© Copyright – 2020 – Athletics Illustrated
The eighth edition of the Bahamas Half Marathon went virtual and approximately 300 people from around various points around the world ghost-ran the event. No winners were declared but participants were rewarded with recognition for their participation.
The event includes a half-marathon, half-marathon relay and a 10K.
Proceeds went to Cancer Treatment Centers of America
The event was put on by the Bahamas Roadmasters Club, the largest distance running club in The Bahamas.
The state of Connecticut bans all road races
Who’d a thunk it?
Connecticut has banned all road races due to the severity of the coronavirus pandemic.
According to Runner’s Web, Governor Ned Lamont revised the state’s guidance on public gatherings to specifically ban road races. The move is to prohibit any remaining “turkey trots” which were still planned as in-person races for Thanksgiving Day on Thursday.
So, for Connecticut, no birds of a feather shall flock together.
“Due to the recent spike in COVID-19 cases, the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development updated its sector rules to prohibit all organized road races, effective November 23, 2020,” the governor said through a statement. “This includes any turkey trots or holiday road races scheduled for the week of Thanksgiving. Residents are encouraged to stay among members of their households and avoid crowds.”
World Athletics focusses on two athletes
In the countdown to the World Athletics Awards 2020, which will be held as a virtual event on 5 December, we’ll be taking a closer look at the five men and five women who were earlier this week confirmed as the finalists for the Athlete of the Year awards.
Letesenbet Gidey
When Ethiopian distance runner Letesenbet Gidey won back-to-back world U20 cross country titles in 2015 and 2017 – a feat that had previously been achieved by just five other athletes – it was clear that the Ethiopian distance runner was a star in the making.
Fast forward three years to 2020 and Gidey has finally come of age, establishing herself as the fastest woman of all time over 5000m.
Like many athletes, hers was a brief season. It began on 14 August at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Monaco where she lined up for the 5000m alongside the reigning world champions over every distance from 1500m to 10,000m. Once the pacemakers had done their job, and with world steeplechase champion Beatrice Chepkoech starting to drift out of contention Gidey moved to the front to dictate the race.
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Joshua Cheptegei
Joshua Cheptegei’s first race of 2020 – a world 5km record of 12:51 on the roads of Monaco on 16 February – set the tone for the rest of his year.
The 23-year-old Ugandan went on to break two more world records in 2020, setting new standards for the 5000m and 10,000m, before rounding out his season with a 59:21 clocking at the World Athletics Half Marathon Championships Gdynia 2020 on his debut at the distance.
During his season opener in Monaco, Cheptegei ran alone from the start and blitzed through the first kilometre in 2:31. His pace dropped only slightly during the middle section of the race and he charged through the finish line in 12:51 to take 27 seconds off the previous record.
“When my legs felt good during the race, I decided to really go for it,” he said.
Cheptegei returned to the principality six months later for his first track race of the year. Racing in the 5000m at the Herculis Wanda Diamond League meeting, Cheptegei had made no secret of his desire to break Kenenisa Bekele’s 16-year-old world record of 12:37.35.
