Running--State of the Sport

This week’s podcast features an interview with Great Britain’s Paula Radcliffe, one of the best-known names in running for the past 30+ years.

Radcliffe first gained international prominence when she won the World Jr. Cross-Country race (on a snowy day in Boston, MA) in 1992. She had a great track career, and then moved up to the marathon, where she enjoyed unparalleled success. Among her biggest wins: three London Marathon titles, and three NYC Marathons.

At the 2003 London Marathon, Radcliffe ran a then-almost-unthinkable 2:15:25 to set a world record that lasted for 16 years. It even survived the...

In this week's episode of "Running: State of the Sport," Jared Ward becomes our first two-time guest on the podcast. We can't think of anyone better.

Ward placed 6th in the 2016 Rio Olympic Marathon without the super shoes worn by the podium finishers. Neither he nor anyone outside Nike even knew about super shoes at the time.

He soon began working with Saucony on that company's line of super shoes, and continued running fast times in major marathons. Ward hit his marathon PR, 2:09:25, in the 2019 Boston Marathon.

Perhaps more importantly, he mentored a...

Oz Pearlman is a well-known mentalist-entertainer and a less-well-known marathon and ultramarathon runner. However, his record on the roads and trails is just about as impressive as his mindreading tricks.

Pearlman, 43, has run a 2:23 marathon, a 2:25 at Boston, and finished the Western States 100, the Badwater 135, and the Spartathlon in Greece. 

Recently, he was the planned entertainer at the White House Correspondents dinner in Washington, D.C.--the evening interrupted by gun shots and an apparent assassination attempt.

Pearlman was crouched between President Trump and press secretary Karoline Leavitt, attempting to guess the name o...

Amby and George go it alone to review the recent Boston and Lo ndon Marathons. And, wow, is there a lot to review: A sub-2:00 hour world record by Sebastian Sawe at London, a new course record by John Korir at Boston, and a new women-only world record at London for Tigst Assefa.

And plenty of hot action beside these three brilliant performances. We get into all the details--the latest Adidas shoes, consistent negative-split running, carb fueling, bicarb use, and an unusual number of strong American performances, both men and women, at Boston.

Marty Dugard began writing for Runner's World in the late 1980s, gained more notice as the best-selling coauthor of Bill O'Reilly's "Killing" series of books--Lincoln, Kennedy, Jesus, etc--and now has returned to running with The Long Run.

It's a epic, fast-moving history of running (and especially marathon running) from roughly 1970 to Joan Benoit's victory in the 1984 Olympic Marathon, with a few throwbacks to Pheidippides, Bill Bowerman, and others. You'll meet the people and moments that shaped running as we know it today.

Dugard isn't just a writer of historical non-fiction. He's been deeply immersed in r...

In this episode of the podcast “Running: State of the Sport,” we interview American superstar Grant Fisher. Fisher is one of the greatest American distance track runners ever.

He has run the fastest American times ever in the 3000, 5000, and 10,000 meters, and he won bronze medals in both the 10,000 and 5000 at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Most recently, Fisher completed his first serious road race in the super-competitive New York City Half Marathon. And he finished the tough course in a fast 60:53, although that was only good enough for 14th place.Now Fisher faces one of the toughest deci...

Jack Fultz is the only runner to have finished first in the Boston Marathon, and also last. In this new podcast, Fultz talks about both memorable experiences.

In April, Fultz celebrates the 50th anniversary of his epic victory in the 1976 "Run For The Hoses"--the hottest race in Boston's 129 year history. He didn't run particularly fast that day, 2:20:19, but who runs fast in 90-degree heat.

Two years later, in better conditions, Fultz returned to finish 4th in 2:11:17. 

For the last several decades, Fultz has been coaching the big Dana Farber charity team that r...

Jeff Galloway, who died recently may have been the world's most influential and beloved running ambassador. In this podcast, we speak primarily with his wife, Barbara, and also with his son, Westin, and his co-coach, Chris Twiggs.

Galloway was an Olympian in his competitive days, and also winner of the first Atlanta Marathon (1963) and the first Peachtree Road Race (1970).

In those early days, no one could have imagined that running would be a massive participant sport on a global scale. Galloway did as much or more than anyone else to make the present-day miracle happen.   

