marathon news stories on Newser

Marathon Runner Raises $400K After Death

Rob Quinn — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 03:29:09 CDT

A British mental health charity has received a flood of donations following the death of a runner in the final stretch of the London Marathon on Sunday. Claire Squires, a 30-year-old hairdresser, was running to raise money for the Samaritans, a group that offers emotional support to people in distress....

Boston Marathon Kicks Off Amid 'Dangerous' Heat

Kevin Spak — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 09:26:19 CDT

The Boston Marathon kicked off this morning, despite heat forecasts so high that organizers urged runners to consider sitting the race out. Temperatures are expected to hit 88 degrees by 2pm, which would be a record and drastically higher than normal, according to the Boston Herald . "We had to consider...

Legendary Ultrarunner Found Dead in Wilderness

Mark Russell — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 05:49:27 CDT

Friends and family of legendary ultrarunner Micah True have been left with only questions and memories after the body of the 58-year-old was found in the New Mexico wilderness on Saturday, reports ABC News . True disappeared while on a 12-mile run on Tuesday in New Mexico's Gila National Forest. "From...

Ethiopia's Sado Wins LA Marathon

Sun, 18 Mar 2012 12:20:25 CDT

Fatuma Sado of Ethiopia has won the Los Angeles Marathon women's race, improving her personal best by more than 2 minutes and earning a $100,000 gender challenge bonus. Kenya's Simon Njoroge won the men's race. The 20-year-old Sado led over the final 20 miles and won in 2 hours,...

2 Runners Die in Philly Marathon

Mary Papenfuss — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 02:57:58 CST

Two runners in the Philadelphia marathon died of apparent heart attacks close to the end of the race yesterday. One man was in his 40s, and the other was a 21-year-old Penn State student from California, reports the Philadelphia Inquirer . The day offered the kind of cool, dry weather that...

Kenya's Mutai Sets NYC Marathon Record

Sun, 06 Nov 2011 11:43:06 CST

Geoffrey Mutai of Kenya has won the New York City Marathon in a course record time of 2 hours, 5 minutes, 6 seconds today, crushing the previous mark of 2:07:43 set by Tesfaye Jifar of Ethiopia a decade earlier. The 30-year-old has established himself as the favorite at...

Marathon Winner Took Bus to Finish Line

Evann Gastaldo — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 09:13:44 CDT

When Rob Sloan crossed the finish line in a British marathon on Sunday and claimed the bronze medal, he told reporters the race had been “absolutely, unbelievably tough.” In fact, it was so tough that he actually bailed at the 20-mile mark, hopped on a bus, then re-joined the runners...

Firefighter Dies in Chicago Marathon

Mark Russell — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 03:53:00 CDT

A firefighter running in the Chicago Marathon to raise money for charity collapsed and died yesterday, reports AP . William Caviness, a 35-year-old firefighter from North Carolina with two young children, entered the race to raise money for burn victims. He collapsed about 500 yards from the finish line, and was...

Men's Marathon Record Shattered

Mark Russell — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 06:29:13 CDT

Kenyan runner Patrick Makau shattered the world record for the men's marathon yesterday in Berlin, chopping 21 seconds from the previous best time, reports Reuters . With temperatures around 72 degrees, Makau ran the race in 2:03:38. "This is the greatest day of my running life," said the 26-year-old,...