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Photos: 2016 Synchrony Financial Rock ‘n’ Roll Brooklyn Half Marathon

2016 Brooklyn Rock n Roll Half Marathon
Photo: Victah Sailer@PhotoRun

More than 17,500 runners took part in the 2016 Synchrony Financial Rock ‘n’ Roll Brooklyn Half Marathon on Oct. 8 in New York City’s most populous borough. Check out the scenes from the race in the gallery below!

RELATED: Fast Races and Fun Times at the 2016 Synchrony Financial Rock ‘n’ Roll Brooklyn Half Marathon

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2016 Synchrony Financial Rock 'n' Roll Brooklyn Half Marathon

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2016 Synchrony Financial Rock 'n' Roll Brooklyn Half Marathon

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2016 Synchrony Financial Rock 'n' Roll Brooklyn Half Marathon

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2016 Synchrony Financial Rock 'n' Roll Brooklyn Half Marathon

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2016 Synchrony Financial Rock 'n' Roll Brooklyn Half Marathon

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2016 Synchrony Financial Rock 'n' Roll Brooklyn Half Marathon

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2016 Synchrony Financial Rock 'n' Roll Brooklyn Half Marathon

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2016 Synchrony Financial Rock 'n' Roll Brooklyn Half Marathon

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2016 Synchrony Financial Rock 'n' Roll Brooklyn Half Marathon

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2016 Synchrony Financial Rock 'n' Roll Brooklyn Half Marathon

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2016 Synchrony Financial Rock 'n' Roll Brooklyn Half Marathon

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2016 Synchrony Financial Rock 'n' Roll Brooklyn Half Marathon

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2016 Synchrony Financial Rock 'n' Roll Brooklyn Half Marathon

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2016 Synchrony Financial Rock 'n' Roll Brooklyn Half Marathon

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2016 Synchrony Financial Rock 'n' Roll Brooklyn Half Marathon

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2016 Synchrony Financial Rock 'n' Roll Brooklyn Half Marathon

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2016 Synchrony Financial Rock 'n' Roll Brooklyn Half Marathon

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2016 Synchrony Financial Rock 'n' Roll Brooklyn Half Marathon

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2016 Synchrony Financial Rock 'n' Roll Brooklyn Half Marathon

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2016 Synchrony Financial Rock 'n' Roll Brooklyn Half Marathon

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2016 Synchrony Financial Rock 'n' Roll Brooklyn Half Marathon

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2016 Synchrony Financial Rock 'n' Roll Brooklyn Half Marathon

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2016 Synchrony Financial Rock 'n' Roll Brooklyn Half Marathon

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2016 Synchrony Financial Rock 'n' Roll Brooklyn Half Marathon

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2016 Synchrony Financial Rock 'n' Roll Brooklyn Half Marathon

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2016 Synchrony Financial Rock 'n' Roll Brooklyn Half Marathon

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2016 Synchrony Financial Rock 'n' Roll Brooklyn Half Marathon

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2016 Synchrony Financial Rock 'n' Roll Brooklyn Half Marathon

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2016 Synchrony Financial Rock 'n' Roll Brooklyn Half Marathon

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2016 Synchrony Financial Rock 'n' Roll Brooklyn Half Marathon

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2016 Synchrony Financial Rock 'n' Roll Brooklyn Half Marathon

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How to Watch and Follow the 2016 Chicago Marathon

Weather is predicted to be sunny and cool to mild for the 2016 Bank of America Chicago Marathon on Oct. 9. Photo: Courtesy of the Bank of America Chicago Marathon.

Live Coverage

The 2016 Bank of America Chicago Marathon will get underway on Sun., Oct. 9 at 7 a.m. CT. The race will be broadcast via livestream at nbcchicago.com from 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. If you’re in the Chicago area, NBC 5 Chicago complete live TV coverage on race day from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. On the radio, 670 The Score Sports Radio will provide complete live coverage on race day from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Tracking Runners

The Bank of America Chicago Marathon Mobile Application, Powered by Tata Consultancy Services is the perfect on-the-go guide for the 2016 Bank of America Chicago Marathon. The free mobile application includes everything you’ll need to be prepared for a great race experience, whether you’re running or cheering on friends and family.

