1
00:00:00,640 --> 00:00:04,080
You're listening to episode 305 
of the Marathon Running Podcast.

2
00:00:04,360 --> 00:00:07,160
In this episode, we're going to 
update you on the state of the 

3
00:00:07,160 --> 00:00:10,680
marathon. 
Welcome to the Marathon Running 

4
00:00:10,680 --> 00:00:13,600
Podcast by Marathon Journal. 
Join us every week for the 

5
00:00:13,600 --> 00:00:16,239
insights and inspiration you 
need to get from the starting 

6
00:00:16,239 --> 00:00:18,320
line to the finish line and 
beyond. 

7
00:00:24,080 --> 00:00:26,400
Hey runners, and welcome to 
episode 305. 

8
00:00:26,400 --> 00:00:29,320
My name is Letty. 
I'm flying solo today and I'm 

9
00:00:29,320 --> 00:00:31,640
fine with it. 
I hope you guys are too because 

10
00:00:31,640 --> 00:00:34,320
today we're going to dive into 
something completely different 

11
00:00:34,320 --> 00:00:38,160
and I want you to hear me out. 
Normally, we try to do all sorts

12
00:00:38,160 --> 00:00:41,000
of things that are informative 
and help you guys become a 

13
00:00:41,000 --> 00:00:43,040
better runner. 
We bring on coaches, 

14
00:00:43,040 --> 00:00:46,520
nutritionists, etcetera. 
We also try to do race reviews 

15
00:00:46,520 --> 00:00:50,400
to give you guys guidance on how
to best attack which race. 

16
00:00:50,640 --> 00:00:53,840
And we do all that with the 
intentions to guide you guys 

17
00:00:54,120 --> 00:00:58,320
have the best marathon ever. 
But The funny thing is we never 

18
00:00:58,320 --> 00:01:01,080
really talk about what is going 
on in the marathon world. 

19
00:01:01,280 --> 00:01:03,400
And I want to change that with 
this podcast. 

20
00:01:03,400 --> 00:01:06,600
And hopefully we'll have a 
podcast of this style on every 

21
00:01:06,760 --> 00:01:09,840
couple of months or so just to 
kind of update you about what's 

22
00:01:09,840 --> 00:01:12,040
going on. 
We are very into what's going on

23
00:01:12,040 --> 00:01:14,880
right now because we do have the
website marathonjournal.com 

24
00:01:15,080 --> 00:01:19,240
where we cover running news. 
So literally day to night, I get

25
00:01:19,240 --> 00:01:23,080
updates on my phone about what 
is going on with what news I get

26
00:01:23,080 --> 00:01:26,560
press releases sent to to me. 
And there has been just so much 

27
00:01:26,560 --> 00:01:30,320
going on lately that I feel like
it's a disservice to not tell 

28
00:01:30,320 --> 00:01:33,200
you guys about what's going on 
every now and then. 

29
00:01:33,200 --> 00:01:35,240
And so that's what we're going 
to do. 

30
00:01:35,480 --> 00:01:38,440
The way we're going to structure
it is we're just going to have a

31
00:01:38,440 --> 00:01:41,600
few different topics and I'm 
going to tell you what's going 

32
00:01:41,600 --> 00:01:45,480
on and what I think about that 
particular topic from a very 

33
00:01:45,680 --> 00:01:48,240
factual perspective. 
So it's not going to be like, 

34
00:01:48,520 --> 00:01:51,480
you know, I'm not going to bathe
you in my opinion because nobody

35
00:01:51,480 --> 00:01:53,520
wants that. 
But we're just going to state 

36
00:01:53,520 --> 00:01:55,680
some facts, what's going on and 
what that means. 

37
00:01:55,680 --> 00:01:58,960
And so then that way you are up 
to date about what's happening 

38
00:01:58,960 --> 00:02:00,600
in the marathon world. 
All right. 

39
00:02:01,040 --> 00:02:04,440
And after this podcast, I would 
love for you guys to reach out 

40
00:02:04,440 --> 00:02:08,240
to let me know if you like that 
style of podcast or if you find 

41
00:02:08,240 --> 00:02:11,440
that boring and not helpful. 
And then we can make 

42
00:02:11,440 --> 00:02:15,000
adjustments. 
So just hang in there and go 

43
00:02:15,000 --> 00:02:18,920
through this one with me. 
All right, so first let's start 

44
00:02:18,920 --> 00:02:23,800
with the World Series, the World
Marathon Majors, and what's 

45
00:02:23,800 --> 00:02:26,880
going on with that. 
The Tokyo Marathon just took 

46
00:02:26,880 --> 00:02:30,040
place on March 2nd and 
everything seemed to have gone 

47
00:02:30,040 --> 00:02:33,840
very smoothly with that race, 
which is definitely a good thing

48
00:02:33,840 --> 00:02:36,280
because of everything else 
that's going on in the world 

49
00:02:36,280 --> 00:02:39,800
with races where lead vehicles 
take wrong turns, etcetera, 

50
00:02:39,800 --> 00:02:41,160
etcetera. 
We'll talk about that later. 

51
00:02:41,400 --> 00:02:43,640
But everything seemed to have 
gone great with the Tokyo 

52
00:02:43,640 --> 00:02:46,600
Marathon. 
That was World Major marathon #1

53
00:02:47,160 --> 00:02:50,400
now we have shifted our 
attention to the next major that

54
00:02:50,400 --> 00:02:52,920
is coming up, which is going to 
be the Boston Marathon, which 

55
00:02:52,920 --> 00:02:56,200
takes place every Monday on 
Patriots Day in April, April 

56
00:02:56,200 --> 00:03:01,040
20th this year we are going to 
be at the marathon in Boston. 

