Hey there sports fans, and welcome back to this little digital notepad of observations and musings we call The Blue Line. Issue 14! We drop every fortnight, which means we’re now over 6 months old. Madness. It makes me wonder - what else would you like to see from us? A crossword? A little comic strip? Maybe an Obituaries section for old PB’s…
Hey enough of that, let’s get back into it. With the World Marathon Majors in the rearview (for now), the world’s best track athletes are starting to fire up - the Diamond League season opener is now in the books (we’ll get into that), and we’re seeing more big track meets popping up and off elsewhere in the world (we’ll get into that, too).
On the slopes we’ve got Ultra Trail Australia going down this weekend in beautiful Katoomba and the Blue Mountains - Fraser has this covered for you.
Finally, we’ve put it at the end of the issue because it deals with some heavy stuff, but don’t skip out on a piece Elise has written this week about domestic violence in Kenya and a group of athletes who are working to make a difference. Well worth a read (and a share, I’d say).
Let’s dive in.
by Fraser Darcy
By the time this issue is sitting in your inbox, the entree to Australia’s largest and most hyped trail running event, Ultra-Trail Australia, will have started - but don’t stress, it’s not too late to catch up on the important goss before the main course!
Saturday brings the start of the 50km (UTA 50) and the 100km (UTA 100) which is where some of the top trail runners in Oz (who can afford the entry and accommodation prices of a trip to the Bluey’s in May) will be lurking. In the Men’s 50km, it’s looking pretty deep talent wise with Charlie Hamilton, Ben Duffus, Nigel Hill, Piotr Babis (3rd last year) and Scotty Hawker (big dog NZ runner who’s had multiple 2nd’s in the 100km event) all on the entry list.
Things look easier for Gemma Jenkins (2nd last year) in the Women’s 50km with her name being the one in headlights when stalking these entry lists. In the 100km event, which also acts as a qualifier to enter the Western States lottery, headliners Ronnie Sparke and Anna McKenna (who featured on Q&A Session 29) are literally the top two names to keep an eye on. Anna did just finish 4th in a 100km race in the US two weeks ago though so let’s not be surprised if she doesn’t rock up having already earned her spot to the UTMB World Series Finals with that effort.
Wait, UTMB World Series Finals? Yeah, things in the trail world look more like some kind of underground fighting scene at the moment. UTA is just one of thirty-four ‘Events’ in the UTMB World Series. Top 3 finishers at UTA earn the opportunity to pay for their entry to the final of their respective distance at UTMB in late August, now arguably the world’s biggest festival of trail running. Everyone else hoping to enter has to collect running ‘stones’ which they then use to enter the lottery. The more stones you collect (even writing this sounds silly, but you get stones for finishes at different UTMB events) the more chances you have in the lottery.
Australia has two of these UTMB events, UTA and the Ultra-Trail Kosciuszko in December. To spice it up a level though, throughout the year there are three UTMB Major’s too where Top 10 finishers (hello Anna McKenna a fortnight ago) earn the right to skip the lottery and enter UTMB. Similar to the Grand Slams in tennis, there’s a European Major, an American Major and then an Asia-Pacific Major which is in Thailand on the same weekend as the Kosci race (*facepalm* on that one organisers). There’s a few other quirks to the whole UTMB series but basically, this weekend in the Bluey’s is a big deal for trail runners in Australia so check out the results on Sunday arvo when you’re in that post-long-run-ded-Strava-binga state.
by Fraser Darcy
Following on from the resurgence of Australian athletics over summer we now roll into the world’s premier athletic series, the Diamond League. Fourteen meets from now until the finals in September involving the top athletes from this world. The meet locations themselves read like a where’s where of places to visit on a Kontiki with the highlights being Rome/Florence, Paris, Monaco, London and Zurich (Bendigo and Adelaide both stiff to miss). The way the meets work is a selection of top athletes compete at selected events across the spectrum of track and field for the allure of Diamond League prize money which culminates in a big purse at the final which this yearis in Eugene (athletics spiritual home thanks to Pre) plus the opportunity to hit World Champs and Olympics qualifiers in high quality fields.
