Minute 1: Is this the year?
Could 2019 be the first year in history in which a human being runs a marathon in under 2 hours? Unless your name is Eliud Kipchoge, the more important question may be: Is this the year I will finally break 4 hours for a marathon? The average finishing time for men in America is 4:22 while women average 4:47, so most marathoners are slower than the 9 minute pace required to break 4:00. (BTW, fewer than 1% of marathoning women and 3% of men can break 3 hours.) One important step in the journey to sub-4:00 is to crack 2 hours for a half marathon. Men’s Journal just came out with an excellent guide to hit that milestone. Their story, “How to Run a Half Marathon in Under Two Hours,” gives both practical and emotional advice to get there. Our friends at Strava are also offering some help with their Project 1:59. This Strava project includes tools to earn an Insta-worthy screen shot of your sub-2:00 half marathon GPS map. #9:00MPMorbustMinute 2: Mais non!
French running star Jimmy Gressier won a major European cross country race last weekend and attempted a soccer knee slide across the muddy finish line. Gressier showboated his way down the stretch after grabbing two French flags from spectators. He tried to imitate soccer-playing countryman Kylian Mbappe, but the homage went hilariously awry. Gressier’s face and the flags planted into the mud, earning him some surprise fame and his own meme on the internet. #OohLaLaughableMinute 3: What were they thinking?
One of our favorite running publications just released their list of the top 12 running WTF moments of 2018. We have reported on many of these kooky moments before, but they are somehow more impressive as a compilation of “never seen that before” stuff. Memorable moments include a beauty queen who cheated in ultramarathons, a runner who pooped nightly on a local track and a controversial marathon marriage proposal that lit up the Twitterverse. #runningjokesMinute 4: How Lance really made (and kept) his millions
Love him or loathe him, Lance Armstrong seems to handle his crashes with remarkable grit and resilience. We have mentioned before that we are fans of his image-improving podcast which features musicians, athletes, military veterans, porn stars and business folks. That’s one way he’s bounced back from his historic Oprah-worthy doping crash. Now Lance has revealed how he has walked away from a personal financial crash that made the Great Recession seem like losing a few bucks gambling on football games. How did he overcome millions in federal fines and the loss of his sponsors? He took Uber. More specifically, he invested about $100,000 in the ride-sharing giant through a venture capital buddy about 10 years ago. That netted at least a $20 million profit for Lance that the feds didn’t touch. “It’s saved our family,” Lance told CNBC. The whole story on Velo News is a good read, if you like your endurance stories with a side of Unicorns. #uberwealthyMinute 5: Quick Intervals
- Athletes like Wayne Gretzky and Michael Jordan can own pro sports teams. So why wouldn’t a professional runner want to own a race? That’s just what Meb Keflizighi announced last week when he joined a group to purchase the Carlsbad 5000 running race. Best of luck to the former Olympic marathon silver medalist as he tries to breathe new life into the once iconic race.
- The Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon series just announced its tour dates for 2019. One of the most intriguing is the April race in Nashville which will occur on the same weekend as the NFL draft. Both events typically attract huge crowds. So, if you like football and running set to a Shania Twain soundtrack, that’s your ticket. There is also a one-day sale tomorrow with 50%+ discounts on race registration across the whole RNR series.
- The Tour de France will never sound the same to millions of TV viewers. Sadly, Paul Sherwen passed away last week after 33 years as a commentator on La Grande Boucle. Sherwen rode in the event himself 7 times before moving behind the microphone. The Brit was funny, engaging and extremely insightful about cycling. The New York Times has a nice tribute to him here.
Minute 6: Daily Inspiration
We wrote last week about the Super Bowl of High School XC – the Foot Locker National XC Championships. Well the girl’s race did NOT disappoint. We realize you may not normally follow high school running, but you just have to watch the dramatic finish of the race in San Diego last weekend. Sophomore Sydney Masciarelli of Massachusetts and junior Katelynne Hart of Illinois traded kicks up a brutal final hill and down the stretch to the finish line. The video below chronicles the exhausting final minute of the race.We’re glad to see you’re interested in our content. Check out the Six Minute Mile website or subscribe.
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