to cover, I’m sure. There always is.
Thanks for reading. Keep on running. And stay safe.
I’ll see you next week.