Evans Chebet’s emergence in New York City: What happened after he collapsed in the early stages of the London Marathon?
Evans Chebet watched as Daniel do Nascimento separated himself from the rest of the runners in the New York City Marathon on Sunday. Do Nascimento, a 24-year-old Brazilian who is known for being — what is the word? — assertive, was a blur as he surged into the lead, then a speck off in the distance, and then gone from view entirely.
Chebet overcame a warm and cloudy November day to win the marathon in two hours 8 minutes 41 seconds, completing a clean sweep of the six world marathon majors this year. Chebet won two of the toughest and two of the others. Considering Chebet had done something in Boston in April, there was no question that he was going to tackle New York.
The finish of the women was a little bit unexpected. Sharon Lokedi, a Kenyan who raced at the University of Kansas, was fearless in her marathon debut, breaking free from a celebrated field to win in 2:23:23.
Lokedi said the weather for her was perfect, and splits her time between Africa and Arizona where she trains with the Dark Sky Distance group. I didn’t think I’d win. I had expected to run well. But the outcome was a good one.
In brutal conditions at the Tokyo Olympics last year, do Nascimento was among the leaders when he collapsed in scenes that were vaguely horrifying and was forced to withdraw.
He pulled off the course for a stop at a portable toilet when his pace was starting to slow. He emerged with his lead intact, albeit narrower, but it was clear that he was in trouble. He had to abandon the race because he was six miles short of the finish.
“I want to feel sorry for him when I saw him on the ground,” said Abdi Nageeye of the Netherlands, who finished third. “But I was like, ‘Come on, man, this is the second time. You did that in the Olympics.’ ”
It was not an easy day for anyone. The two-time Olympic gold medal winner from the United States dropped out about 18 miles into the race with a hip injury. And Shura Kitata of Ethiopia, who finished second behind Chebet, lumbered onto the stage for his news conference as if his legs were made of concrete. A race official handed Kitata a giant bag of ice, which he placed on his thighs.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/11/06/sports/nyc-marathon/nyc-marathon-chebet-lokedi
The 1986-89 Top American Marathon: Scott Fauble, 29, a Newly Signed Nike Sponsor, and Aliphine Tuliamuk, 33,
The warmest marathon of all time was achieved in 1986 when the race was moved to November. The temperature in Central Park was 73 degrees Fahrenheit at 11 a.m., shortly before the elite runners began to cross the finish line.
Scott Fauble, 31, was the top American man and he finished ninth, after signing a new sponsorship deal with Nike. Fauble, who was also the top American finisher in Boston this year, had been without a sponsor for months.
After agreeing to terms on a contract at dinner on Saturday night, Fauble took an Uber to the Nike store in Manhattan to pick up sneakers. The rest of his racing gear arrived at his hotel later that night.
On the women’s side, three Americans finished in the top 10. There were seven people in the top 10, Aliphine Tuliamuk was seventh, Emma Bates was eighth, and ten people were 11th or worse. Tuliamuk, 33, who won the marathon at the U.S. Olympic trials in 2020 and gave birth to her daughter, Zoe, in January 2021, had not raced in a marathon since she injured herself at the Tokyo Games. On Sunday, she finished in a personal-best time of 2:26:18.
She had to overcome some challenges. In early September, she said, she experienced swelling in one of her ankles that forced her to take a couple of weeks off from training.
She said that in the back of her mind, she wished she had more time to train. “But I also decided to focus on gratitude because I didn’t know that I was going to be here. I was very thankful that I was allowed to put in some solid training and get a chance to compete.
The Barkley Marathons: A Million Ways to Make the Most of the Million Dollars It Takes to Get To The Tops Of The World
For the second year in a row, there were three finishes at the Barkley Marathons: American John Kelly, whose loops were completed in all but one year in the last fifty years, and Belgian Jan Sabbe, who just missed the 60-hour cutoff by just six-and-a-
The brainchild of Gary Cantrell, better known as Lazarus Lake or “Laz,” the Barkley is held annually in Frozen Head State Park and consists of five loops of around 20 miles each, although many believe the course to be several miles longer.
The race consists of five loops of around 20 miles each, for a total of between 100 to 130 miles through brushy mountains with an elevation gain of around 63,000 feet. Athletes run the course for three nights and sleepless days without any aid stations or phones to assist with navigation. Getting lost – as well as falling and getting injured in the brush – is par for the course.
Each of the four unscouted areas of the ultramarathon contains a paperback book. Athletes must rip out a page corresponding to their bib number and have all the book pages in hand at the end of each loop to prove they reached each checkpoint.
Because of the array of unique challenges the race presents, only 17 individuals have completed the race since it started in 1986. It has been over a year since no one has finished the race.
But this year finally broke that streak: Three athletes, French Aurélien Sanchez, American John Kelly and Belgian Karel Sabbe, completed the hellish five laps within the 60-hour time limit on Friday.
