It's a team sport ⏱

Lap 37: Sponsored by Diadora

'Sometimes it almost seems as if victory comes from nowhere, from your subconscious, it too dark and lonely like the whole road you’ve gone down since your first training session; because only after that far off finish line you can shout “I did it!”’

Only one man has ever won both the Boston and Olympic Marathon — Gelindo Bordin. To honor his legacy, Diadora is launching the Equipe Atomo GB, the only performance running shoe made in Italy for the past 30 years.

There are only 400* pairs and they became available yesterday at select retailers and Diadora.com — so act fast!

(*399 technically because I’m already wearing my pair)

How to make fans and influence people 🥳

This photo (and video) has been everywhere since Jimmy Gressier won the French Cross Country Championships this weekend. 

A clean hurdle over the finish line tape is the sort of celebratory exploit you might expect from a part-time steeplechaser, so for those who have watched Gressier celebrate in the past, his skillful clearing of the tape may not have come as a surprise.

I wasn’t expecting to know or care about the result of this race, but instead the whole sport has seen a picture of someone actually enjoying themselves, and accordingly there’s a ton of buzz around it. 

The bar is relatively low in terms of what constitutes a viral moment on running Instagram but having some level of personality is a surefire way to get noticed. Being fast helps too — Gressier was 13th in Tokyo in the 5000m — but storytelling and having someone to root for gives fans a reason to invest in your career. I’m sure there are some old French dudes who can’t stand this sort of showboating but that’s still inherently valuable because at least they care. 

So whether you’re rooting for his next finish line hurdle attempt to succeed or fail, be on the lookout for this guy the next few years and know he’s worth cheering for. You’re likely to see something fun whenever he lines up. (And hell, even when he’s not running he’s a detective!)

Catching up with Haron Lagat

Last week Coach Haron Lagat sent me a message to say thank you for covering his new team, Peak Running Elite, and recognizing the accomplishment of Elkanah Kibet, whose fourth place finish at the New York City Marathon qualified him to represent the United States at Worlds. 

Haron is a veteran athlete (61:00/2:13) who for years competed in the US Army World Class Athlete Program. I was curious to learn more about the new coaching endeavor so we had a quick chat!

Kyle: How did the new team come about? Is it still associated with the WCAP program? Many of the athletes were previously coached by Scott Simmons. Is he involved with Peak Elite?

Haron: The new team started because we needed change. I know that we have some of the most talented athletes in track & field and we wanted our results to show the work we were putting in. We appreciate and respect Scott’s program, but a little change never hurts. 

We are no longer part of WCAP, but we are still soldiers. There are some athletes who are in WCAP and welcome to join my group to train, like Elkanah Kibet for example. He used my program for the four months leading into New York. But Coach Scott is not part of this group.

Kyle: You have obviously been a competitive runner for a long time and in addition to coaching, you’re still racing and just finished 5th at the US 25K champs. How is balancing being both a player and coach?

Haron: I have a lot of responsibility with the athletes as I draw up the program and am there to train with them while also coaching. We are helped by Colonel Sean Ryan to handle the logistics and behind the scenes stuff. I used to coach at Texas Tech while still competing at a high level, so it’s not new, though it’s not easy. But I have so much experience from so many years running that the guys trust my advice.

Kyle: The media and US running fans don’t always give the deserved attention to the performances of the American athletes who are born in Africa. Is that something you ever think about or does it give the team a chip on their shoulder?

Haron: I came here with nothing but a backpack and full ride. We are thankful to this country — it’s the best in the world. I’m happy to share our talent with the fans, but attention is not something under our control and it is subjective. I am not going to miss out on all these opportunities by complaining about the media.

105 years and still chugging!

At 105 years young, Julia “Hurricane” Hawkins was born closer to the War of 1812 than the day she ran 100m in 1:02.95. 

She is the only woman to ever compete in the 105+ category. (Pretty sure this is just a general age group record, men and women!) Hawkins was a long time cyclist and only took up running after her 100th birthday, showing that it is truly, never too late. And the fact that she still wanted to go faster proves that this sport is a drug — we are all eternally chasing smaller numbers on the clock, no matter how long it’s been running.

Interested in supporting athletes? Every Friday morning we share an interview with a new elite for our premium subscribers. All proceeds (over $13,700!) from this initiative go back to the athletes. This week we will be publishing a conversation with Nathan Martin, who is coming off an 8th place finish in NYC and whose 2:11:05 PB makes him the fastest ever US born African American marathoner. Nathan shares what that record means to him and the impact he hopes it has.

Thanks to the support of his sponsor, UCAN, this interview will be made available to all of our readers. Check it out at TheLapCount.com on 11/19!

Keira keeps it rolling 🎳

This newsletter wasn’t a thing during the peak of Keira D’Amato’s reemergence (rest assured, I would have worked tirelessly to introduce “the Keirassance” or perhaps into the lexicon), so we are due for a quick refresher. 

After graduating from American University as a four time All-American, injuries and life pushed her running aspirations aside. But after two kids and a career as a realtor, the now-37-year-old found her stride again in 2017 when she signed up for a couple races, most notably a 2:47 marathon. She caught the bug and became more intentional about training, but it was during the pandemic that things really took off.

In November of 2020, she time-trialed a 15:04 5k at a local track near her home. As a fan, I had my doubts about the validity of this mark when I first saw it. There is no way someone whose name I didn’t know just casually time-trialed a world beating mark. Oh, how wrong I was! Later that year she set the American Record for 10 miles (51:23) and followed it up with a 2:22:56 at the Marathon Project. It’s no secret that athletes become less valuable in the eyes of sports marketing departments the older they get, but in 2021 Keira signed a contract with Nike.

