At 39 years old, I don’t consider myself “old” like my kids do, but I’m not exactly young, either.
My knees make cracking sounds when I walk, I groan when I stand up, and my back hurts every single day. Gray hairs are shooting up by the dozen, and even though I’m not much of a drinker, I still wake up with a hangover any time I stay up past 10:30 p.m.
Long story short: I’m in no position to compete for a gold medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. Most runners my age can say the same thing.
But there is one 39-year-old that could take marathon fans on quite the ride this summer: Eliud Kipchoge. The Kenyan runner is slated to make his fifth trip to the Olympics, and will be gunning for his third consecutive gold after standing atop the podium in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro and 2020 in Tokyo.
Kipchoge, who in 2019 showcased an unofficial 1:59:40 in a controlled-setting marathon put on by Nike, is the fastest marathoner alive.
While a part of me — probably the elderly part that needs a pair of glasses to find the missing car keys — thinks that Kipchoge is too old to make history, I also want to believe he will be running inspired.
Kipchoge will be competing without countryman Kelvin Kiptum by his side. Kiptum, who set the World Record at the 2023 Chicago Marathon, died in a car accident earlier this year. Emotions will run high when the starting gun goes off on Aug. 10, and I can’t wait to see what Kipchoge does when the whole world is watching.
Here are three other running storylines I’m looking forward to following at the 2024 Summer Olympics:
The new Usain Bolt?
It’s awfully hard to duplicate the lightning-in-a-bottle magic provided to track fans by legendary Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt, but American Noah Lyles is ready to give it his best shot.
Lyles blipped the radar at the 2020 Olympics when he took bronze in the 200, but expectations are much higher this time after a monster 2023 season that saw him win the 100, 200, and 4×100 relay at the World Athletics Championships.
Lyles will be aiming to become the first sprinter since Bolt to sweep those three events at the Olympics.
Richardson’s Redemption
Sha’Carri Richardson became a household name in 2020, but for all the wrong reasons.
The American missed the Tokyo Olympics for a positive marijuana drug test, and afterwards the sprinter found herself at a crossroads: Clean up or get out.
Richardson chose the former and is now in a great position to win a gold medal this summer. The 24-year-old qualified in the 100 for the US Olympic Team after running a 10.71, the fastest time in the world this year.
We all mistakes, of course, and I’m happy to see Richardson showing by example that we don’t have to let those mistakes define us.
Overcoming all hurdles
There’s no doubt about it, American Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone is going to be a menace in the hurdles.
After breaking the World Record in the 400 hurdles for the fifth time at the US Olympic Trials with a time of 50.65, it would be foolish to think anyone other than McLaughlin-Levrone is the favorite to win the Olympic race.
With hurdles times that rival those of even elite sprinters, you have to wonder if we’ll be seeing McLaughlin-Levrone on the track for an event that doesn’t involve clearing obstacles. Her time in the open 400, by the way, is 48.75, currently the fastest in the world.
1 STEP BACK, 3 STEPS FORWARD
The student has finally overtaken the master.
Greencastle-Antrim grad Hayden Parks has long been within striking distance of taking the Firecracker 5K in Waynesboro, but one man has consistently stood in his way: Blue Devils assistant coach Kyle Phillips.
For two years running, Waynesboro’s Phillips had been the champion, but that all changed on Fourth of July when the 18-year-old Parks conquered the field of 377 runners with a time of 16:11. Phillips finished second in 16:40 and was joined in the Top 10 by fellow Waynesboro runners Will Campbell (5th in 17:56), Devin Barger (7th in 18:38), and Chad Vaughn (10th in 18:49), as well as Greencastle’s Noah Parks (8th in 18:43).
Other top runners from the Firecracker 5K include Waynesboro’s Noah Hoxie (18:57), Clay Foreman (19:05), Noah Bockstie (19:09), and Bella Ruefle (22:07), Greencastle’s Nate Snyder (20:12) and Katie Buckwalter (24:25), and Hagerstown’s Will Marquiss (19:57).