The 2016 mobile application features live race-day runner tracking! Download the Mobile Application today by clicking the links below or searching Bank of America Chicago Marathon in the App and Google Play stores. To add registered participants to your race day tracking list, search their names and add them to your favorites. You can track up to 20 runners on race day through the Mobile Application.

Live race results

The most efficient way to stay updated on race day results is at chicagomarathon.com. The mobile-friendly race website allows spectators to view our race leaderboard and to follow friends and family by getting real-time updates and splits every 5K.

RELATED: Everything You Need to Know About the 2016 Chicago Marathon

RELATED: 5 Reasons the Chicago Marathon Rocks

The post How to Watch and Follow the 2016 Chicago Marathon appeared first on Competitor.com.

What You Need to Know About the 2016 Chicago Marathon

The 39th running of the Chicago Marathon gets underway at 7 a.m. local time on Sunday, Oct. 9. Photo: PhotoRun.net

The 39th annual Chicago Marathon gets underway at 7 a.m. CT on Sunday, Oct. 9 in downtown Chicago. The 26.2-mile course is flat and fast (with only one slight hill found in the final mile), sending about 40,000 runners through 29 neighborhoods.

The Chicago Marathon is one of the six World Marathon Majors, a series of the world’s best marathons. Also included in that group are the Boston Marathon, New York City Marathon, London Marathon, Berlin Marathon and Tokyo Marathon. It is the fourth-largest running race in the world with an average of about 39,000 finishers over the past five years.

RELATED: How to Watch and Track Runners in the 2016 Chicago Marathon

RELATED: View an Interactive Map of the Chicago Marathon Course

RELATED: How Steve Jones Became a Marathon Legend in Chicago

RELATED: 5 Reasons the Chicago Marathon Rocks

Musician Liz Anjos is Running the Chicago Marathon

Pop/electronic singer/songwriter Liz Anjos leads a life on the road. The 31-year-old who resides in Portland, Ore., is a vocalist for RAC, a popular electronic band fronted by her husband André Anjos. However, she’s also a sub-3-hour marathoner with a personal best of 2:59:22, an avid running blogger, and a personal running coach. And she hopes to PR again at the Chicago Marathon on Oct. 8.

RELATED: Music and Running Collide at the Chicago Marathon with RAC’s Liz Anjos

Comedian Rob Riggle is Running the Chicago Marathon

Riggle, 46, whose big-screen roles include “Step Brothers,” “The Hangover,” “The Other Guys” and “21 Jump Street,” is running his first marathon in 14 years despite a calf injury.

RELATED: Comedian Rob Riggle Serves Up Pre-Marathon Advice

Runner Returns to Chicago Marathon after Cardiac Arrest in 2015 Race

Richard Sikorksi last year on-course suffered a major cardiac arrest. He was revived, thanks to a fellow runner, Angie. She performed CPR. Only 8 percent of people who have that kind of cardiac incident survive. What are the chances, of all the days in the year, and all the times that Richard has gone out for a run, that his incident would occur while he was surrounded by more than 40K runners and 1 million spectators? Richard, after a quadruple bypass, has recovered and is running the 2016 marathon this year.

RELATED: Read About Richard Skiorski’s Story of Cardiac Arrest at the 2015 Chicago Marathon

International Chicago 5K

The inaugural International Chicago 5K was held on Saturday morning as a precursor to the marathon. Matthew Hudson of Waverly, Australia, was the overall winner in 15:15, while Priscilla Fristella of St. Louis was the women’s winner in 18:39.

RESULTS: International Chicago 5K

The Chicago Marathon has an annual economic impact of $277 million, according to a story in the Chicago Tribune. Nearly 39,500 runners took part in last year’s marathon, each spending an average of $566 per day, according to an economic impact report by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s Regional Economics Applications Laboratory that was commissioned by the Chicago Marathon. The race also drew roughly 1.7 million spectators.