57
00:03:01,040 --> 00:03:03,880
We're not running it, but we're 
going to be covering it and we 

58
00:03:03,880 --> 00:03:06,440
have already checked out the 
elite field and we've published 

59
00:03:06,440 --> 00:03:09,480
an article about it. 
It's a very, very stacked and 

60
00:03:09,480 --> 00:03:13,280
super great elite field. 
I'm very excited to see that as 

61
00:03:13,280 --> 00:03:17,840
well as all the other people 
event that will take place on 

62
00:03:17,840 --> 00:03:19,600
the weekend of the Boston 
Marathon. 

63
00:03:19,800 --> 00:03:23,320
I feel like the Boston Marathon 
truly is a Mecca when it comes 

64
00:03:23,320 --> 00:03:25,720
to running and running 
community. 

65
00:03:25,720 --> 00:03:29,400
To me, the Boston Marathon has 
always been a celebration of all

66
00:03:29,400 --> 00:03:33,920
of our running abilities equally
for those that are able to get 

67
00:03:33,920 --> 00:03:38,760
into the marathon and those that
do not and just run anyway 

68
00:03:38,920 --> 00:03:41,280
because all of us are runners 
regardless. 

69
00:03:41,280 --> 00:03:44,200
And I feel like that sense of 
community really gets brought 

70
00:03:44,200 --> 00:03:47,520
out when you are at one of those
events in Boston. 

71
00:03:47,600 --> 00:03:51,560
So as always, there's going to 
be a ton of community events and

72
00:03:51,560 --> 00:03:55,360
pop ups and everything, and we 
will keep a close eye on that 

73
00:03:55,360 --> 00:03:58,360
and we'll publish a list of them
once that becomes available. 

74
00:03:58,520 --> 00:04:02,600
Then of course there is the 
London Marathon just about 6 

75
00:04:02,600 --> 00:04:05,440
days later, the elite field. 
I don't want to bore you guys, 

76
00:04:05,440 --> 00:04:08,240
but the elite fields, if you are
interested, we are covering that

77
00:04:08,240 --> 00:04:11,880
on marathonjournal.com are very,
very exciting, especially with 

78
00:04:11,880 --> 00:04:15,560
the fact that we have two of the
fastest runners in the world, 

79
00:04:15,680 --> 00:04:19,720
Sebastian Tsawi and Jacob 
Kiblimo, going face to face at 

80
00:04:19,720 --> 00:04:21,560
the London Marathon. 
To give you a little bit of 

81
00:04:21,560 --> 00:04:25,080
insight, Sebastian Tsawi was the
person that was trying to break 

82
00:04:25,080 --> 00:04:27,440
the world record at the Berlin 
Marathon last year. 

83
00:04:27,560 --> 00:04:31,280
However, it was super sunny and 
hot, so he was just a little bit

84
00:04:31,600 --> 00:04:35,280
away from his school. 
And Jacob Kaplimo was the person

85
00:04:35,280 --> 00:04:39,160
who just reclaimed his world 
record for the half marathon 

86
00:04:39,160 --> 00:04:42,400
after he had already broken it, 
but then it was taken away 

87
00:04:42,400 --> 00:04:46,560
because of a lead vehicle 
driving too closely to him. 

88
00:04:46,800 --> 00:04:50,920
So he just reclaimed his world 
record at the half marathon in 

89
00:04:50,920 --> 00:04:55,760
Lisbon this weekend and now he 
is getting ready to run London 

90
00:04:55,960 --> 00:04:58,280
in a little bit more than a 
month. 

91
00:04:58,360 --> 00:05:00,360
So that's going to be super 
exciting. 

92
00:05:00,960 --> 00:05:04,520
Then in May we do have the Cape 
Town Marathon and I know it's 

93
00:05:04,520 --> 00:05:07,720
not a world major, but it's 
probably hopefully going to be 

94
00:05:07,920 --> 00:05:12,080
the final non world major Cape 
Town marathon before it gets 

95
00:05:12,080 --> 00:05:14,480
admitted to the world major 
marathons. 

96
00:05:14,840 --> 00:05:18,040
Now for this marathon, Cape Town
just announced that Eliot 

97
00:05:18,040 --> 00:05:22,680
Kipchogi will be joining them 
for the 2026 race. 

98
00:05:23,400 --> 00:05:27,520
He will be running this race as 
his first of seven different 

99
00:05:27,520 --> 00:05:29,720
marathons. 
He plans to run in seven 

100
00:05:29,720 --> 00:05:33,240
different continents as an 
attempt to continue inspiring 

101
00:05:33,240 --> 00:05:35,240
athletes from all over the 
world. 

102
00:05:35,400 --> 00:05:38,080
So that is that. 
Now, we don't have to talk about

103
00:05:38,080 --> 00:05:41,000
the fall marathons yet. 
They're still so far away. 

104
00:05:41,000 --> 00:05:43,240
And there will be another 
episode for sure. 

105
00:05:43,400 --> 00:05:46,200
Well, maybe not, you'll tell me,
but there might be another 

106
00:05:46,200 --> 00:05:48,680
episode like this that updates 
you on all of that. 

107
00:05:49,200 --> 00:05:51,320
But I do want to mention one 
thing. 

108
00:05:51,320 --> 00:05:53,680
There has been an announcement. 
Well actually I want to mention 

109
00:05:53,680 --> 00:05:55,680
two things. 
There's been one announcement 

110
00:05:55,840 --> 00:05:58,760
that is a little bit bigger ish,
which is about the Sydney 

111
00:05:58,760 --> 00:06:01,000
Marathon. 
The Sydney Marathon has changed 

112
00:06:01,000 --> 00:06:04,120
its Expo location to somewhere 
completely else. 