In the past four years, few if any American runners have posted results better than Graham Blanks.

In his last two fall seasons at Harvard, Blanks won the NCAA Div. 1 Cross-Country Championships. After graduation, he qualified for the Paris Olympics, the 2025 Tokyo World Championships, and the 2026 World XC Championships in Tallahassee.

After Tallahassee, Blanks ran two strong indoor races in the New Balance Games in Boston and the Millrose Games in New York City. At Millrose, he hit 8:08.60 in the 2-mile. 

Now he looks to the future. It's a future in which he b...

Born in Canada and educated mostly in the United States, Brett Larner has lived and run in Japan for the last 30 years. There, he began JapanRunningNews.blogspot.com to help the English speaking world understand more about the whys and hows of Japanese running.

There's a lot to learn. After the East African countries, Japan has long led the rest of the globe in marathon success. 

For a time, Japanese running was mainly confined to a number of smallish, but super-elite annual marathons. However, the rapid growth of the Tokyo Marathon, now a World Marathon Maj...

After two wins and a second-place finish at Grandma's Marathon in Duluth, MN, Dakotah Popehn, then Lindwurm, burst onto the national scene with her third-place finish in the 2024 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials. At the 2024 Paris Olympics, she finished first among USA runners with a strong 12th place.

Since Paris, Popehn has gotten married and improved her marathon PR to 2:24:20. She was hoping for much more, which she discusses in this podcast. In fact, she hopes to eventually break the American Record in the marathon.

Unlike many other elites, Popehn was not a high school a...

Who won? In global marathons 2025, several of the biggest races ended in near photo finishes. Here Benson Kipruto edges out Alexander Mutiso in the NYC Marathon. Kipruto became the first male marathoner to have won Boston, Chicago, and New York in his career. (Ingrid Kristiansen has achieved the Triple for females.)

Other male marathon highlights: Sebastian Sawe won his second and third big marathons (London; Berlin) in three marathon starts, all with times in the low 2:02s. His 2:02:16 in Berlin, after extensive pre-race drug testing, was the fastest time of the year.

And American Conner...

Early in his career, Jeff Galloway won the first marathon he entered in 1963, won the first Peachtree Classic 10K on July 4, 1970, made the 1972 U.S. Olympic team at 10,000 meters, and ran the Houston Marathon in 2:16+.

Later in his life, Galloway made much bigger contributions. For the last 40 years he has focused his attention on teaching beginning and intermediate (and injured) runners how they can use his Run-Walk-Run method to get fit, avoid injuries, and maybe run faster than they had imagined possible.

Few if any other elite runners have made such a complete transition from...

Dathan Ritzenhein has been a headliner in American distance running for more than 25 years now, ever since his sensational high school career in Rockford, Michigan. He finished 8th-1st-1st in three successive Footlocker appearances, including an epic race in 2000 against Alan Webb and Ryan Hall. 

After high school, Ritzehein starred at the University of  Colorado and as a professional runner for Nike. He achieved best times of 12:56 for 5000 meters, and 2:07:47 in the marathon.

Since 2000, Ritzehein has been head coach of the On Athletics Club (OAC) in Boulder, which he has nurtured from a small, und...

In the running  world, Nick Thompson is known for accomplishments like his 2:29:13 in the 2019 Chicago Marathon at age 44, and his outright win in last April's Lake Waramaug 50-mile in Connecticut at age 49. 

In the business world, he is more known as the past editor-in-chief of Wired magazine, and the current CEO of The Atlantic, founded in 1857. He is almost certainly the fastest marathon runner among CEOs of a significant company.

In late October, Penguin Random House published Thompson's running memoir, titled The Running Ground: A Father, a Son, and the Simplest of Sports. It traces the e...

This week we chat with Ali Feller, podcaster extraordinaire as host of the "Ali On The Run" podcast show. 

Ali doesn't just talk with elite marathon and track stars. She also, somehow, hunts down running guests like Chelsea Clinton and Ellie Kemper of "The Office" TV show.

Did Harry Styles just run the Berlin Marathon in under 3 hours? Yes, and Ali has already published a pod with the Canadian woman who paced him for the first 10 miles. (And she hints that she could actually get through to Styles himself soon.)

