The news desk
489 items
The USATF 50k Trail National Championships, canceled in August due to wildfires, moved to the Perpetua Coast 50k, where Anna Dalton won in 4:29 and took nine minutes off the women's course record, while Dylan Flewelling won the men's race in 3:50. Racing also spanned Switzerland, Mexico, and Iowa's Swiss Valley.
The Inov8 Trailfly Pro trail racer weighs 7.9 oz, with a 34mm heel and 28mm forefoot (6mm drop), priced at $195 and available October 2026. The reviewer says its supercritical TPEE midsole balances energy return and cushioning, and the foot-shaped last offers a wider forefoot for moderate terrain at uptempo efforts. Drawbacks: the G-Grip outsole lugs are too broad for sand and soft dirt, and the shoe is very flexible with no plate structure.
iRunFar tested the $600 Amazfit Cheetah 2 Ultra, a pure running GPS watch with a Grade 5 titanium case and sapphire display. Amazfit claims 33 hours of battery life in Trail Running mode, and the author found himself charging about once every ten days in daily use.
The Coros Pace 4 Pro launches October 6 for $449 in Black or White, with a claimed 60 hours of GPS tracking and up to 21 days of daily use. After weeks of testing, the author praises its 1.47-inch sapphire display at 3,500 nits and the new Action Button for maps and music controls, but notes it is about 10g heavier and $200 more than the Pace 4, making it better suited to runners upgrading from an entry-level watch.
Kenyan veteran Mark Kosgei Kiptoo won the 2026 San Sebastián Rural Kutxa Half Marathon in Spain in 1:03:57, breaking the M50 age-group world record. The previous mark of 1:06:23 was set by South Africa's Titus Mamabolo in 1991. In March, at age 49, Kiptoo won the Azkoitia-Azpeitia Half Marathon in 1:03:17.
Canadian trail runner Reid Burrows finished second in the Wériga 93K at Chihuahua by UTMB in 13:15:04, his first UTMB World Series podium, earning direct entry to the CCC (100K) at the 2027 UTMB World Series Finals.
Canadian runner Thomas Fafard will race the Chicago Marathon this Sunday, Oct. 11, his second career marathon. He debuted last December at The Marathon Project in 2:10:29, becoming the fourth-fastest Canadian debutant ever and breaking the Quebec provincial record. This week he joins The Shakeout Podcast with coach Félix-Antoine Lapointe to discuss his buildup.
The SFRC Women's Trail Half Marathon in northern California, set for Oct. 24 this year, lowers barriers for women with four lead-up community trail runs, a 13.6-mile course with a 5.5-hour cutoff, tailored training plans and three virtual coaching sessions. It also offers 20 $250 childcare grants, menstrual products at every aid station and a $25,000 prize purse, with $10,000 for the winner. ITRA data shows women are only 30 percent of trail participants.
Avery Pearson of Meadow Lake, Sask., announced Tuesday she signed a professional contract with On Athletics Club (OAC). The 23-year-old, who lowered her 800m PB to 2:00.76, will step onto the professional stage in 2027 after a four-year U Sports career at the University of Saskatchewan and a final NCAA year at the University of Colorado.
World Athletics has announced the 20 nominees for 2026 Athlete of the Year and opened fan voting to pick the top three, with voting closing Oct. 16 at 6 p.m. EST. The list includes Kenya's Sabastian Sawe, who ran the first sub-two-hour marathon in 1:59:30, Josh Kerr, who broke the men's mile world record, and Canada's Camryn Rogers, who set a North American hammer throw record.
Chinese fitness influencer Abeeeer apologized after photos showed her riding on the back of a bicycle near the 38-kilometer mark of the Berlin Marathon. She claimed she finished the Sept. 27 race in 4:53:46 and celebrated a PB, but was later disqualified and her results scrubbed. Her fastest 5-kilometer split came between 35 and 40 kilometers in 30:49, averaging 6:09 per kilometer. Brooks China terminated its partnership on Oct. 4.
Quebec City's Caroline Pomerleau won the Beneva Quebec City Marathon women's title in 2:42:48 in her first marathon since becoming a mother, breaking the current women's course record and finishing with her young daughter, Charlène, in her arms.
Altra has assembled a four-person Legacy Team of British runners aged 75 to 85: Peter Giles, Rajinder Singh, Laurence Cummings and Pritpal Kaur, with a combined age of 321. Photographed by Rankin, they feature in a campaign and a free book, The Long Run, due later this year.
Runner’s World released the stress fracture installment of its common running injuries guide, with physical therapist Winnie Yu and other experts explaining how bony stress injuries progress to stress fractures. It uses green, yellow, and red flags to grade severity; red means stop running and seek medical evaluation before imaging confirmation. Recovery includes side plank hip abduction, banded donkey kick, and heel-raised bridge moves that avoid loading the injury, plus run/walk intervals starting at 3 to 4 minutes running and 1 minute walking, with about 10 percent weekly mileage increases.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, 62, and his 25-year-old daughter Hope finished the TC 10-Mile at Twin Cities Marathon Weekend in 1:26:15 and 1:26:26, respectively—11 seconds apart—placing 2,134th and 2,164th among 9,559 finishers. Walz's 8:45 pace was nearly 12 minutes faster than his 1:38:12 in the same race last year.