113
00:06:04,280 --> 00:06:08,120
It used to be in Darling Harbour
in a Expo hall and now they have

114
00:06:08,120 --> 00:06:10,840
moved it. 
We'll have details for you as to

115
00:06:10,840 --> 00:06:15,560
where and obviously we're still 
hoping to create Sydney content 

116
00:06:15,560 --> 00:06:17,920
again this year as I am going 
back. 

117
00:06:17,920 --> 00:06:21,720
I loved it that much and we will
update you on all of these 

118
00:06:21,720 --> 00:06:25,080
little details in case you went 
last year and are confused about

119
00:06:25,080 --> 00:06:26,760
next year. 
The other thing I wanted to 

120
00:06:26,760 --> 00:06:30,200
mention about the world major 
marathon still is that Abbott 

121
00:06:30,200 --> 00:06:34,760
has announced that Shanghai is 
now in its final leg or final 

122
00:06:34,760 --> 00:06:39,320
processing step on becoming a 
world major marathon. 

123
00:06:39,320 --> 00:06:43,120
So you'll have one more non 
world major marathon race 

124
00:06:43,280 --> 00:06:47,360
happening this year at Shanghai.
And then after that, Shanghai 

125
00:06:47,360 --> 00:06:51,240
will probably also be another 
world major marathon, making it 

126
00:06:51,240 --> 00:06:55,320
the ninth star, meaning that for
us, it'll probably just get a 

127
00:06:55,320 --> 00:06:59,920
little bit more tough to get in.
It seems like once a marathon 

128
00:06:59,920 --> 00:07:04,560
becomes a world major, it gets 
significantly more difficult for

129
00:07:04,560 --> 00:07:07,520
people to get in. 
There'll be tour groups helping 

130
00:07:07,520 --> 00:07:11,240
with that, charity spots, 
etcetera, and we'll find out 

131
00:07:11,480 --> 00:07:16,080
about all of that. 
But this is a perfect segue to 

132
00:07:16,080 --> 00:07:18,040
the next topic that I wanted to 
talk about. 

133
00:07:18,080 --> 00:07:20,000
I guess still a world major 
topic. 

134
00:07:20,280 --> 00:07:23,360
It is the New York City 
Marathon, because the New York 

135
00:07:23,360 --> 00:07:27,000
City Marathon finally released 
its numbers. 

136
00:07:27,000 --> 00:07:31,600
So we have exactly the data that
I've been waiting on for months 

137
00:07:31,600 --> 00:07:34,960
after months because I wanted to
see what the statistics say, 

138
00:07:35,320 --> 00:07:38,320
what were the numbers of 
applicants and all of that fun 

139
00:07:38,320 --> 00:07:41,320
stuff. 
So a press release was sent out 

140
00:07:41,320 --> 00:07:46,080
to all of U.S. media people last
week and here is the revelation.

141
00:07:46,320 --> 00:07:51,880
There was more than 240,000 
runners from over 160 countries 

142
00:07:52,160 --> 00:07:56,360
that applied for these few 
lottery spots, those non 

143
00:07:56,360 --> 00:08:00,560
guaranteed entries, those 
drawings that they do every 

144
00:08:00,560 --> 00:08:04,200
year. 
We call it the lottery, and that

145
00:08:04,200 --> 00:08:08,640
is basically a 20% increase of 
last year's records. 

146
00:08:08,800 --> 00:08:13,320
So 20% more people wanted to 
sign up for the New York City 

147
00:08:13,320 --> 00:08:15,920
Marathon. 
It's a bucket list race for 

148
00:08:15,920 --> 00:08:17,680
everybody. 
I'm so glad I got it out of the 

149
00:08:17,680 --> 00:08:21,320
way when it was still a little 
bit easier to get in. 

150
00:08:21,560 --> 00:08:26,520
So here's the gist of these 
staggering numbers. 240,000 

151
00:08:26,520 --> 00:08:29,280
runners. 
That means only 1% of runners 

152
00:08:29,280 --> 00:08:31,640
get in. 
Now you're going to say, oh, but

153
00:08:31,640 --> 00:08:37,240
it's almost 60,000 people that 
are getting in. 1% of 240,000 is

154
00:08:37,520 --> 00:08:40,640
2400 runners, and that must be 
wrong. 

155
00:08:40,640 --> 00:08:42,240
Letty, your numbers must be 
wrong. 

156
00:08:42,240 --> 00:08:45,160
But I'm going to assure you my 
numbers are not wrong because I 

157
00:08:45,160 --> 00:08:46,680
got them straight from the press
release. 

158
00:08:47,360 --> 00:08:49,760
The amount of people that are 
getting in through the lottery 

159
00:08:49,760 --> 00:08:53,400
are not 24,000. 
It really is 1%. 

160
00:08:53,600 --> 00:08:57,840
It's around 2400 runners. 
The rest of the runners that 

161
00:08:57,840 --> 00:09:01,440
make up this amazing race is 
comprised of people that do 

162
00:09:01,440 --> 00:09:04,800
several things. 
First, there is a program that 

163
00:09:04,800 --> 00:09:08,880
is called the 9 + 1 program. 
That is, if you are a member of 

164
00:09:08,880 --> 00:09:12,680
the New York City Roadrunners 
and you register for 9 

165
00:09:12,680 --> 00:09:16,880
qualifying races in one year and
then you volunteer at one an 

166
00:09:16,880 --> 00:09:22,800
additional race, then you are 
eligible to do the race. 

167
00:09:23,440 --> 00:09:26,320
It's it's, you know, sounds 
simple, but it is quite a bit of

168
00:09:26,320 --> 00:09:28,840
races. 
So that's one of the options 

169
00:09:28,840 --> 00:09:30,880
that you have to get a 
guaranteed spot. 

