Running--State of the Sport

In this episode of "Running: State of the Sport," Lisa Weidenbach Rainsberger reflects on her Boston Marathon win 40 years ago in 1985. She also traces the amazing arc of her running career from All American swimmer to college track star to youthful marathon standout. Lisa is widely known for her three consecutive fourth-place finishes in the Olympic Trials Marathon, but she doesn’t shed...

In this episode of the podcast "Running: State of the Sport," hosts Amby Burfoot and George Hirsch interview John Cahill, a remarkable centenarian runner who shares his inspiring journey from starting to run at age 62 to completing marathons in his 70s and 80s. He ran a 3:05 marathon at 72 and continued to race into his 90s. Cahill discusses his early life, health challenges, and the joy...

In this episode, we explore the inspiring journey of Bobbi Gibb, the first woman to run the Boston Marathon, in 1966. She shares her experiences of training, the journey to Boston, and the emotional impact of crossing the finish line, all while challenging societal norms and advocating for women's rights in sports. Gibb also discusses her journey beyond running--including her artistic endeavor...

In this episode, we celebrate the 50th anniversary of Bill Rodgers's first Boston Marathon win in 1975. Bill reflects on his early struggles, the pivotal moments that reignited his passion for running, and the significance of community in the sport. In particular, he discusses his memorable 1975 Boston Marathon victory, the evolution of marathon running, and the challenges he faced during his...

In this engaging podcast episode, Jackie Gaughan, a rising star in the marathon running scene, shares her journey, insights, and experiences in the sport. From her impressive performance at the 2024 California International Marathon to her reflections on the Olympic Trials, Gaughan (just 25) discusses her training strategies, the balance between her running career and a full-time job, and the infl...

In this episode of Running State of the Sport, hosts Amby Burfoot and George Hirsch chat with Ray Flynn, a former elite miler and current athlete manager. They discuss Flynn's extensive career in athletics, his experiences at the Olympics, the evolution of athlete management, and the current state of doping in the sport.  Flynn shares insights on the upcoming (Feb. 8) Milrose Games, the signif...

In this episode, hosts Amby Burfoot and George Hirsch talk with Edwin Moses, a legendary figure in track and field. During his competitive career, he won 122 consecutive 400 meter hurdles races--a streak that lasted almost 10 years, and is unlikely ever to be beaten. The conversation includes Moses's significant contributions to sports beyond the track, including anti-doping efforts and social cha...

In this conversation, Susanna Sullivan reviews the highs and lows of her running in 2024. This includes missing the Olympic Marathon Trials in February due to an injury and Covid ... then bouncing back in October with a big marathon PR of 2:21:56 in Chicago. Sullivan has been improving steadily for a handful of years, but that Chicago performance catapulted her to the uppermost rungs of American m...

Daniel Romanchuk is one of the world's top wheelchair racers. This fall, he won the New York City Marathon and, a week later, the BAA Boston Half Marathon. He set a course record in the latter event. In August, Romanchuk entered 5 events in the Paris Paralympics, winning gold in the 5000 meters and bronze in the marathon. Born with spina bifida--a not-fully-formed spine--Romanchuk spent his early...

Ted Metellus is race director of the TCS New York City Marathon. In many ways, he’s a miracle maker. How else do you get 50,000+ runners from midtown Manhattan to Staten Island, and then back again (on foot) to finish in Central Park? Especially when they come from so many different countries and speak different languages? Metellus seems almost born to the position he holds. Raised in New York Cit...

Some think Jessica McClain was the "tough luck kid" of 2024. After all, she finished 4th in both the Olympic Marathon Trials and the Olympic Track Trials 10,000. And fourth is the worst position, right? McClain herself doesn't see things that way.  Excited about her life, her work, and her running, she sees the past 10 months as evidence that she's on a great path: happy, healthy, running strong. ...

Carey Pinkowski is the longest serving race director of a World Marathon Major race, having taken the helm at the Bank of America Chicago Marathon way back in 1990. Before that, he was an elite runner with personal bests ranging from 4:01 in the mile to 2:20:43 in the marathon. This year's Chicago is just three weeks away on Sunday, October 13. As always it will feature a big and star-studded...

Mike Scannell coached Grant Fisher to two bronze medals (5000 and 10,000 meters) in the Paris Olympics--a feat no American runner had achieved previously. Which brings up a good question: Who is Mike Scannell? Turns out he is a forever-friend of Grant Fisher's family, and coached Fisher to 2 Footlocker XC Championships victories back when Fisher was a Michigan high schooler. Then he sat back a...

