Track Minute: Eilish McColgan to Make Marathon Debut in London

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Eilish McColgan to make marathon debut in London

McColgan is set to make her marathon debut at the London Marathon on April 27. The 34-year-old is stepping up to the distance following a successful career on the track and roads, owning British national records in distances ranging from 5000m to the half marathon. Her mother Liz won the 1996 London Marathon, and she will be joined by fellow British athlete Charlotte Purdue, the third-fastest Briton all time over the marathon distance.

American record on watch at the Houston Half Marathon

The half marathon American record has stood for 18 years since Ryan Hall first ran sub-60, setting the record at 59:43 at the 2007 edition of the Houston Half. This year’s race promises to put the record in jeopardy, as a strong contingent of runners will take to those same streets in cool conditions on Sunday. Olympians Connor Mantz, Clayton Young, and Hillary Bor will be on the starting line, and have all been within striking distance in the past, while 10000m World Champion Joe Klecker will be making his debut.

A USA Championships threepeat for Zariel Macchia

Macchia, a high school senior from New York, won her third consecutive U20 USA title at the USATF Cross Country Championships this past weekend. She did so in decisive fashion, finishing 11 seconds ahead of runner-up Liliah Gordon. Macchia recently committed to Brigham Young University.

St. Louis 1904 Olympics gold medal sells for $545,000 at auction

The gold medal from the 1904 Games which has been auction for the past two weeks has sold for an astounding $545,371. Going into the final day, the highest bid had stagnated at $165,000 before going into a frenzy in the final hours, increasing by nearly $400,000 before the close. While numerous medals have come to auction from these Games in the past, this particular medal was highly sought for its excellent condition and the inclusion of most of the original ribbon and case.

World’s longest running streak of over 20,000 days comes to an end

Jon Sutherland, a 74-year-old writer and run coach from Utah, concluded the world's longest daily running streak on December 31, after running every day for 55 years, seven months, and six days, a total of 20,309 days covering more than 200,000 lifetime miles. He took up running on January 1, 1969, and his streak began on May 29 of the same year, at age 19, and surpassed marathon legend Ron Hill's previous record in 2022. Jim Pearson now holds the current longest active streak. The 80-year-old began his streak on February 16, 1970, just 255 days after Sutherland.