What's your favorite f...

Our latest podcast features an interview with 94-year old Dr. Ken Cooper, the father of Aerobics. In our view, he has done as much, or more, than any other individual to promote the benefits of running and other consistent exercise. 

A star high-school miler in Oklahoma, Cooper ran two Boston Marathons (1962 and 1963) while a student at the Harvard School of Public Health. He improved from 3:54 in his first effort to 3:24 the following year.

Prior to breaking his leg decades ago in a skiing accident, Cooper logged 38,000 miles of running. Since the accident, he has continued a...

George and I discuss the biggest wins and most unexpected surprises of the first half of the Tokyo World Championships, then turn our attention to Jeannie Rice. By several measures, she is the world's best marathon runner.

Rice is the first person known to have won her age group in all 7 World Marathon Majors. In six of those, she beat the first male in the age group.

Her scores in the respected Age-Sex Graded Calculator, also put her atop almost all marathon performers.

In this podcast, Rice describes how her astounding age-group success...

Ben Rosario has done a bit of everything in running, often with an entrepreneurial spirit. As a professional runner for a decade leading up to 2010, Rosario achieved a marathon PR of 2:18:55. For several years, he trained with the highly respected Hansons Brooks team in Detroit. 

After that, he opened a retail running store in St. Louis, where he had grown up, and then jumped into his biggest project to date. In 2012 his wife and 1-year-old daughter moved to Flagstaff, AZ, to begin the Northern Arizona Elite training group. 

The team was soon sponsored by Hoka, an...

The recent USATF National Championship Meet in Eugene was outright spectacular in all ways. It even had action off the track, as well as sensational races on the Hayward Stadium oval.

More than anything else, everyone's talking about one middle-distance event already being called the "greatest of all time" by many observers. Amby and George dissect that race, from start to finish.

The other races, from 100 meters to 10,000 meters, were nearly as breathtaking. We discuss the ones that most impressed us.

WHERE TO FIND "RUNNING: STATE OF THE SPORT"

Use your...

This week at “Running: State of the Sport,” George and I decided to skip the usual interview guest so we could spend more time on some really big and important recent news. We start, of course, with the just revealed doping offense of 2:09:56 Chicago Marathon (2024) winner Ruth Chepngetich.

We also discuss and analyze: Faith Kipyegon’s “Breaking4” effort; Beatrice Chebet’s new world record for 5000 meters (13:58.06); the incredible high level of men’s 1500 meter/mile racing; and the results of the recent Western States 100-Mile.

WHERE TO FIND "RUNNING: STATE OF THE SPORT"

Use your smart...

In our new podcast, Rich Kenah, CEO of the Atlanta Track Club, discusses the upcoming Peachtree 10K, the Grand Slam Track series, and the trials and tribulations of hosting a U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials, as Atlanta did so sensationally in 2020. 

Kenah is a past Olympian at 800 meters, and a former athlete agent, who once worked with Michael Jordan, the basketball star when he wasn't organizing track meets, or ironing out details of runner contracts.

Also, George and Amby predict the Faith Kipyegon Breaking4 outcome, and their favorite in the Western States 100, both of which w...

Thomas Panek is blind, a frequent marathoner, and President and CEO of Lighthouse Guild, a national nonprofit providing services to the visually impaired. Panek is the first person with vision loss to lead Lighthouse Guild.

In addition to running marathons tethered to human guide runners, he has finished the New York City Half Marathon with a team of guide dogs. He is also working with Google engineers to develop a phone app that can help the blind "see" the road and various obstacles around them.

In this podcast, Panek got George's attention by talking about "...

David Roche is producer of one of the world’s most popular podcasts, “Some Work, All Play,” with his cohost and wife, Megan. He’s also a contender to win the Western States 100 Miler at the end of June. That’s a rare combination.

His back story is even more amazing. A little more than a year ago, Roche was seriously injured when struck by a car while bicycling a favorite road near Boulder, CO. At that time, the Duke Law School grad and ultramarathon coach had never even attempted a 100-mile. But last summer he broke a longstan...