It was an amazing Paris Olympics on the track and roads, and George Hirsch and Amby Burfoot discuss all the highlights here in this Paris Review podcast.  We start with our two favorite races--the women’s marathon and men’s 1500 meters--and work our way through just about everything else. From Faith Kipyegon to Beatrice Chebet to Grant Fisher. From Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone to Gabby Thomas to Kenn...

Chris Lundstrom is coach of the Minnesota Distance Elite team that includes female marathon ace Dakotah Lindwurm, who's running the Paris Olympic Marathon on August 11. Lundstrom himself has a marathon PR of 2:17, and a PhD in exercise science. He teaches at the University of Minnesota.  Lindwurm wasn't among the favorites at the U.S. Marathon Trials in Orlando last February, but she has p...

Ed Eyestone has been close to the center of USA distance running for nearly 4 decades, and never more than now. He's coach to American Olympic marathoners Conner Mantz and Clayton Young, and also the guiding hand behind undergraduate steeplechaser James Corrigan's improbable--no, impossible--road to Paris. Eyestone himself ran in two Olympic Marathons with a best finish of 13th in the Barc...

Emma Coburn is only 33 years old, but sports a running resume that’s hard to match. She has won 10 National Championships in the 3000-meter steeplechase. It almost seems that USATF should rename the event the “Emma Coburn Steeplechase.” Coburn has also won an Olympic bronze medal, and World Championships gold. Her husband, Joe Bosshard, is now her coach, and also coach to a small but select elite...

Matt Taylor is the founder, CEO, and visionary behind Tracksmith, the Boston-based running apparel and footwear company. A middle-distance runner at Yale, Taylor explored several small ventures after college, and then joined Puma as a marketing executive. There, from practically his first day, he was assigned to work with a young Jamaican sprinter named Usain Bolt. That proved to be both an advent...

Jacqueline (Jaqi) Hansen is truly one of the most important pioneers of distance running and the marathon in the U.S. and around the world. Jaqi is probably best known as the Boston Marathon winner in 1973 (only 4 months after her first marathon.) But she also twice set the women's world record in the marathon, becoming the first woman runner under 2:45, and then under 2:40. In addition, she a...

At the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo, little-known American runner Billy Mills achieved what many believe to have been the greatest upset in Olympic running history. He defeated world-record-holder Ron Clarke and a global field in the 10,000-meter final. To this day, Mills is the only American to have won Olympic Gold at the classic 25-lap distance. You can watch his famous last-lap sprint here on ...

In this new “Running: State of the Sport” podcast, George and Amby chat with legendary U.S. runner, Don Kardong. Don finished 4th in the controversial 1976 Olympic Marathon--we talk a lot about that.  He also founded and race-directed the huge Lilac Bloomsday 12K in Spokane, Washington, and has finished the race himself 48 years in a row. A leader in the transition from “shamateurism” to open, pro...

This week, George and Amby discuss the recent Boston and London Marathons- -always highlights of the spring running season, and this year was no exception. Both George and Amby were in Boston for the marathon, with Amby running and finishing for the 28th time. They didn't jump over the pond to London for that big event (with 53,000 runners), but followed it closely on streaming services and va...

In this podcast, George and Amby speak with Meb Keflezighi about his astounding win in the 2014 Boston Marathon, and how it changed his life. Meb's story--from Eritrea to Italy to the U.S.--is quite well known now, but always mesmerizing to hear in his own voice and words.  Meb is running Boston again in 2014, both to mark the 10th anniversary since 2014, and also to raise funds for his Meb Fo...

This week, George Hirsch and Amby Burfoot talk with Jenny Simpson, miler turned marathoner--well, almost, as Simpson hasn't finished a marathon yet. But she'll be toeing the start line in Hopkinton on April 15, and she sounds absolutely determined to make it to the Copley-Square finish line.  Simpson explains in this conversation that she never intended for the Olympic Marathon Trials in F...

In this podcast, George Hirsch and Amby Burfoot talk with Dave McGillivray, who has run the last 51 Boston Marathons in a row, most of them while also serving as Boston's race course director. That meant he couldn't start his run from Hopkinton until everyone else had finished theirs at Copley Square. On April 15, he will be aiming for his 52nd consecutive finish. Sometimes that seems like...