170
00:09:31,280 --> 00:09:32,960
Then there's also qualifying 
times. 

171
00:09:33,760 --> 00:09:37,400
Qualifying times, however, for 
the New York City Marathon is 

172
00:09:37,400 --> 00:09:40,480
not the same as qualifying time 
for the Chicago Marathon. 

173
00:09:40,840 --> 00:09:44,960
For the Chicago Marathon, a 
qualifying time earns you a 

174
00:09:44,960 --> 00:09:48,840
guaranteed entry, at least at 
this point, and you will be able

175
00:09:48,840 --> 00:09:51,720
to get in. 
Qualifying times for the New 

176
00:09:51,720 --> 00:09:55,160
York City Marathon is kind of 
more like a Boston qualifying 

177
00:09:55,160 --> 00:09:58,000
time on steroids. 
And I'm saying on steroids 

178
00:09:58,000 --> 00:10:03,120
because the buffer for this year
was of almost 23 minutes. 

179
00:10:03,120 --> 00:10:07,840
So if you had a qualifying time,
like say for example, I'm just 

180
00:10:07,840 --> 00:10:10,120
making this up. 
If you're a woman and you need a

181
00:10:10,120 --> 00:10:13,320
three hour and 10 minute 
marathon, then the time that 

182
00:10:13,320 --> 00:10:20,040
actually got you in was if you 
ran more like a 247. 

183
00:10:20,560 --> 00:10:24,920
So 23 minutes faster than your 
qualifying time in order to get 

184
00:10:24,920 --> 00:10:27,320
in. 
And now I know that there's a 

185
00:10:27,320 --> 00:10:32,880
ton of people that look down 
upon that and are very elitist 

186
00:10:32,880 --> 00:10:37,960
about the New York City Marathon
and are saying only fast people 

187
00:10:37,960 --> 00:10:41,480
should be running this marathon.
I have to give you my opinion on

188
00:10:41,480 --> 00:10:43,320
that one even though you're not 
asking for it. 

189
00:10:43,480 --> 00:10:46,800
I completely disagree. 
I feel like all of us runners 

190
00:10:46,920 --> 00:10:49,280
are kind of equal plane level 
right? 

191
00:10:49,280 --> 00:10:51,000
Unless you're in the elite 
field. 

192
00:10:51,440 --> 00:10:55,000
So if you're telling me that you
are faster, like say you're a 

193
00:10:55,000 --> 00:10:58,920
sub three hour runner and you're
faster than the people in the 

194
00:10:58,920 --> 00:11:03,760
back of the pack and you deserve
more to be in this race, then 

195
00:11:03,760 --> 00:11:05,640
I'm going to turn it around on 
you. 

196
00:11:05,640 --> 00:11:09,320
And I'm going to show you the 
runners that run sub 210 

197
00:11:09,320 --> 00:11:11,840
marathons. 
And I'm going to tell you those 

198
00:11:11,840 --> 00:11:15,240
are the people that are fast 
people compared to you sub three

199
00:11:15,240 --> 00:11:17,120
hour runner. 
So that is that. 

200
00:11:17,320 --> 00:11:20,640
And I don't mean that in any 
kind of mean shape or form. 

201
00:11:21,000 --> 00:11:24,000
I'm just saying that everything 
is relative. 

202
00:11:24,160 --> 00:11:26,920
There's always going to be 
somebody faster than you. 

203
00:11:27,320 --> 00:11:31,000
So if you're running a sub three
hour marathon, don't shame the 

204
00:11:31,000 --> 00:11:35,160
people that run slower than you 
because you're not the fastest 

205
00:11:35,240 --> 00:11:36,760
either. 
So that's it. 

206
00:11:36,840 --> 00:11:40,000
That's my only opinion piece in 
that, especially since the New 

207
00:11:40,000 --> 00:11:43,560
York City Marathon is really all
about charities. 

208
00:11:43,880 --> 00:11:47,040
And that is the third and last 
and final way of getting into 

209
00:11:47,040 --> 00:11:50,120
the New York City Marathon. 
You can run the New York City 

210
00:11:50,120 --> 00:11:53,520
Marathon if you want to, no 
matter what your speed is by 

211
00:11:53,520 --> 00:11:56,560
fundraising for a charity that 
you can apply for. 

212
00:11:56,840 --> 00:12:00,240
And the New York City Marathon 
really, really is huge on 

213
00:12:00,240 --> 00:12:03,160
charities this year. 
In their press release, the New 

214
00:12:03,160 --> 00:12:06,840
York City Marathon announced 
that they are trying to raise 

215
00:12:06,840 --> 00:12:11,680
$100 million for its official 
charity partner program, which 

216
00:12:11,680 --> 00:12:16,680
includes those 670 nonprofits. 
And that is really huge. 

217
00:12:16,680 --> 00:12:20,880
So I think that goal really 
Trump's everything else that we 

218
00:12:20,880 --> 00:12:24,760
are complaining about. 
And I know it can be frustrating

219
00:12:24,760 --> 00:12:27,520
if you don't get in, but the 
charity spots for the New York 

220
00:12:27,520 --> 00:12:30,640
City Marathon are half as bad as
Boston. 

221
00:12:30,640 --> 00:12:35,000
If you look at some of the 
partners, I think I saw as low 

222
00:12:35,000 --> 00:12:39,320
as $3000 for a bib for the New 
York City Marathon, and it might

223
00:12:39,320 --> 00:12:40,920
be even lower. 
I haven't really done the 

224
00:12:40,920 --> 00:12:44,680
research comparing that to the 
$10,000 that you would have to 

225
00:12:44,680 --> 00:12:46,920
raise for Boston. 
That's a bargain. 

