The news desk
489 items
Hill sprints work best on a 6% to 8% grade, and you can move to 10% after 2 to 3 months. A 10% grade is a 5.7-degree slope, or 10 meters of climb per 100 meters. Uphill sprinting lowers landing impact and hamstring load but adds calf and Achilles work, so run at about 95% effort and recover fully.
Guinness has approached New Zealand lawyer Shannon-Leigh Litt, who ran more than a marathon every day for 1,000 consecutive days, with each run nearly 9K longer than a marathon. Litt says she may attempt a marathon-related record before the end of the year.
The New York running brand Bandit Running will open its first permanent European store on October 1 in Barcelona's Eixample, sharing L'Espai with Madrid's Odda. The store includes a sauna, a cold plunge and a coworking area.
The flame for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics will arrive from Greece in Atlanta, host of the 1996 Games, in the spring of 2028, then pass through all 50 states. LA28 will publish the full route next year and has not yet said how the public can nominate torchbearers.
Hyrox athlete Rich Ryan co-founded the new brand AXIS and launched its first shoe, the Output, designed specifically for hybrid racing, addressing three key needs: grip on sled carpets, running performance, and station stability. The Output has a 34 mm heel stack and 30 mm forefoot stack, roughly 6 mm lower than most super shoes, trading cushioning for a wider platform and specialized outsole lugs. AXIS plans to offer full-size wear-test shoes at Hyrox Denver from Nov. 12-15, with first production expected in early 2027.
On the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, also known as Orange Shirt Day, Canadian Running remembers Indigenous running legends. Peter Deer became the first Indigenous athlete to represent Canada internationally at the 1904 Olympics. Tom Longboat won the 1907 Boston Marathon in a course-record 2:24:24. Angela Chalmers still holds the women's 3,000m national record of 8:32.17.
University of Guelph fourth-year political science student Isabella "Izzie" Sarbadhikari will take on the Marathon des Sables in Morocco next April with her father, Pro Sarbadhikari, covering roughly 250 km over six stages in six days while raising money for War Child Canada.
London Marathon Events (LME) announced the 2027 edition will be held over two days with 100,000 participants. Reigning champions Sabastian Sawe of Kenya and Catherine Debrunner of Switzerland played rock, paper, scissors to decide the elite race days. Debrunner won 2–0, so the elite women and women’s wheelchair races are Sunday, April 25, and the elite men and men’s wheelchair races are Saturday, April 24.
LetsRun crunches the numbers: if the clean women's marathon world record goes under 2:10, the gap to the men's world record shrinks from the consistent 10%–11% across standard distance events to 8.8%. The piece opens with Ruth Chepngetich's mark, which Amby Burfoot said had to be doping, and asks whether male pacers and supershoes can explain the discrepancy.
Runner’s World released a guide on shin splints, or medial tibial stress syndrome, which affects as many as one in every five runners, especially beginners or those adding training volume. It covers identifying lower leg pain, risk factors like overtraining and improper shoes, severity flags, rehab exercises, and return-to-running tips.
During Prime Big Deal Days, several running gear items are discounted: Beats Studio Buds noise-cancelling earbuds at 33% off, with sweat resistance, up to eight hours of battery, and a transparency mode; a Garmin solar watch at 10% off, built for ultra and trail runners with long battery life and endurance, climb, heat acclimation, and recovery data; plus Adidas recovery slides, a handheld water bottle, compression sleeves, a running belt, a patella band, and shoe inserts.
Runner's World interviews Chris Twiggs, chief training officer of the Galloway Training Programs, about why the run/walk method standardizes walk breaks at 30 seconds. Galloway originally recommended running 1 mile and walking 1 minute, then shifted to 30 seconds about a decade ago, because slower walking late in long distances drags down overall pace, while 30 seconds provides recovery without a significant slowdown.
The Boston Athletic Association announced the 2027 Boston Marathon cutoff is 5:17, 43 seconds stricter than 2026's 4:34. Of 33,649 applicants, 25,630 qualified applicants have been accepted or are being accepted, and 8,019 who ran a qualifying time did not get in.
Runner's World tested hydration vests through New York City's hot, humid summers and cold winters, naming 10 best for 2026. The Nathan Sports Pinnacle Pro 12L won Best Overall, Azarxis took Best Value, and Lululemon's Women's Trail Vest was Most Comfortable. Testing covered sizes XXS-XL, focusing on water capacity, pocket layout, fit, and bounce over long distances, while noting poor size inclusivity.
A study published in Sports Medicine in September 2025 analyzed the training logs and finish times of 917 runners who completed the 2022 Boston Marathon. Each additional quality session per week in the year before the race was linked to a 16- to 17-minute faster finish on average. In the final four months, each one-day increase in weekly cross-training sessions was linked to a six-minute improvement, and runners who reduced weekly run frequency versus their base phase finished about three minutes faster.