Funny Stuff

Want to read a funny rant about the Chicago Marathon? Check out Mark Remy’s post on DumbRunner.com. Remy is able to whip up 27 funny anagrams from Chicago Marathon, including No. 21 Harmonic Taco Hag.

RELATED: DumbRunner’s 27 Anagrams of ‘Chicago Marathon’

Elite Fields

The Chicago Marathon is known for having one of the most competitive international marathons of the year and has a strong field again this year. Dickson  Chumba of Kenya leads the elite field with a 2:04:32 PR. American Luke Puskedra returns after a year in which he placed 5th at the Chicago Marathon, placed 4th in the U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon and then endured his 1-year-old daughter overcoming cancer. Florence Kiplagat (Kenya) is the top runner in the women’s field with a 2:19:44 personal best.

Course Records (Male): Dennis Kimetto – 2:03:45 (2013)




Course Records (Female): Paula Radcliffe – 2:17:18 (2002)

RELATED: Sambu Confident But Cautious About Marathon Debut

RELATED: Chicago Marathon Elite Field Info

History-Making Paralympian Tatyana McFadden is Racing Chicago Again

McFadden is a Russian-bornUnited States Paralympian athlete competing in the category T54. McFadden has won 10 Paralympic medals in multiple Summer Paralympic Games as well as numerous major marathons, including Chicago three times.

RELATED: Watch this recent clip of Tatyana on the Ellen Show

The post What You Need to Know About the 2016 Chicago Marathon appeared first on Competitor.com.

Confident But Cautious, Sambu Ready for Marathon Debut

Former University of Arizona star Stephen Sambu has run fast times at shorter distances, but he's taking a cautious approach to his first marathon. Photo: PhotoRun.net

(c) 2016 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved. Used with permission.

The conference room at the Chicago Hilton was noisy as reporters scrambled yesterday to chat up the elite athletes running Sunday’s Bank of America Chicago Marathon.  Most of the athletes looked nervous, unsure of what to say about their chances in what is America’s second-largest marathon, part of the Abbott World Marathon Majors.  They were definitely feeling the pressure.

But sitting quietly and looking calm was Kenya’s Stephen Sambu, who will make his debut at the 42.195 kilometer distance here.  Sambu, 28, a former NCAA star for the University of Arizona, will move out of his comfort zone of the 5-K to the half-marathon, the distance range over which he has recorded 18 road racing victories and 30 podium finishes since becoming a professional in the fall of 2012.  He saw stepping up to the marathon now as a natural progression of his career.  The time was right, he said.

“I decided because I’ve done a lot of half-marathons, like New York,” said Sambu who won the NYC Half last March, finished second in 2015, third in 2014 and seventh in 2013.  “I did New York, I don’t know, four or five times.  I was like, this is enough.  I just need to try the full one.”

Executive Race Director Carey Pinkowski recruited Sambu back in the spring, making him the first top athlete he announced for the race.  In the midst of doping crisis in Kenya, Pinkowski saw Sambu as both a trustworthy and talented athlete.

“The Bank of America Chicago Marathon has a long tradition of featuring the world’s best athletes making their marathon debuts right here,” Pinkowski said in a statement at the time.  “To have Stephen Sambu, a person with deep integrity on top of being a talented athlete, add his name to that legacy is truly exciting. He’s one of the most highly rated athletes on the road today who isn’t afraid to go to the well and put in the work. He loves the energy of racing in our city.”

Chicago has a history of fast debuts by Kenyan athletes, including a 2:05:50 by Evans Rutto in 2003 and a 2:06:54 by Ondoro Osoro in 1998.  Both marks were world debut records at the time.

