Dubbed ‘Professor Marathon’ by Ethiopian distance running icon Haile Gebrselassie, Sean Hartnett is the go-to-guy for all things marathoning. The American tactical and technical analyst offers us nine reasons why Olympic track champion Mo Farah will be a big hit when he makes his marathon debut in London next year.
Ahead of West Ham’s visit to Liverpool on Sunday, SPIKES catches up with pacy winger and former long distance runner Matt Jarvis, on the perils of mixing football and track; knocking it long to Usain Bolt and playing at the scene of Super Saturday.
Athletes competing in the 40th IAAF World Cross Country Championships on Sunday in Bydgoszcz, Poland, could face sub-zero temperatures. They should take care, because running on snow can seriously damage your health. Just ask British frostbite victim David Norman…
Ever worried about which spikes to wear? Well, ahead of Sunday’s World Cross Country Championships, two-time Eurocross champ Fionnuala Britton is here to reveal her secrets…
…it would be a disaster. But anyway, last week we posed this question on Twitter: what would you choose if athletics could have an extra Olympic discipline? Here are five of the best suggestions
Er… when we said: “set athletics on fire,” we didn’t mean…
Cross-country ace Fionnuala Britton talks exclusively to SPIKES about being in the form of her life, marathons and her plans for taking her success on the snow to the track…
The Bupa Great Edinburgh International Cross Country returns to the Scottish capital on Saturday (Jan 5) and SPIKES previews the action.
![The weekend in numbers
4500 – The number of metres above sea level at which the miracle mushroom Yartsa Gunbu is grown in the Himalayas. The fungus is highly sought after according to a new book released by Michael Yamashita. The Chinese believe the mushroom cures everything from Alzheimer’s to cancer. The mushroom was also cited by Chinese coach Ma Junren for being responsible for the success of his group of extraordinary athletes who ripped up the record books in women’s endurance running, most notably in 1993. [[MORE]]
1 – The number of times Linet Masai, the former World 10,000m champion, fell over an obstacle at the IAAF cross country permit event in Atapuerca, Spain. The mishap took place 600m from the finish. She was running shoulder to shoulder with eventual winner Hiwot Ayalew of Ethiopia at the time and the incident cost the Kenyan a tilt at victory in the women’s race.
6 – The number of times Barbora Spotakova was won the Czech Athlete of the Year award.
45 – Raymond Bett’s winning margin of victory in the 30th edition of the Athens Classic Marathon. Bett, of Kenya, won in a race record 2:11.35 on the same course as was used for the inaugural modern Olympic Games in 1896.](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mddessXHZS1rknz0jo1_400.jpg)
The weekend in numbers
4500 – The number of metres above sea level at which the miracle mushroom Yartsa Gunbu is grown in the Himalayas. The fungus is highly sought after according to a new book released by Michael Yamashita. The Chinese believe the mushroom cures everything from Alzheimer’s to cancer. The mushroom was also cited by Chinese coach Ma Junren for being responsible for the success of his group of extraordinary athletes who ripped up the record books in women’s endurance running, most notably in 1993.