226
00:12:47,200 --> 00:12:50,440
And I think if it's something 
for a good 'cause that you can 

227
00:12:50,440 --> 00:12:53,880
align yourself with and get 
excited for, then I think that's

228
00:12:53,880 --> 00:12:58,280
really a great way of doing it 
and running that New York City 

229
00:12:58,280 --> 00:13:00,320
Marathon that you have been 
wanting to run. 

230
00:13:00,760 --> 00:13:03,800
All right, so enough about the 
world Major marathons. 

231
00:13:03,800 --> 00:13:07,200
Let's move on to a new series. 
So there is a new series that 

232
00:13:07,200 --> 00:13:11,680
is, I don't think trying to give
competition to the world major 

233
00:13:11,680 --> 00:13:16,040
marathons, but it's an 
alternative series for you to 

234
00:13:16,040 --> 00:13:18,800
get hooked on. 
So if you don't get into the 

235
00:13:18,800 --> 00:13:21,720
world major marathons, there is 
something else. 

236
00:13:21,920 --> 00:13:26,080
And what we're talking about 
here is the EMCS, which is the 

237
00:13:26,080 --> 00:13:31,440
European Marathon Classics. 
So that's another collection of 

238
00:13:31,440 --> 00:13:33,360
marathons. 
Like we just said, this one 

239
00:13:33,360 --> 00:13:37,360
includes 8 European marathons. 
And it's not just a calendar, 

240
00:13:37,360 --> 00:13:39,000
it's a multi year. 
Your challenge. 

241
00:13:39,000 --> 00:13:44,080
So to earn the title of European
Marathon Classics finisher you 

242
00:13:44,080 --> 00:13:47,520
have to complete 5 of the 8 
races which are each in 

243
00:13:47,520 --> 00:13:50,520
different cities. 
The five different ones are 

244
00:13:50,520 --> 00:13:57,000
Rome, Vienna, London, Madrid, 
Copenhagen, Warsaw, Lisbon and 

245
00:13:57,000 --> 00:13:59,720
Frankfurt. 
And I just realized that I have 

246
00:14:00,040 --> 00:14:03,880
two stars or two medals already 
because I ran Rome in London. 

247
00:14:04,080 --> 00:14:07,040
So yay for that. 
But here is a little bit more 

248
00:14:07,040 --> 00:14:12,280
information to the EMC series, 
the European Marathon Classics. 

249
00:14:12,320 --> 00:14:14,000
They offer a different kind of 
prestige. 

250
00:14:14,000 --> 00:14:17,960
So instead of chasing stars, you
are kind of more chasing the 

251
00:14:17,960 --> 00:14:22,120
souls of the cities. 
As Hugh Basher from the London 

252
00:14:22,120 --> 00:14:26,080
Marathon said, this is something
that shows that across Europe, 

253
00:14:26,320 --> 00:14:29,360
he says we are Better Together 
than we are apart. 

254
00:14:29,920 --> 00:14:33,520
So the EMC is not trying to 
replace the Marathon majors, it 

255
00:14:33,520 --> 00:14:36,040
is just offering a more 
inclusive cultural leverage 

256
00:14:36,040 --> 00:14:39,040
alternative. 
And while the majors remain that

257
00:14:39,040 --> 00:14:42,440
pinnacle for elite speed and 
global fame, the European 

258
00:14:42,440 --> 00:14:45,080
Marathon Classics are 
positioning themselves as a 

259
00:14:45,080 --> 00:14:47,920
series for the cultural runner, 
the one that wants to see the 

260
00:14:47,920 --> 00:14:50,800
Colosseum in March. 
So kind of a little bit of a 

261
00:14:50,880 --> 00:14:55,240
travel twist on it. 
So you can check out their 

262
00:14:55,240 --> 00:14:59,360
website. 
It's very fun to see and also to

263
00:14:59,360 --> 00:15:01,440
see the the metals for that. 
They're magnetic. 

264
00:15:01,440 --> 00:15:04,520
So it's kind of cool. 
All right, now let's move on to 

265
00:15:04,520 --> 00:15:07,760
a topic that I've been wanting 
to mention in the podcast 

266
00:15:07,760 --> 00:15:10,680
anyway. 
And it's just kind of about our 

267
00:15:10,680 --> 00:15:14,080
responsibilities that we have as
a runner. 

268
00:15:14,480 --> 00:15:19,680
And I feel like our 
responsibilities as runners, 

269
00:15:20,120 --> 00:15:24,080
when we go to races with our 
families, friends, loved ones, 

270
00:15:24,080 --> 00:15:29,920
whoever is or should include to 
talk to them who are not 

271
00:15:29,920 --> 00:15:34,800
familiar with the sport about 
running etiquette or spectating 

272
00:15:34,800 --> 00:15:37,360
etiquette. 
And I'm saying this because 

273
00:15:37,400 --> 00:15:40,840
there have been various 
incidents that happened within 

274
00:15:40,840 --> 00:15:45,560
the last year where things 
happened to runners that 

275
00:15:45,560 --> 00:15:49,480
participated in races that we're
not good. 

276
00:15:49,680 --> 00:15:53,720
To give you a few examples, 
Daniel Romantic, wheelchair 

277
00:15:53,720 --> 00:15:58,680
racer, had an accident when a 
spectator crossed the course of 

278
00:15:58,680 --> 00:16:03,440
the Sydney Marathon, causing him
to try to swerve out of the way 

279
00:16:03,440 --> 00:16:07,640
in order to not hit the 
pedestrian and him getting 

280
00:16:07,640 --> 00:16:09,800
injured. 
He literally hurt his shoulder 

281
00:16:09,960 --> 00:16:13,960
and was unable to participate in
races for the remainder of the 

282
00:16:13,960 --> 00:16:17,600
year, which is huge because he's
actually an elite athlete. 