In this episode, we chat with Alistair Cragg, coach of the highly successful Puma Elite Running team based in the Research Triangle of North Carolina. Cragg was a 3-time Irish Olympian with a lifetime best of 13:03 for 5000 meters. His wife and co-coach, Amy Hastings Cragg, represented the U.S. in the 2016 Olympic Marathon after winning the Olympic Marathon Trials that year. 

In February, 2024, Puma runner Fiona O'Keeffe won the Marathon Trials in Orlando in her very first marathon (she qualified with a fast half-marathon time. In early 2025, Puma runners continued to excel on the roads.

A...

In this episode of "Running: State of the Sport," Lisa Weidenbach Rainsberger reflects on her Boston Marathon win 40 years ago in 1985. She also traces the amazing arc of her running career from All American swimmer to college track star to youthful marathon standout.

Lisa is widely known for her three consecutive fourth-place finishes in the Olympic Trials Marathon, but she doesn’t shed any tears over these disappointments. Instead, she celebrates the many positive aspects of her long racing and coaching career. 

She also discusses how she and her daughter, Katie, negotiated a healthy mother-daughter, coa...

In this episode of the podcast "Running: State of the Sport," hosts Amby Burfoot and George Hirsch interview John Cahill, a remarkable centenarian runner who shares his inspiring journey from starting to run at age 62 to completing marathons in his 70s and 80s. He ran a 3:05 marathon at 72 and continued to race into his 90s.

Cahill discusses his early life, health challenges, and the joy of running, emphasizing the importance of staying active and engaged in various activities. His philosophy of 'keep moving' resonates throughout the conversation. Cahill offers valuable insights into aging, motivation, and living a...

In this episode, we explore the inspiring journey of Bobbi Gibb, the first woman to run the Boston Marathon, in 1966. She shares her experiences of training, the journey to Boston, and the emotional impact of crossing the finish line, all while challenging societal norms and advocating for women's rights in sports.

Gibb also discusses her journey beyond running--including her artistic endeavors and the challenges she faced as a woman in various fields. Bobbi always emphasizes the importance of individual passion and the need for a peaceful, cooperative world.

Podcast Chapters (indicated times from beginning of...

In this episode, we celebrate the 50th anniversary of Bill Rodgers's first Boston Marathon win in 1975. Bill reflects on his early struggles, the pivotal moments that reignited his passion for running, and the significance of community in the sport.

In particular, he discusses his memorable 1975 Boston Marathon victory, the evolution of marathon running, and the challenges he faced during his Olympic journey. He also shares personal anecdotes about his experiences with runners like Frank Shorter and Alberto Salazar, his current running, and the critical role of friendship among all runners, young and old.

Key Sections...

In this engaging podcast episode, Jackie Gaughan, a rising star in the marathon running scene, shares her journey, insights, and experiences in the sport. From her impressive performance at the 2024 California International Marathon to her reflections on the Olympic Trials, Gaughan (just 25) discusses her training strategies, the balance between her running career and a full-time job, and the influences that have shaped her as an athlete.

She also addresses the state of women's marathon running and her aspirations for the future, including her preparation for this spring’s Boston Marathon.

Learn more about Gaughan on he...

In this episode of Running State of the Sport, hosts Amby Burfoot and George Hirsch chat with Ray Flynn, a former elite miler and current athlete manager. They discuss Flynn's extensive career in athletics, his experiences at the Olympics, the evolution of athlete management, and the current state of doping in the sport. 

Flynn shares insights on the upcoming (Feb. 8) Milrose Games, the significance of the Wanamaker Mile, and his hopes for the future of track and field. The conversation highlights the importance of collaboration among athletes, coaches, and managers, as well as the need for transparency i...

In this episode, hosts Amby Burfoot and George Hirsch talk with Edwin Moses, a legendary figure in track and field. During his competitive career, he won 122 consecutive 400 meter hurdles races--a streak that lasted almost 10 years, and is unlikely ever to be beaten.

The conversation includes Moses's significant contributions to sports beyond the track, including anti-doping efforts and social change through the Laureus World Sports Academy. Moses shares personal insights on competition, training, and overcoming challenges, while also reflecting on the current state of athletics and the future of the sport.

Key moments in the podcast: <...