Another race on July 4, the Greg Shank Memorial 5K in Williamsport, Md., saw Smithsburg’s Jonah Smith defeat the field of 116 runners with a time of 16:50. He was chased by Smithsburg’s Rob Hovermale (19:40), as well as Hagerstown’s Jamie Wisz (21:46) and Bob Holsinger (23:23), and Chambersburg’s Landon Michalak (23:00).
More than 90 runners gathered in Chambersburg for the Tim & Susan Cook Memorial Mile, with Aiden Alleman and Lindsay Bingaman leading the show. Alleman, from Chambersburg, won the men’s race in 4:32 to defeat a field that included Chambersburg’s Samuel Kinton (2nd in 4:43), Brodyn Hebert (3rd in 4:47), Julian Clark (4th in 4:48), and Boston Vincenti (5th in 4:56). Greencastle’s Bingaman finished atop the women’s race in 5:32, leading a group that included Chambersburg’s Natalie Quinn (3rd in 5:47), Christina Herman (4th in 4:48), and Ellianna Rife (5th in 5:58).
Ella Blanco put her running, swimming, and riding talents on display at the Hagerstown Sprint Triathlon. The Hagerstown triathlete was the top finisher from the Local.News area, clocking a 1:01:09 to win the 14-19 AG. Blanco was followed by Hagerstown’s Maria Kramer (1:01:10), Ethan Downie (1:03:12), Jared Myers (1:06:33), and Chambersburg’s Jeffrey Stone (1:01:57).
A number of others were active in races across the region, including Fayetteville’s Wing Lam Cheung (6:44 at Midsummer Nights Mile), Greencastle’s Mark Taylor (1:37:47 at Arts Festival 10 Miler), Chambersburg’s Roque Zubia (22:04 at Rehoboth Beach Firecracker 5K), Emily Coffman (29:22 at Battle for Independence 5K), Mason Rodriguez (40:55 at Ephrata Firecracker 5 Miler), and Heather Herman (4:30:33 at Xterra EX2 Triathlon), and Hagerstown’s Mike Stutts (38:55 at Pirate 5K; 36:55 at Ninja 5K), Jane Jabuisson (1:05:32 at Autism Speaks 5K), and Jake Gates (1:22:01 at Boilermaker Road Race 15K).
And finally, a shoutout to Hagerstown’s John Brown, who finished eighth in a field of 184 with a time of 1:05:23 at the Diamond in the Rough Sprint Triathlon in Perryville, Md.
And now, a look ahead:
Great Appalachian Valley 5K/10K/Half Marathon: Saturday, 8 a.m., in Shippensburg. Run on a flat, fast trail through the lush, scenic countryside in this race. Register on runsignup.com.
On the Rocks 50K: Saturday, July 27, 7 a.m., in York. Rocky Ridge County Park will serve as the backdrop for this race, and like the name suggests, prepare yourself for rolling hills filled with rocks. Find the race on ultrasignup.com.
Chuck Lesher 5K: Saturday, July 27, 8:30 a.m., in Shippensburg. With this race, you can burn off those corn dogs and funnel cakes from the Shippensburg Fair before you even purchase them. Check out the event on timberhilltiming.com.
Also: Summerfest 5K (Saturday, in East Berlin); Viking 5K/10K (Saturday, in Akron); Allegro Wine Run 5K (Sunday, in Stewartstown); Presque Isle Half Marathon (Sunday, in Presque Isle); Quadzilla 15K Trail Race (Sunday, in Schnecksville); Conquer the Canyon Marathon Race Festival (Saturday, July 27, in Wellsboro); Kinzua Half Marathon (Saturday, July 27, in Mount Jewett); Lost Turkey Trail Races 13.1M/50K (Saturday, July 27, in Imler); Luau 1M/5K/10K (Saturday, July 27, in Manheim); Luau 1M/5K/10K/15K/Half Marathon (Saturday, July 27, in Hughesville); Tommy Laudani Delone Dash 3K/5K (Saturday, July 27, in Hanover); Double Trouble 15K/30K (Sunday, July 28, in Elverson); Run for the Elk Marathon Race Festival (Sunday, July 28, in Emporium); Run with the Deer Flies 15K/25K (Sunday, July 28, in Penn Run).