283
00:16:18,160 --> 00:16:21,080
Another thing that happened was 
actually, you know, you see it 

284
00:16:21,080 --> 00:16:23,160
constantly. 
I was running in Chicago and I 

285
00:16:23,160 --> 00:16:28,480
ended up falling because some 
spectator crossed and everyone 

286
00:16:28,480 --> 00:16:31,360
else had to slow down and I 
ended up taking a tumble. 

287
00:16:31,360 --> 00:16:34,320
Now, I'm not an elite athlete 
and nothing happened to me, but 

288
00:16:34,480 --> 00:16:36,520
something could have happened to
me that would have been worse. 

289
00:16:36,920 --> 00:16:42,040
And last but not least, this 
past Sunday at the LA Marathon, 

290
00:16:42,040 --> 00:16:46,960
there was a spectator that maybe
it was a spectator, but maybe 

291
00:16:46,960 --> 00:16:50,080
also the lead vehicle. 
And that's a topic for a new 

292
00:16:50,080 --> 00:16:51,640
topic that we'll also talk about
later. 

293
00:16:51,880 --> 00:16:57,040
But it looked like there was a 
fan running with a Kenyan flag 

294
00:16:57,400 --> 00:17:03,920
on the course with the first 
Kenyan runner and maybe she 

295
00:17:03,920 --> 00:17:07,240
caused him to get off the course
incorrectly. 

296
00:17:07,240 --> 00:17:09,599
But it could also have been that
he followed the lead vehicle. 

297
00:17:09,800 --> 00:17:16,480
But regardless, we as runners I 
feel are obligated to inform 

298
00:17:16,480 --> 00:17:20,560
those that are non runners to 
stay off the course and not 

299
00:17:20,560 --> 00:17:22,480
cross the course in front of 
other runners. 

300
00:17:22,720 --> 00:17:25,880
We should all tell them how 
annoying it is when people have 

301
00:17:25,880 --> 00:17:29,680
to speed up or slow down. 
And if they really have to cross

302
00:17:29,680 --> 00:17:34,480
that road, they can go to an 
organized spot where the race 

303
00:17:34,480 --> 00:17:37,320
officials help pedestrians cross
the road. 

304
00:17:37,560 --> 00:17:41,200
Or they can do it in a safe 
manner and really pay attention 

305
00:17:41,200 --> 00:17:44,760
to foot traffic, meaning 
runners, so nobody gets 

306
00:17:44,760 --> 00:17:48,000
disturbed. 
If we could really spread that 

307
00:17:48,000 --> 00:17:52,600
message, I think that could be a
huge game changer and help 

308
00:17:53,480 --> 00:17:57,280
because there's so many 
incidents of this happening and 

309
00:17:57,280 --> 00:18:00,000
it not being a pleasant 
experience for the runners. 

310
00:18:00,160 --> 00:18:04,280
And we cannot expect race 
officials to literally be lining

311
00:18:04,280 --> 00:18:09,440
up 26.2 miles of a course and 
trying to police it. 

312
00:18:09,480 --> 00:18:11,240
We have to use some common 
sense. 

313
00:18:11,280 --> 00:18:16,120
I believe course officials 
already have their hands full 

314
00:18:16,320 --> 00:18:19,840
with everything else that they 
are doing and that's going on 

315
00:18:19,840 --> 00:18:21,480
the road. 
And that, I guess, brings me to 

316
00:18:21,480 --> 00:18:27,040
the next topic of leading 
runners the wrong way during 

317
00:18:27,040 --> 00:18:30,480
races. 
We've seen this happening just 

318
00:18:30,480 --> 00:18:35,080
at the USFTA championship a 
couple of weeks ago where the 

319
00:18:35,080 --> 00:18:38,440
top three runners were led the 
wrong way. 

320
00:18:38,800 --> 00:18:42,160
And there was a huge and very 
good excuse for that. 

321
00:18:42,160 --> 00:18:46,040
Actually. 
USFTA had mentioned that there 

322
00:18:46,040 --> 00:18:50,720
was an officer down, I believe, 
and they for that reason did not

323
00:18:50,720 --> 00:18:55,320
have somebody on the course. 
And where this happened happened

324
00:18:55,320 --> 00:18:58,360
to be at an intersection that 
was very, very confusing. 

325
00:18:59,360 --> 00:19:05,080
That was at the like I said US 
FTA Marathon Championship where 

326
00:19:05,080 --> 00:19:11,960
Jessica McClain, Emma Hurley and
Edna Kurgat where misled by the 

327
00:19:11,960 --> 00:19:14,240
lead vehicle. 
You know. 

328
00:19:14,280 --> 00:19:17,600
Ever since that happened 
however, Atlanta Track Club 

329
00:19:17,600 --> 00:19:21,840
decided to dig into their own 
deep pockets, which was amazing 

330
00:19:21,880 --> 00:19:26,280
and award the three runners with
the money they would have won. 

331
00:19:26,360 --> 00:19:31,080
Given that this was at mile 11 
of 1/2 marathon and highly 

332
00:19:31,080 --> 00:19:32,840
likely those 3 runners would 
have won. 