Running coaches say muscular power training emphasizes rapid force production during your stride, which can lead to a faster stride, better running form, stronger finishes, better climbing ability, and potentially lower injury risk. Power differs from muscular strength—it's a marriage of strength and speed—but it's only recommended for experienced runners who already have a solid strength-training base. You can add plyometrics like box jumps and single-leg hops to strength workouts once a week, or after an easy run do 4 x 20-30 second hill sprints or 4 x 50-meter strides.
The Runner's World team recommends a batch of running gear sold on Amazon, including the Garmin Forerunner watch (with offline mapping, triathlon mode, HRV, VO2 max), SPIBelt, Shokz OpenRun Pro 2, Brooks Glycerin 23, Balega socks, Baleaf shorts, Nathan vest, Tifosi sunglasses, JLab earbuds, and more.
To recover better after hard training, I spent 30 days practicing vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) breathing techniques twice daily, including extended-exhale, resonance frequency, and diaphragmatic breathing. VNS activates the parasympathetic nervous system to shift the body from stress into recovery. Research shows it can speed heart rate recovery and reduce blood pressure and blood lactate.
Runner's World recommends 35 gifts on Amazon for runners, including the FlipBelt waist pack, TrailHeads touchscreen gloves, Swiftwick performance socks, Goodr sunglasses, the Garmin Forerunner 55 fitness watch, and the TriggerPoint foam roller, plus cookbooks from Shalane Flanagan and for vegetarian runners. Many items are discounted 10% to 52%, making them good holiday gifts for runners.
A Chinese fitness influencer known as Abeeeer was photographed riding a bicycle near the 38K mark of the September 27 Berlin Marathon, after initially celebrating a 4:53:46 personal best. She admitted the violation and apologized on October 3. Brooks China, which had partnered with her, said it ended the relationship and called its review process an oversight.
Runner's World tested 6 under-desk walking pads for staying active during the workday, including DeerRun, WalkingPad, and Urevo Strol 2.0. Max speeds range from 3.73 to 6.2 MPH, weight limits from 242 to 400 lb, and some offer 12% to 14% incline. Key factors include size and portability, belt width, speed range, incline, weight capacity, noise, and price.
Runner's World gathered advice from multiple run coaches on the eight most common mistakes marathoners make during race week, including squeezing in last-minute workouts, trying new gear or fuel, prerace anxiety, last-minute carb loading, letting hydration slip, obsessing over sleep, skipping the course map, and stressing over what you can't control. Coaches suggest cutting mileage by about 40 percent during taper and starting carb loading two to three days before race day.
During Prime Big Deal Days, several Garmin running watches and heart rate monitors are discounted: Enduro 3 by 25%, Forerunner 165 by 20%, Forerunner 55 by 19%, Instinct by 23%, HRM Pro Plus by 19%, and the women's-specific heart rate monitor by 26%. Garmin announced the Enduro 4 today, but the Enduro 3 still offers solar charging and hundreds of hours between charges.
The Shokz OpenRun Pro 2 open-ear headphones are 30% off during Amazon Prime Big Deal Days, dropping from a $179.95 list price to $125. They pair bone conduction and air conduction drivers, weigh about 29 grams, last up to 12 hours, gain roughly two hours from a 10-minute charge, and offer Bluetooth 5.3, multipoint pairing, and IP55 water resistance.
Runner's World is giving RW+ members 7 free entries to the 2027 Disney Princess Half Marathon, with the survey due by October 16. The race, presented by AdventHealth, takes place February 28 at Walt Disney World, and all races that weekend are sold out. Selected runners may also be featured in Runner's World and receive member perks like official training plans.
The JLab JBuds Open Ear headphones drop to $69.99 during Amazon Prime Big Deal Days, down from the usual $90. They use an open ear-hook design that doesn't seal the ear canal, dual coaxial dynamic drivers (35 mm and 12 mm) with Boost Bass, two-device Bluetooth multipoint, 24 hours of battery life, and sweat and water resistance.
Jakob Ingebrigtsen capped an improbable 2026 comeback with a home double in October. Aidan Troutner broke a 1986 championship record at the US 10K, where Emily Venters was also dominant. The piece also argues you'd rather take 2nd at World Juniors than win gold.
Runner's World releases the lower back pain installment of its common running injuries guide, with physical therapist Winnie Yu and medical experts explaining common causes, how to tell acute from chronic pain, and the timelines for returning to running for each.
LetsRun previews the Chicago Marathon, where Vinny Mauri’s unconventional training and American record ambitions are a focus; John Kellogg says his approach recalls Arthur Lydiard. Jacob Kiplimo, Brigid Kosgei and Sharon Lokedi lead the elite fields, with the women’s race especially competitive.
Runner's World is putting together 90-minute playlists each month, full of songs with enough of a beat to keep you moving. This month's playlist has fall vibes and highlights rock icons, led by Fleetwood Mac. Listen on Amazon Music, Apple Music, or Spotify.