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  • National Records – 5000 Meters Outdoor Track

    Men Country Code Time Athlete Date Location _ww 12:37.35 Kenenisa Bekele 31 May 2004 Hengelo NED AFG 15:52.68 Aman Haidari 06 Aug 2010 Ravnanger NOR ALB 14:12.6 Isuf Curri 31 May 1990 Elbasan ALB ALG 12:50.86 Ali Saidi-Sief 30 Jun 2000 Rome ITA AND 14:10.06 Antoni Bernado 14 Jul 2005 Mataro ESP ANG 13:40.12 Aurelio…

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  • Equality for Women?

    Equality for Women?

    The growth of women’s distance running has frequently been distorted and constrained by the male-dominated athletics establishment. Unfortunately, some women accepted and even supported these limitations, which resulted in generations missing out on opportunities for greatness, leaving their potential unrecognized. During World War I, women took on roles traditionally held by men. Having stepped outside…

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  • How the British Empire mapped the Himalayan region in the 1860’s

    How the British Empire mapped the Himalayan region in the 1860’s

    According to Peter Hopkirk in The Great Game (OUP, Oxford, 1991), “The concept of employing native explorers for covert surveys in lawless territories beyond India’s frontiers arose due to the Viceroy’s strict prohibition on British officers entering those regions. Consequently, the Survey of India, responsible for creating maps of the entire subcontinent and adjacent areas,…

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  • The Origins of the Marathon

    The Origins of the Marathon

    To many, the marathon race is thought to have begun in 1896, yet its history is far older. Ignoring the Pheidippides legend, the original Olympic marathon distance was more than a matter of geography; it represented the stretch from Marathon to Athens. The recognized distance today is 42.195 km (26 miles 385 yards), but for…

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  • Did Pheidippides Run a Marathon?

    Did Pheidippides Run a Marathon?

    To many people, any road race from 10km and longer is simply referred to as a “marathon.” The term has become so embedded in everyday language that it now describes any lengthy activity. This association stems from the tale of a runner in Ancient Greece who reportedly ran from Marathon to Athens, collapsing upon arrival.…

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  • The Pioneering Years of International Athletics

    The Pioneering Years of International Athletics

    During the Georgian era, from 1760 to the 1820s, there are only a few records of English athletes interacting with overseas competitors. There are occasional references, such as Levi Whitehead winning five Queen Anne’s guineas from a field of ten that included ‘the famous Indian’ and ‘Long Joe’ in 1794, who failed in an attempt…

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  • Got an Hour to Spare?

    Got an Hour to Spare?

    Running for an hour holds a unique fascination for distance runners, balancing the intensity of a short sprint with the endurance required for long-distance running. Unlike the grueling demands of ultra-endurance challenges, a 60-minute run offers a sweet spot—demanding enough to test an athlete’s physical and mental resilience but not so extreme that it becomes…

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  • Measuring Trail Courses Using GPS Technology

    Measuring Trail Courses Using GPS Technology

    Accurately measuring trail running courses has historically been a challenging task, particularly on rugged and mountainous terrain. However, the advent of Global Positioning System (GPS) technology has made it easier for runners to obtain precise distances, even on challenging courses. In the Tucson Trail Run Series (TTRS), for example, runners now have the ability to…

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  • On the Effects of Wind on Road Performances

    On the Effects of Wind on Road Performances

    About two decades ago, I developed a model showing that runners could benefit from a tailwind on courses where the starting and finishing points were more than 30% apart from each other, relative to the race distance. This model became the basis for the current USA regulation, which defines a road race course as “point-to-point”…

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  • The IAAF Takes a Giant Step Backwards

    The IAAF Takes a Giant Step Backwards

    The IAAF has made its recent decisions on world road records, focusing on a few key criteria. Out of the eight rules detailed, two seem reasonable. The first is that the course must be measured by an “A” or “B” IAAF/AIMS approved measurer. The second is that the course must not have an elevation drop…

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