333
00:19:33,080 --> 00:19:37,760
And also USFTA came out with an 
announcement where they said 

334
00:19:37,760 --> 00:19:41,520
yes, of course we can't change 
the time, but we are going to 

335
00:19:41,520 --> 00:19:45,120
have two champions recognized. 
And they ended up, you know, 

336
00:19:45,120 --> 00:19:49,760
recognizing Jessica McLean as 
well as the actual physical 

337
00:19:49,880 --> 00:19:54,720
winner of the race, etcetera and
awarded them with the points 

338
00:19:54,720 --> 00:19:59,200
that they needed because this 
was such a huge race where 

339
00:19:59,200 --> 00:20:04,160
ranking was really important. 
In addition, of course, USFTA 

340
00:20:04,160 --> 00:20:06,960
will now imply some new 
safeguards, they said. 

341
00:20:06,960 --> 00:20:09,640
Where? 
There will be a turn by turn 

342
00:20:09,640 --> 00:20:14,040
direction required to be inside 
of the lead vehicle for national

343
00:20:14,040 --> 00:20:18,160
championships, as well as 
stricter confirmation, of 

344
00:20:18,160 --> 00:20:21,600
course, marshals at every 
turning point because they can't

345
00:20:21,600 --> 00:20:25,760
undo what happened on March 1, 
Seagull, the head of USFTA, 

346
00:20:26,040 --> 00:20:29,200
concluded. 
But he said what we can do is do

347
00:20:29,200 --> 00:20:32,440
our best to make sure nothing 
like this ever happens again, 

348
00:20:32,680 --> 00:20:36,600
which was a great response by US
ATF. 

349
00:20:37,280 --> 00:20:40,000
Now, given what happened last 
weekend, and I kind of alluded 

350
00:20:40,000 --> 00:20:44,720
to it earlier where I said that 
the second runner up who was in 

351
00:20:44,720 --> 00:20:48,520
the lead of the LA Marathon for 
a really, really long time, he 

352
00:20:48,520 --> 00:20:53,640
was let off the course by either
a motorcycle or maybe a 

353
00:20:53,640 --> 00:20:55,920
spectator or a combination of 
both. 

354
00:20:56,320 --> 00:21:00,960
But given all of those facts, 
I'm kind of waiting for the LA 

355
00:21:00,960 --> 00:21:05,360
Marathon to come out with a 
statement acknowledging what 

356
00:21:05,360 --> 00:21:10,080
happened because it's a marathon
and it's a long race. 

357
00:21:10,080 --> 00:21:13,760
But man, if you didn't see the 
finish, that was the finish 

358
00:21:13,760 --> 00:21:19,240
where there was .01 second in 
between the the leader of the 

359
00:21:19,240 --> 00:21:24,240
race and Nathan Martin, who 
ended up winning the race with 

360
00:21:24,240 --> 00:21:27,960
his finish line Sprint. 
Had the previous incident not 

361
00:21:27,960 --> 00:21:33,080
happened and the leader from all
along had not been let off the 

362
00:21:33,080 --> 00:21:35,600
course. 
I mean, that took not a long 

363
00:21:35,600 --> 00:21:38,160
time, but it's definitely been a
few seconds. 

364
00:21:38,920 --> 00:21:41,360
Just think about what that did 
to him mentally. 

365
00:21:41,360 --> 00:21:45,240
Also, I feel super bad for him. 
Of course, I'm happy for Nathan 

366
00:21:45,240 --> 00:21:48,800
Martin and the fact that he had 
such a huge kick towards the end

367
00:21:48,800 --> 00:21:50,440
of the race. 
That was great. 

368
00:21:50,720 --> 00:21:54,080
But I definitely also feel for 
the first runner, Michael Kamau.

369
00:21:54,080 --> 00:21:56,600
That's his name, remember it. 
I don't want to keep referring 

370
00:21:56,600 --> 00:21:58,360
to him as a previous first 
runner. 

371
00:21:58,720 --> 00:22:02,480
His name is Michael Kamau and 
he's a great runner and his race

372
00:22:02,480 --> 00:22:05,720
day definitely ended up sucking.
Although second is not bad, but 

373
00:22:05,720 --> 00:22:09,720
second is not first and I think 
that definitely messed with him.

374
00:22:10,400 --> 00:22:14,600
So like I said, I am hoping to 
hear from the LA Marathon. 

375
00:22:14,600 --> 00:22:18,080
Also, the LA Marathon made 
headlines last week the week 

376
00:22:18,080 --> 00:22:22,600
before their race because the 
weather announcement came out 

377
00:22:22,880 --> 00:22:27,040
and showed that times or 
temperatures for the race would 

378
00:22:27,040 --> 00:22:31,320
reach up to mid to upper 80s, 
which is really, really warm. 

379
00:22:31,680 --> 00:22:36,360
And for that reason, they gave 
runners the options to drop out 

380
00:22:36,360 --> 00:22:40,600
at mile 18 and still collect a 
finisher metal. 

381
00:22:40,800 --> 00:22:45,520
And that also created such a 
huge controversy. 

382
00:22:45,520 --> 00:22:49,360
So it you had New York City 
Marathon controversy last week 

383
00:22:49,360 --> 00:22:54,140
with all the quote UN quote fast
people shaming the quote, UN 

384
00:22:54,140 --> 00:22:58,840
quote not fast people for not 
having gotten into the race and 

385
00:22:58,840 --> 00:23:02,120
blaming charity runners and all 
that stuff, which was absurd. 

386
00:23:02,400 --> 00:23:06,720
And then you had people going 
crazy about the 18 mile dropout 

387
00:23:06,720 --> 00:23:11,120
option, to which I have to say, 
OK, I can see both sides, right?

388
00:23:11,840 --> 00:23:16,240
However, they're not taking 
anything away from you. 

389
00:23:16,480 --> 00:23:20,080
The people that are running the 
race, we're going to get a 

390
00:23:20,080 --> 00:23:23,800
finisher medal anyway. 
So if they want to collect their

391
00:23:23,800 --> 00:23:27,280
finisher medal at mile 18, what 
do you care? 