Aurélien Sanchez, a mountain climber, completes the Barkley Marathons with a five-kilometre running pace
On Twitter, Kelly thanked his followers for their support. He wrote, “Thank you for the support and I hope some of what we learn is a shared experience.” “Or, if we’re all just a bunch of idiots running around in the woods, that at least it’s entertaining.”
Jasmin Paris, who did not complete the course but made history as the second woman ever to begin the fourth loop, also thanked her followers for their support on Twitter.
“Conditions couldn’t have been better, and I was lucky to share miles on the trail with wonderful people,” she wrote. “I knew from the start that training hadn’t been ideal (time out for fatigue, then injury), but I gave it my best effort and I’m proud of that. I still think a woman can achieve 5 loops. I think Laz will make next year even harder.
It’s a few days since he dragged his battered, sleep-deprived body to the finish line of the Barkley Marathons – one of only 17 people ever to do so – and Aurélien Sanchez is still being haunted by visions of the infamously punishing race.
The route is long and indistinguishable, the inclines are steep, and the terrain unforgiving, but that’s only if you’re able to navigate the opaque entry system and earn a spot on the start line in the first place.
After many months of preparation, more than 60 hours of hard work, and 16 competitors, Sanchez has finished the 5 loops of theBarkley, becoming the first Frenchman and 16th competitor to do so.
“I’m dreaming that I’m in my fifth loop but not focused anymore. I lost in the forest and woke up in a panic because I know I am not focused and I need to finish.
The Barkley Marathon: A Journey Through the Dust and the Mistakes of James Earl Ray’s 1977 Psychic Prisoner’s Home Run
James Earl Ray escaped from Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary in 1977 and was the inspiration for the race.
After escaping Brushy, Ray traveled only eight miles in two days, leading a local runner to believe he could cover 100 miles in the same amount of time.
The Barkley was born when Cantrell sent a group of 40 runners into Frozen Head State Park to battle the woods, hills, and briars without the help of phones, gps tracker, course markings or aid stations.
“You really have to learn the course during the race,” he tells CNN Sport. There are some sections that are hard to remember and know. I still struggled in the fifth loop to get around and made a lot of mistakes.”
The final loop was made harder this year after a day hiker removed one of the 13 books. Sanchez decided to dismantle a stack of stones at the checkpoint to prove he had passed through, but he was nonetheless relieved to see Cantrell holding the missing book at the end of the race.
“Guillaume [Calmettes], my friend who was in camp at this time offered to replace a book because he had time to put it back,” says Sanchez. He said that it was part of the race, so I had to deal with that.
Source: https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/24/sport/aurelien-sanchez-barkley-marathons-ultrarunning-spt-intl/index.html
Aurélien Sanchez’s marathons in the Pyrenees: A road race to a new life in a woods
Staving off sleep deprivation is another challenge of the Barkley. In the three days and two nights he was on the course, he didn’t sleep for fifteen minutes until the fourth loop.
Desperate to find more energy, Sanchez swallowed caffeine tablets, took on more food and water, and even tried screaming into the woods in an effort to reinvigorate himself.
The cheeseburgers were the main source of fuel for his race, as well as candy, chocolate, cookie dough, cheese and fruit.
It becomes a new race when you start it. It feels like exhaustion goes away and you start fresh on a new loop. And new socks are very important to avoid blisters as well.”
The fastest known time for running through the Sierra Nevada is 21 days, and he holds that record for his 12-day crossing of the Pyrenees mountain range.
Sanchez spent the months leading up to the race training in the Pyrenees and started researching the race in meticulous detail – reviewing old race reports to learn how runners succeeded in the past, poring over Google Earth to understand the topography of the park, and reading up on how to manage sleep deprivation.
The park is very quiet and you can only hear trees and the wind. Just 100 yards from the finish, you hear the crowds, yelling and screaming, and it is such a big emotion.
He adds, though, that the end of the race was bittersweet. Calmettes, his friend, training partner, and the former French record holder at the Barkley, had dropped out of the race on the third loop with an Achilles injury.
But the experience has only reinforced Sanchez’s fascination with the Barkley. He hopes to compete again in the future, although he doesn’t know how you get into the race.
Source: https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/24/sport/aurelien-sanchez-barkley-marathons-ultrarunning-spt-intl/index.html
What do I want to do in ultrarunning? It’s my dream to run. What have I learned from the experience of competing in the Barkley?
There’s no website, email or physical address posted anywhere, and part of the application process requires hopeful runners to write an essay on why they should be allowed to compete. If accepted, they will receive a letter of condolence.
“You decide what you want to say [in the application], it’s your story. I told him that I had been dedicated to the team for six years and that I wanted to run it one day.
Sanchez, who had to use his annual leave to compete in the Barkley, maintains that he has no desire to be a professional ultrarunner, preferring a “normal life” with his girlfriend, Lucille, to preparing for a big race each weekend.
But he also sees ultrarunning as more than just a casual hobby, mainly because of the valuable lessons he’s learned by exploring his physical and mental limits.
I learned a lot from failing, even though it was difficult. I learned that I was not the strongest person ever, that I had to deal with my weaknesses.”