Having just had the Doha meet a fortnight ago the results of that event speak to the quality that’s on offer. Woo Sang-hyeok (smiliest competitor you’ll ever see) and Mutaz Essa Barshim (3*World Champion) finished 2nd and 3rd in the High Jump to the 2*US National Champion with the flashiest hair, JuVaughn Harrison. The second fastest man ever in the 400m Hurdles Rai Benjamin was there (1st). Lamercha Girma set a meet record time in the Men’s 3000m (7.26, two seconds quicker than the Aussie record) beating out Selemon Barega (Gold medallist in the 10,000m at Tokyo) in the process. Fred (no last name needed now we’re all mates with him) was only 0.16s off his PB when he wrapped up the 200m in first place. On that, if you’re not following Fred on the ‘gram, what are you even doing with your free time. The man is equal parts entertainment and inspiration.
The last event of the night was the Women’s 1500m, and in a slowish race, Faith Kipyegon got the choccies but more importantly, and getting Aussie MVP rights for the night, Jess Hull closed hard to finish 4th (4.00.90) and Abbey Caldwell nabbed a PB and World Champs Qualifier of 4.01.15 (5th place). Now, that’s some serious depth in the meeting AND that’s with skipping over the results of the Women’s 100m, Men’s Javelin, Men’s Triple Jump, Men’s Discus and Women’s Pole Vault which all had either Olympic Champions winning the event or finishing second.
Ok, you get it now, the Diamond League is serious stuff. The next event happens on the 28th May in Rabat and there’s 1500m/miles on the program for both the men’s and women’s so that should keep the distance fans hooked. The full programme for each of the 14 meetings in 2023 is here. The replay from Doha is on YouTube (better than FloTrack) as well. The Diamond League is the closest thing athletics fans will ever get to having an AFL, LIV Golf or other major sport style competition season to follow so jump in now, pick a few of the athletes above to get behind and enjoy the ride to Eugene.
The team at Sound Running have been putting a modern twist on high quality track racing for a couple of years now, and it’s finally starting to get the notoriety it deserves. This past weekend they hosted a meet at Mt. SAC in California, which you might have seen on social because On sponsored it as part of their On ‘Track Nights’ series. Very cool. Anyway, the meet attracts some big names - from Cooper Teare to collegiate phenom Katelyn Tuohy, a few Aussies, Yared Nuguse, Sage Hurta-Klecker, and more.
These mid-year US meets have always been places to run fast and try to run qualifiers for whatever championships are on that year, and there are more meets coming up through May - July.
Anywho, the big stories of the night were the kids. Connor Burns, a high schooler (remember that part, it’s important) broke Galen Rupp’s high school 5,000m record by running a 13:37.30. Re-read that last sentence. Here are the key bits if you’re not getting it: high schooler + 13:37 for 5,000m. What the actual Fffff.
Not to be outdone, Katelyn Tuohy broke the NCAA outdoor record for 5,000m with a 15:03.12. Tuohy is the most exciting young athlete in the sport right now and will almost certainly feature not just at the Paris Olympics, but on billboards and advertisements for years to come - as soon as college is out of the way.
For the Aussies, a few results here: Leanne Pompeani finished 4th in the 10,000m with a 31:45.90. Lauren Ryan ran a 15:20 in the 5,000m, and izzi Thornton-Bott (✨ITB✨) ran a 4:08.33 to finish 5th in the 1,500m. You can check full results on the Sound Running website here. One of the things I love about these meets is they’re easy to watch - they run a simple pay-per-view model which costs around $10 for Aussies, but the stream is great, the commentary is solid, and it’s an action packed night of racing. The best part is a lot of that revenue is directed back to the athletes to keep them showing up each year. It’s great, we need more of it.
The next one is in July, suss it here.
Big dog sprinters have started arriving in Kenya ahead of this weekend’s Kip Keino Classic. Read about their arrivals here - including Sha’Carri’s “no photos please” moment at the airport.
If you haven’t listened to the latest episode of The Gold Coast Diaries yet, you might not have heard of Jordy’s Friday night refuelling efforts. If you have, and you want to sample the same dumplings Jordy Williamsz chooses, this is your spot. I Love Dumplings on Bridge Road. No word yet on whether a photo of Jordy will be hung on the wall.
The Copenhagen Marathon is on this weekend. Fast, flat course, beautiful scenery, friendly Danes, and decent beer. They’ve got it all. They’ve also got the super legit NBRO Running crew - suss their gram over the weekend to experience the weekend through your phone. Here’s a sampler of the s**t they get upto:
by Elise Beacom
Niggles and colds are the biggest evils most runners encounter during a training block. But too many Kenyan women are trying to excel on the roads while dealing with violence in their homes.