392
00:23:27,760 --> 00:23:33,480
I am not aware that running 18 
miles at a certain pace, I'm not

393
00:23:33,480 --> 00:23:38,280
aware of anything that indicates
that the LA Marathon will 

394
00:23:38,280 --> 00:23:44,760
convert this time into a full 
26.2 times and give those people

395
00:23:45,320 --> 00:23:49,960
a qualifying time for any races.
I did not read that and I 

396
00:23:49,960 --> 00:23:52,200
actually, you know, I don't just
talk. 

397
00:23:52,200 --> 00:23:56,240
I looked on the Internet to see 
if there was anything that would

398
00:23:56,240 --> 00:23:59,320
indicate that the LA Marathon 
would do something like that. 

399
00:23:59,320 --> 00:24:02,280
Because if that was the case, 
then it would be completely 

400
00:24:02,280 --> 00:24:04,640
against it. 
Because obviously the battle of 

401
00:24:04,640 --> 00:24:07,720
a marathon doesn't start till 
after mile 18. 

402
00:24:07,720 --> 00:24:10,240
That's when it gets hard and 
that's when your time starts 

403
00:24:10,240 --> 00:24:12,200
dropping. 
Normally, at least for me, it 

404
00:24:12,200 --> 00:24:14,600
does. 
So the LA Marathon is not 

405
00:24:14,600 --> 00:24:17,720
saying, hey, run 18 miles and 
we'll convert this time into a 

406
00:24:17,720 --> 00:24:22,200
26.2 and hence give you a Boston
qualifier or an Olympic 

407
00:24:22,200 --> 00:24:25,880
qualifying time. 
So in reality, it's just people 

408
00:24:25,880 --> 00:24:28,200
and their own marathon running 
times. 

409
00:24:28,680 --> 00:24:32,760
And what do you care what your 
fellow marathoners or fellow 

410
00:24:32,760 --> 00:24:36,680
runners run an 18 Miller? 
And why would we care? 

411
00:24:37,000 --> 00:24:41,480
So I don't know why this is such
a huge debate for people. 

412
00:24:41,680 --> 00:24:44,400
We just got to learn to live and
let live, right? 

413
00:24:44,400 --> 00:24:47,480
I mean, I'm a vegetarian and I'm
never telling anyone to stop 

414
00:24:47,480 --> 00:24:51,320
eating meat, not even my 
children, because I know how to 

415
00:24:51,320 --> 00:24:53,920
coexist. 
So we have to learn to coexist 

416
00:24:54,240 --> 00:24:55,960
with one another. 
And you know what? 

417
00:24:55,960 --> 00:24:59,960
If somebody, they didn't even 
just quit for the heat, but 

418
00:24:59,960 --> 00:25:03,880
because they were under trained 
and they didn't want to blow off

419
00:25:03,880 --> 00:25:05,920
the whole marathon, they paid 
for it. 

420
00:25:06,880 --> 00:25:10,360
They can do whatever with their 
medal. 

421
00:25:10,520 --> 00:25:13,800
If they don't feel like 
completing it, then that's on 

422
00:25:13,800 --> 00:25:15,920
them. 
It doesn't take away from what 

423
00:25:15,920 --> 00:25:17,640
you can achieve with your own 
time. 

424
00:25:18,120 --> 00:25:20,200
Again, strong opinion. 
I said I wasn't going to have 

425
00:25:20,200 --> 00:25:21,720
another strong opinion, but I 
guess I do. 

426
00:25:22,280 --> 00:25:24,040
But that's that. 
I'm going to leave it at that 

427
00:25:24,920 --> 00:25:27,960
and I think I'm going to wrap it
up here. 

428
00:25:27,960 --> 00:25:30,960
I'm recording this before the 
weekend, so we don't know what's

429
00:25:30,960 --> 00:25:35,120
going to happen at the New York 
City Marathon this weekend where

430
00:25:35,120 --> 00:25:38,760
Grant Fisher is debuting in the 
marathon distance and so much 

431
00:25:38,760 --> 00:25:41,840
fun stuff is happening. 
But I'm sure you'll hear about 

432
00:25:41,840 --> 00:25:46,440
it somewhere online if you care.
Again, I know this episode was a

433
00:25:46,440 --> 00:25:48,880
little bit different. 
Let me know if you liked it and 

434
00:25:48,880 --> 00:25:51,600
if you can tolerate an episode 
like this every couple of months

435
00:25:51,600 --> 00:25:53,880
or so. 
I always appreciate you guys 

436
00:25:53,880 --> 00:25:59,040
input and I also really enjoyed 
doing this episode and talking 

437
00:25:59,040 --> 00:26:03,280
about current event topics. 
If you want to read articles in 

438
00:26:03,280 --> 00:26:06,680
regards to all of the stuff that
I've mentioned, we always post 

439
00:26:06,680 --> 00:26:10,240
stuff on marathonjournal.com, 
which is our outlet. 

440
00:26:10,680 --> 00:26:13,600
And yeah, thank you so much for 
tuning in. 

441
00:26:13,960 --> 00:26:18,760
I'll be back next week with a 
regular episode as always, and 

442
00:26:18,760 --> 00:26:21,440
until then, have a great week of
running. 

443
00:26:25,160 --> 00:26:27,200
You've been listening to the 
Marathon Running Podcast by 

444
00:26:27,200 --> 00:26:30,000
Marathon Journal. 
If you've enjoyed the show, 

445
00:26:30,000 --> 00:26:33,000
check us out at 
marathonjournal.com or follow us

446
00:26:33,000 --> 00:26:34,960
on social media. 
Happy training.