In this conversation, Susanna Sullivan reviews the highs and lows of her running in 2024. This includes missing the Olympic Marathon Trials in February due to an injury and Covid ... then bouncing back in October with a big marathon PR of 2:21:56 in Chicago. Sullivan has been improving steadily for a handful of years, but that Chicago performance catapulted her to the uppermost rungs of American marathon running. She'll begin her 2025 season in a couple of weeks in the Aramco Houston Half Marathon before racing an as-yet-undisclosed spring marathon. She's also seriously focused on the Tokyo World Championships Marathon in September...

Daniel Romanchuk is one of the world's top wheelchair racers. This fall, he won the New York City Marathon and, a week later, the BAA Boston Half Marathon. He set a course record in the latter event.

In August, Romanchuk entered 5 events in the Paris Paralympics, winning gold in the 5000 meters and bronze in the marathon.

Born with spina bifida--a not-fully-formed spine--Romanchuk spent his early years trying to keep up with two older siblings. He enrolled in an adaptive sports program in his hometown, Baltimore, at age 5, and has been pursuing one sport (or many...

Ted Metellus is race director of the TCS New York City Marathon. In many ways, he’s a miracle maker. How else do you get 50,000+ runners from midtown Manhattan to Staten Island, and then back again (on foot) to finish in Central Park? Especially when they come from so many different countries and speak different languages?

Metellus seems almost born to the position he holds. Raised in New York City with Haitian-heritage parents, he’s big, bold, always smiling, and details-obsessed. He has also run 44 half marathons and two NYC Marathons, so he knows the needs of midp...

Some think Jessica McClain was the "tough luck kid" of 2024. After all, she finished 4th in both the Olympic Marathon Trials and the Olympic Track Trials 10,000. And fourth is the worst position, right? McClain herself doesn't see things that way. 

Excited about her life, her work, and her running, she sees the past 10 months as evidence that she's on a great path: happy, healthy, running strong.  And she thinks it's a sustainable path that could carry her all the way to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. 

McClain, who recently won the USATF 10K Road Championship, will race...

Carey Pinkowski is the longest serving race director of a World Marathon Major race, having taken the helm at the Bank of America Chicago Marathon way back in 1990. Before that, he was an elite runner with personal bests ranging from 4:01 in the mile to 2:20:43 in the marathon.

This year's Chicago is just three weeks away on Sunday, October 13. As always it will feature a big and star-studded field of runners.

In his three-plus decades with the Chicago Marathon, Pinkowski has become known for putting on a super-fast race for elite competitors, and a super-efficient race...

Mike Scannell coached Grant Fisher to two bronze medals (5000 and 10,000 meters) in the Paris Olympics--a feat no American runner had achieved previously. Which brings up a good question: Who is Mike Scannell?

Turns out he is a forever-friend of Grant Fisher's family, and coached Fisher to 2 Footlocker XC Championships victories back when Fisher was a Michigan high schooler. Then he sat back and watched Fisher run 4 years at Stanford, and 4 years with the Bowerman Track Club.

A year ago, Fisher called Scannell to say he was ready for a change of location and coaching. He...

It was an amazing Paris Olympics on the track and roads, and George Hirsch and Amby Burfoot discuss all the highlights here in this Paris Review podcast. 

We start with our two favorite races--the women’s marathon and men’s 1500 meters--and work our way through just about everything else.

From Faith Kipyegon to Beatrice Chebet to Grant Fisher. From Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone to Gabby Thomas to Kenneth Rooks. And much more.

Relive Paris with us! It was so good, you deserve to enjoy it twice.

Where To Find “Running: State of the Sport” ...

Chris Lundstrom is coach of the Minnesota Distance Elite team that includes female marathon ace Dakotah Lindwurm, who's running the Paris Olympic Marathon on August 11. Lundstrom himself has a marathon PR of 2:17, and a PhD in exercise science. He teaches at the University of Minnesota. 

Lindwurm wasn't among the favorites at the U.S. Marathon Trials in Orlando last February, but she has proven strength at the 26.2-mile distance, and finished third. Another Minnesota Distance Elite runner, Annie Frisbie, placed 10th.

Here Lundstrom discusses:

# The training principles he uses with his runners