Running--State of the Sport

This week, George and Amby discuss the recent Boston and London Marathons--always highlights of the spring running season, and this year was no exception.

Both George and Amby were in Boston for the marathon, with Amby running and finishing for the 28th time. They didn't jump over the pond to London for that big event (with 53,000 runners), but followed it closely on streaming services and various Internet coverage.

Amby descri...

In this podcast, George and Amby speak with Meb Keflezighi about his astounding win in the 2014 Boston Marathon, and how it changed his life. Meb's story--from Eritrea to Italy to the U.S.--is quite well known now, but always mesmerizing to hear in his own voice and words. 

Meb is running Boston again in 2014, both to mark the 10th anniversary since 2014, and also to raise funds for his Meb Foundation, which promotes youth heal...

This week, George Hirsch and Amby Burfoot talk with Jenny Simpson, miler turned marathoner--well, almost, as Simpson hasn't finished a marathon yet. But she'll be toeing the start line in Hopkinton on April 15, and she sounds absolutely determined to make it to the Copley-Square finish line. 

Simpson explains in this conversation that she never intended for the Olympic Marathon Trials in February to be her first marathon st...

In this podcast, George Hirsch and Amby Burfoot talk with Dave McGillivray, who has run the last 51 Boston Marathons in a row, most of them while also serving as Boston's race course director. That meant he couldn't start his run from Hopkinton until everyone else had finished theirs at Copley Square.

On April 15, he will be aiming for his 52nd consecutive finish.

Sometimes that seems like the least of McGillivray's en...

In this podcast, George Hirsch and Amby Burfoot talk with Clayton Young, who recently finished second in the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in Orlando, Florida. Since Young had run a sensational 2:08:00 in last fall's Chicago Marathon, he is now fully qualified for this summer's Olympic Marathon in Paris.

In the Marathon Trials, Young gained a lot of attention for the pair of shades he elected to wear all weekend, and also f...

In this podcast, Amby and George talk with Sara Hall, who recently finished fifth in the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials. Sara, who's married to former marathon star Ryan Hall, has perhaps the longest running resume of any U.S. distance star.

She won the first of 4 California state championships in 1997, and the Footlocker XC Champs her senior year in high school. Since then she has starred at Stanford, on the track, and in the m...

In this podcast, Amby and George talk with Jared Ward, who explains the reasons behind the success of so many great marathon runners from Brigham Young University. Ward is a 2:09:25 marathon runner himself, and sixth place finisher in the 2016 Rio Olympic Marathon. Ward was at the finish line of the recent U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials to congratulate his friends and training partners, Conner Mantz and Clayton Young, on their 1-2 fi...

Frank Shorter (1972) and Joan Benoit Samuelson (1984) are the only two Americans to have won BOTH a U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials and the subsequent Olympic Marathon. Here, just a week before the 2024 Marathon Trials, they talk with George and Amby about their experiences, especially in the pivotal Trials race. 

Samuelson recalls waking up from surgery 17 days pre-Trials, looking at the bandages covering her right leg from toe to hi...

In this episode, George and Amby talk with prolific fast marathon runner CJ Albertson--a fan favorite and dark-horse contender to make the U.S. Olympic Marathon Team at the Feb. 3 Trials in Orlando.

Prior to the 2020 U.S. Marathon Trials in Atlanta, Albertson was a little known road racer competing without a shoe contract. That changed after he finished 7th in 2:11:49.

He signed a contract with Brooks, and has been racking up con...

In this episode of "Running: State of the Sport," George and Amby chat with Chris Chavez, founder and prime mover-shaker behind Citius Magazine. In just a few years, Citius has become a top media player in coverage of elite track/field and road racing. 

While carrying old media nomenclature, ie, "Magazine," Citius is a thoroughly modern digital operation. It includes podcasts, blogs, newsletters, and on-site c...

In this episode of "Running: State of the Sport," George and Amby chat with Kevin Hanson, one-half of the dynamic Hanson brothers behind the Hansons Brooks Running Team. 

The Hansons team will have a strong group of entrants in the U.S Olympic Marathon Trials on February 3, including top male runner Zach Panning. Panning, while not as well known as some of his competitors, is considered a definite threat to finish on the ...

In this episode of "Running: State of the Sport," George and Amby chat with Conner Mantz, a favorite in the Feb. 3 Olympic Marathon Trials, based on his recent 2:07:47 at the Chicago Marathon. Mantz also won two NCAA Cross Country Championships in his days as an undergrad at Brigham Young University.

He’s part of a strong BYU marathon contingent that includes Clayton Young, 2:08:00 at Chicago, and 2016 Olympic marathon ru...

In this episode of "Running: State of the Sport," George and Amby chat with Keira D'Amato, the American record holder at 10 miles and the half-marathon, and the second fastest ever in the marathon with her 2:19:27.

These performances make Keira a top contender in the February 3 Olympic Marathon Trials. Keira has followed an unusual path to her current running. Soon after college, she stopped serious training to get ma...

In this episode of "Running: State of the Sport," George and Amby chat with Patti Catalano Dillon, who received the prestigious Abebe Bikila Award at the recent TCS New York City Marathon. In the 1980 Marathon, Patti became the first American female to break 2:30 in the marathon, finishing second to Grete Waitz. Patti scored many major road race victories in her meteoric career, including 5 at the Ocean State Marathon (R...

In this episode of "Running: State of the Sport," George and Amby chat with Rob Simmelkjaer, the CEO of the New York Road Runners, who of course are organizers of this coming weekend's TCS New York City Marathon. It's arguably the biggest, most globally recognized marathon in the world, and hence a hugely important event on the running calendar every year. 

Rob tells us how to pronounce his last name--it'...

In this episode of "Running: State of the Sport," George and Amby chat with Merhawi Keflezighi, younger brother of Meb Keflezighi. "Hawi" is also an important agent-manager to top track and marathon elites. He fills us in on the current financial state of the sport--who’s earning significant money, and who’s not.

He also proposes that every winner at the World Championships should receive a $1 million first-pla...

In the third episode of "Running: State of the Sport," we chat with American marathon legend, Deena Kastor. Kastor took a bronze medal in the 2004 Athens Olympic Marathon, was outright winner of the Chicago and London Marathons, and also the first American female to break 2:20 in the marathon.

And that's just for beginners. In addition, Kastor won 8 National Cross Country Championships, and still holds the American ma...

In Episode 2 of the podcast, "Running: State of the Sport," we chatted with Mark Milde, race director of the Berlin Marathon. The 2023 Berlin race will be held on Sunday, September 24, with Eliud Kipchoge returning to his favorite course. In 2022, Kipchoge established the marathon world record in Berlin when he ran 2:01:09.

Among other things, Milde talked about:

* His family's long history with the Berlin Marathon, w...

In this episode we talk with Boston Marathon CEO Jack Fleming about

* his main job responsibilities

* his history with the BAA/Boston Marathon

* the spirit and tradition of the Boston Marathon

* where he was during the bomb blasts of 2013

* the significance of the 2014 Boston Marathon

* his all-time favorite Boston races

* what it was like to host Eliud Kipchoge last April

* what happened when local police were called to confront B...