The appropriate Cinderella ending to this saga never happened as she got hurt prior to the Olympic Track Trials, but after a short build up Keira competed in this October’s Chicago Marathon, finishing 4th in 2:28:22. Just one month later, she ran 24:47 at the Richmond Allianz Partners 8K. This is notable because generally after a marathon most people can’t walk, let alone get back to running sub-5 miles.

So I asked her: How the heck did you do that?

Keira: My build up leading into Chicago was fairly short due to coming back from the injury in the spring/early summer. We knew Chicago was going to happen sooner than ideal for my training, but I give my coach a lot of credit for staying patient and allowing for a proper build… I think if Chicago was about six weeks later, it would have been a different story for me.

Ideally we run shorter races and end with a marathon, but if I was able to recover and jump back into it, we wanted to end the year with some shorter events. It’s exciting because the last few weeks I’ve been hitting comparable, if not better workouts than the ones I was running in the Fall of 2020.

I love the way Scott Raczko approaches marathon training by focusing on strength AND speed. Bringing my top-end speed down to handle more aggressive paces for 10ks, halfs or fulls and being able to run a 4:30 mile makes locking in a 5-minute pace feel much more manageable. I’ve been doing a lot of work under 4:50/5:00, even during marathon training, so transitioning to shorter events is usually pretty seamless.

I guess the simple answer is I bounced back quickly because I didn’t have a full build up and wasn’t physically or mentally exhausted? Or maybe because my coach builds me up slowly? I really don’t know- my coach has all the answers.

RACE WATCH: Michigan Ekiden

If you’re reading this on Wednesday morning and find yourself frustratedly tossing your morning toast over your shoulder because you’re now so fired up about running but don’t think you can watch any races soon, then you’re in luck! 

Today at 1pm EST, the Michigan Pro Ekiden will air on RunnerSpace! What started during COVID as a precautionary way to host a safe race is returning and building off last year’s success. Now with a deeper field, there is $50,000 of prize money and bragging rights up for grabs, but according to Coach Kevin Hanson, there are still bigger plans to include international teams in the future.

Ekidens are extremely popular in Japan for good reason — they combine the excitement of relay races with the prestige of marathons. One of the least original thoughts of how to improve T&F is to suggest we have professional teams. Not that it’s an inherently bad idea, but logistically there are an infinite number of factors that make fielding a full team covering 40+ events unsustainable. Let’s instead start to build off what we already have — like the various distance-focused clubs that currently exist. We need rivalries! But if we want this to be more than just an Ekiden in name then we need to honor tradition and see some ballsy performances of going out way too fast.

When the clock strikes midnight 🎃

One of the best streaks in the sport is Nick Willis’s 19 years of sub-4 minute miles. But apparently Nick is worried that Father Time may be running up on him, because he’s trying to knock this one out as soon as possible during a New Year’s celebration at The Armory. If he misses, and is unable to notch a sub-4 within the following 364 days, he’ll still be in contention for Steve Spence’s 43 years of sub-5 minute miles. Having just run 3:35 for 1500m in Tokyo — sub-4 seems doable.

This whole thing sounds a lot like an idea I have pitched before: The World’s Best Track Meet. At the stroke of midnight little kids compete in an IAAF sanctioned event and keep setting official world leading marks. When an 8 year old drops the 16 pound shot 4 inches, bells ring and balloons are released as a drunken crowd celebrates the world’s best shot putter.

2021 World Athletics Photo of the Year Finalists

Who is your pic? We love our photographers in Track and Field. They capture the beauty and poetry of the sport and one special moment will be seen differently through a hundred different lenses.

Personally, I am a sucker for #1 by Ryan Pierse. It’s not showing an especially memorable event during the Olympics, but the contrast of light between the athletes in the different stages of competition is just so….artistic! Everyone has a phone that can take pictures, but not everyone is making them look like this.

Rapid Fire Highlights 🔥

• Motivated by the pandemic, Alyssa Clark ran 95 marathons in 95 days to earn a small plaque from the Guinness Book of World Records. She said it was 85% mental and 15% physical – and 100% reason to remember the name. (Post)

• Leah Falland started a YouTube channel! (Subscribe)

• Stanford’s Meikael Beaudoin-Rousseau got trampled in the beginning of the NCAA West Regional race, but despite requiring seven stitches upon finishing, still got up to help his team win the meet as their 5th man. (Post)

• Karelle Edwards-Perry shared an emotional and personal essay about the toxic relationships she suffered from during her career. (Blog)

• The Japanese men’s collegiate 10,000m record was broken in a time of 27:18 by Charles Kamau Wanjiku. (Blog)

• Adidas signed Olympic steeplechaser, Mason Ferlic and 4:05/4:28 middle distance stud, Taryn Rawlings.

• The Sugar Run 5k is on Saturday at 9:15AM in Memphis and features Josette Norris, Julie-Anna Staehli, Willy Fink and some Tinmen. (Stream)

• Craig Engels was an exceptionally good guest on the Run Your Mouth Podcast and gave some career updates. (Listen)

• At the Madrid Half Marathon, seven men broke an hour led by Ronald Kiprotich Kirui (59:39) and Nelly Jepchumba (1:07:47) won the women’s.

• There is no need for a full recap of NCAA Regionals because it is a qualifying meet and there is no time for it! Here are the results, but it’s time for the big dance:Where: Apalachee Regional Park, Tallahassee, Florida When: Saturday, Nov. 20Time: Women's - 10:20 a.m. ET, men's - 11:10 a.m. ETWatch: ESPN U and ESPN App at 10 a.m. ET

Thank you Diadora for sponsoring and supporting this week’s newsletter! In addition to the website, the Equipe Atomo GB is available at Red Coyote Running, FrontRunners LA, FleetFeet (Rochester, Austin, Carrboro/Durham, Philly Run and St. Pete Running Company.