The 2027 London Marathon will be held over two days, with 100,000 runners taking part. The schedule was decided by a best-of-three rock, paper, scissors game between reigning London Marathon champions and world record holders Sabastian Sawe and Catherine Debrunner, overseen by an official Guinness World Records adjudicator. Debrunner won, placing the elite women's races on Sunday and the elite men's races on Saturday.
Runner's World contributor Alex Predhome fell into burnout after years of heavy training and chasing times, then missed the Boston Marathon due to sciatic nerve pain, losing both fitness and fun. He ran the Miller Mile, a one-mile race on Storrow Drive in Boston held during the Fourth of July highway closure, with no timer, just Devin Miller's starting siren and a finish-line tape. The low-stakes race helped him rediscover racing as a game.
A small PLOS One study found that 12 highly trained male runners who ran at least five days a week, averaging about 40 to 50 miles, had higher energy and oxygen costs and worse running economy outdoors than on a 1 percent incline treadmill, with differences most apparent near the second ventilatory threshold (about a 7:10 to 7:22 pace).
REI Co-op highlights the trail gear runners trusted at the 2026 Run Rabbit Run 100 Mile, held in torrential rain. Men's champion Ryan Sullivan wore Norda 005 shoes with a TPEE midsole and Vibram Megagrip Elite outsole while setting a new course record. The roundup also covers trekking poles, headlamps, waist lights, shorts, rain jackets, rain pants, running vests, and socks.
The PPG optical sensor on Garmin and Apple watches could read 40 metrics beyond heart rate. The article ranks them into three categories: what ships today, what is coming soon, and what may only arrive last, noting that blood glucose monitoring ranks last. The original does not disclose the specific metric list or a timeline.
Outside editors picked their favorite running gear for September 2026, including the Kiprun Kipstorm Tempo, Brooks Hyperion Elite 6, Patagonia Capilene Cool shirt, Ello glass food storage containers, and Apple Watch Ultra 4.
A 30-minute continuous tempo at marathon effort is a time-efficient core workout for half marathoners and marathoners, performed once every 2 weeks. Half marathoners can add 5 to 10 minutes per session, not exceeding 45 minutes; marathoners should not exceed 60 minutes. If feeling strong, increase pace by about 10 seconds per mile in the final 5 to 8 minutes while staying controlled.
Polar is rolling out firmware 6.0.18 to six watches, letting users view a week of sleep, HRV and recovery trends on the wrist. The update also adds a configurable Custom button, full sport settings on the watch and an 80% charge limit.
Nike unveiled a new racing lineup with three models: the everyday-racer Swooshfly, the PR-chasing Alphafly 4, and the top-tier Apex. The Swooshfly debuts supercritical SkyX foam with a carbon fiber plate, returning up to 16% more energy than the Vaporfly 4, priced at $145 for a Spring 2027 launch, including a China-exclusive debut in February.
Nike unveiled two new super shoes, the Apex and the Swooshfly. The Apex arrives in January as Nike's fastest marathon shoe; the Swooshfly follows in the spring at $145, aimed at runners buying their first carbon-plated racer.
Runner’s World presents The Runner’s World Guide to Common Running Injuries: IT Band Syndrome, hosted by Winnie Yu, PT, DPT, CSCS, covering causes, symptom flags, and safe return to running. ITBS typically causes pain on the outside of the knee, often involving weak glutes, pelvic imbalances, and training load. Rehab centers on glute and hip strengthening. The program is exclusive to Runner’s World+ members and launches October 6.
To run a faster 5K, coaches recommend four to six Zone 2 aerobic runs per week at 60 to 70 percent of max heart rate, since about 85 to 90 percent of a 5K relies on the aerobic system. Add one to two interval sessions weekly, such as 400-meter repeats, hill repeats, tempo runs, or fartleks, plus two to three strength workouts targeting glutes, hamstrings, quadriceps, and calves.
Nike’s super shoe architect discusses the Alphafly 4, zero-drop prototypes, and what comes next on the Marathon Handbook Podcast. The episode covers the design thinking behind these shoe models, though specific details are not disclosed in the text.
Believe in the Run offers guidance on choosing trail racing shoes: focus on three things—terrain, duration, and personal preference. Racing shoes typically use more premium foams, upgraded outsoles, and lighter uppers, sacrificing some comfort for performance.
The 2027 London Marathon elite schedule was settled by rock, paper, scissors: Sabastian Sawe lost to Catherine Debrunner, so the elite men will open the two-day event on Saturday, April 24, and the elite women will race on Sunday, April 25.