In 2021, one of Kenya’s shining stars Agnes Tirop was violently murdered in Iten, a month after she broke the 10k women-only world record. The funeral was the day of her would-be 26th birthday. Her husband was arrested as the prime suspect. The running world was shattered by the news, but the murder was indicative of a deeper, sinister trend of violence occurring behind closed doors in Kenya.
Talking about gender-based violence is taboo in Kenya, and its incidence is often treated as a private matter. Tirop’s Angels is one organisation trying to change that. Some of Kenya’s best runners, including four-time New York Marathon winner Mary Keitany, founded Tirop’s Angels to honour Agnes’ memory, raise awareness of gender-based violence and offer support to female (and male) athletes who experience abuse.
“We already knew what was going on in her [Agnes Tirop’s] life, we were all aware of the abuse she was going through all through her career, but we chose to keep quiet,” founder of Tirop’s Angels, Joan “Kolly” Kiprop Jepkorir told me when we sat down together in Iten.
“When she died, we realised this is just another thing that will happen over and over again, and we as athletes have come together to give a voice to those who are voiceless in this running community,” said Kolly.
One in three women in Kenya will experience physical violence in her life after the age of 15, according to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics. To Kolly’s knowledge, domestic violence is “quite common” among female athletes in the country. One way it manifests is like this: a man notices a young woman with potential to “go far” as an elite athlete. He becomes her romantic partner, as well as her coach or manager (despite being inexperienced). He shows up at contract negotiations instead of his wife, then controls her finances and lives off her race winnings. It’s a story of dominance, power and greed.
“He takes them in and makes them fit into his own dream and then when it doesn’t happen that way, or maybe she gets pregnant, and all of a sudden everything isn’t working as planned, that is when the violence erupts,” Kolly said.
This year, Tirop’s Angels are collaborating with Alistair Davidson, the founder of Braveheart Runners, and Ikaika Sports to implement the ‘Women in Running Initiative’. The program supports 10 single mothers with an income, running clothes, shoes and other assistance for a year, empowering them to train and participate in local races, and ultimately run at an international level. The women were selected based on their running ability (sub-35 10k or sub-70 half marathon) and the complexity of their circumstances. Many were on the cusp of quitting athletics.
“We have one girl who walks around the town…and she sells coffee and samosa. She has twins, and after training you’ll meet her just selling to people on the streets and helping them. And you can see this takes a toll on their running because they don’t recover, even to focus on tomorrow’s training is horrible,” said Kolly. Find out more about these inspiring women here.
One of the prevailing media images of ‘the Kenyan runner’ is an athlete who trains hard morning and night and rests all day between. That image is undeniably male, I discovered. For the female Kenyan runner, it’s often a delicate balance between the roles that society dictates she plays and her desire to become an elite athlete. A day in the life might include running 30km in the morning, preparing breakfast for her husband (who doesn’t run or pace her), washing other athletes’ clothes to earn income (manually, by hand), running again and then preparing dinner for her waiting husband. This daily toil outside of training makes these women’s achievements even more impressive.
With these gender norms so deeply ingrained in the society, it’s considered controversial when the all-women founders of Tirop’s Angels stand up and speak out against gender-based violence within Kenya. But when the organisation’s high-profile board and members (who include Kolly’s partner Julien Wanders) speak at events internationally, the world pays attention. Big brands like Adidas are also getting behind them – at the Boston Marathon, Tirop’s Angels logos adorned the Adidas pro kit.
According to Alistair Davidson, who is collaborating on the ‘Women in Running Initiative’, Kolly and the high-profile women behind Tirop’s Angels have the drive and understanding to spur real change through global advocacy.
“When they express themselves in Kenya, sometimes they are going to be put down a little in my view, because this is Kenyans putting down Kenyan women, but when they express themselves abroad in the right places, it has a power that you can’t imagine, and that’s what can help change the culture from the outside in,” he said.
Imagine how many more female Kenyan runners we would see on the world stage if they were freed of the challenges that cripple their progression. Imagine what Agnes Tirop might have achieved had her life not been cut short.
For more on this topic, read this excellent long-form piece published in The New Yorker.
See you next time on The Blue Line.