Nairobi gets the 2029 Worlds, at 5,289 feet
Jonathan Gault says a fully peaked sprint field at 5,289 feet in Nairobi might be the best chance we get to see 9.58 and 10.49 go down. World Athletics just put its 2029 championships there, the first ever in Africa and the first at altitude.
Read the whole week in one goNgetich's world record, Almgren ends Africa's streak
The week's biggest
Nairobi lands 2029 Worlds, first in Africa and first at altitude
The Council awarded the 2029 World Championships to Nairobi and 2031 to Munich, from a field that also included London and Rome, per CITIUS MAG. Kasarani Stadium sits at about 5,300 feet, roughly 350 feet higher than Albuquerque, which Gault says makes it the best shot at the men's 100m and 200m records (9.58 and 19.19) and the women's (10.49 and 21.34), marks that have stood since 2009 and 1988. Chavez notes the calendar now runs Beijing 2027, the LA Olympics in 2028, Nairobi 2029 and Munich 2031, all September championships except the Games.
Getting all of the world's best sprinters, fully peaked, at a Nairobi Worlds at 5,289 feet of elevation in 2029 might be the best opportunity we get to see 9.58/19.19 and 10.49/21.34 broken.
This will be the first time the senior World Championships have been staged in Africa
Races and results
Merrie Mile will pay $15,000 to the winner, most of any US road mile
The 2026 Kalakaua Merrie Mile in Waikiki, set for December 12, will pay $15,000 to the winner, the largest first prize of any road mile in the United States, plus $20,000 bonuses for a world record. Money goes six deep on combined order of finish, $8,000 for second down to $1,000 for sixth, with a $5,000 bonus to the highest finisher who is not the same sex as the overall winner. Elite women get a head start on the men (31 seconds in 2025) and everyone is scored together on a World Athletics-certified, record-eligible course. Last year Sinclaire Johnson ran 4:21.7 to win overall, less than a second off the 4:20.98 world record.
The winner of the 2026 Kalakaua #MerrieMile will receive $15,000, the largest first-place prize of any road mile in the USA.
Shoes and fuel
On Cloudsurfer 3 lands heavy at 302g, TYR's $280 racer called unstable
On's Cloudsurfer 3 brings Surreal, the brand's first supercritical foam (foam blown with gas under pressure, lighter and bouncier), but it is heavy: kofuzi has it at 10.6 oz (302 g) in a US M9 and calls it a recovery-run shoe, not a speed shoe. Believe in the Run lists 45mm heel and 37mm forefoot, 8mm drop, $170 for fall, and grades it Design A, Value B, Performance C; the Run Testers had 305g in a UK 9 and put it in the bottom two thirds of your pace range. Prices conflict: kofuzi says $160 from September 24, Running Warehouse says $159.95 and February 2027. On race day, Doctors of Running measured the TYR Valkyrie Elite 2 at 5.3 oz (150 g), 40/34mm, $280, and liked the ride but not the stability; The Run Testers' Nick raced the Puma Fast-R Nitro Elite 3 to second at the Pleshey Half at around 5:25 per mile.
splits the difference between versions one and versions two. It's not too soft and it's not too firm
a dealbreaker for me for race day
the best shoe on the market I think for races very closely or you know more or less level with the ASX Met Speed Sky Tokyo.
Worth a glance
Gault: the 100m hurdles season just ended, and it was the greatest ever
Jonathan Gault posted that the 100m hurdles season is over and calls it the best the event has ever had. That is the whole of what the source says. The real story: the claim is one writer's verdict, not a result. Nothing in the sources explains what closed the season out, who ran what, or which races are left on the calendar. Nobody here says.
Gabby Thomas doubles down on her doping comments
Following her Budapest interview, Thomas said there is nothing controversial about her stance and that she has been saying it since 2021, pointing to high school coaches giving out substances and repeat offending agents. She also said if people want to make it about Star Athletics, that is on them.
Elite marathoner Felicia Pasadyn hit by a car while running
David Monti posted that Pasadyn, an elite marathoner and medical student, was hit by a car while running and shared her own description of her injuries. No timeline for her return has been given.
Run Rabbit Run 100 starts Friday with $20,000 to each winner
The Hares division goes at 1 p.m. Mountain time on September 18 in Steamboat Springs, over 101.5 miles with 20,391 feet of climbing, and iRunFar is covering it live for the first time since 2013. The forecast looks unusually rainy for September.