Running--State of the Sport

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 G

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 effort

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 run

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

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. Rais

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,

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 a

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. Th

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

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 Februar