Sambu cut back his racing schedule this year so that he could first try for the Kenyan Olympic team at 5000m (he ended up tenth in their Olympic Trials last June), and then be ready for Chicago.  He only ran one summer road race, the New Balance Falmouth Road Race last August, which he won easily by a 25-second margin over USA Olympian Leonard Korir.  He has stayed home in Arizona grinding out the miles under his longtime coach, James Li.  The training was challenging, he said, leaving his legs more tired than ever before.

“You know, when I did 40K I got massages because my legs were killing me everywhere,” Sambu explained, shaking his head.  “I didn’t have like injury, or anything.  My legs were, like, dead from long runs.”

Along the way, he got advice from training partner Abdi Abdirahman, a four-time Olympian and 2:08:56 marathoner who set his personal best in Chicago ten years ago.  Abdirahman counseled him to not overdo his long runs and, above all, be restrained during the race.

“Abdi told me about racing.  He told me, ‘Be careful, don’t go crazy,'” Sambu said.  He added: “You know, I’m just going to be very careful not to go crazy.  “This is a very long race.  So, my plan is to go at a comfortable pace maybe, almost, five minutes (per mile) at the beginning, or maybe 4:55, 4:50.  That’s my goal.”

Pinkowski abandoned pacemakers last year to try to foster better head-to-head competition.  That will make this year’s race doubly difficult for Sambu who will have to focus on controlling his pace and not getting caught up in any early breaks which are too quick.  However, prize money only goes 5-deep here ($100,000-75,000-50,000-20,000-20,000) so Sambu doesn’t want to get too far behind, especially if Chicago’s notorious winds kick up.

“I’m worried that, like, it might be so windy,” Sambu said.  He added: “The weather is going to be my worry, but I hope it’s going to be good.”

If he’s successful here on Sunday, Sambu said that he’ll focus on the marathon going forward.  It’s no secret that the marathon is the most lucrative distance in road running, but it is also the least forgiving and most competitive.  Sambu isn’t worried about that now.

“I’ll be a marathoner, yes,” Sambu said with a nervous laugh.  “That’s going to be my thing.”

The post Confident But Cautious, Sambu Ready for Marathon Debut appeared first on Competitor.com.

Music and Running Collide at Chicago Marathon with RAC’s Liz Anjos

Photo: Jon Duenas

Whether it’s on a bus touring the country or on her own two feet running as many races as she can, pop/electronic singer/songwriter Liz Anjos leads a life on the road.

The 31-year-old who resides in Portland, Ore., is a vocalist for RAC, a popular electronic band fronted by her husband André Anjos. However, she’s also a sub-3-hour marathoner with a personal best of 2:59:22, an avid running blogger, and a personal running coach. And she hopes to PR again at the Chicago Marathon on Oct. 8.

But running hasn’t always been the main priority in Anjos’ life. For a majority of it, music took center stage.

“When I entered college, that’s when running and music almost collided for me,” recalls Anjos who had been on her high school track and field team. “I was a piano major and I was a little worried on how time consuming that would be and about keeping up in school. So I ended up just not running at all.”

It wasn’t until her senior year of college that she missed running so much she asked the school’s coach if she could join the team. That was 2006 and ever since then, Anjos hasn’t stopped running. Nor has she stopped playing music either, and she’s gotten quite successful at both.

“From the very beginning, with that initial choice in college, I tried to separate them [music and running], but realized they have always been interconnected,” Anjos explains. “In both areas you are preparing yourself for a performance even though they are in two completely different worlds.”

VIDEO: Death Cab for Cutie’s Ben Gibbard is a Trail Running Rocker

When Anjos ran her marathon PR at the 2014 Philadelphia Marathon near her hometown, she had just finished being on tour with RAC a week before the race. That means in the midst of being on the road for months and waking up and performing in a new city almost every day, she somehow managed to fit in 60-mile training weeks and a couple of 20-plus milers despite the chaos and late nights of touring.

Running only seems to energize Anjos’ musical pursuits. “Maybe it’s the extra cardio from being on stage,” she jokes.

“I always feel better on the days that I run than when I don’t,” she adds. “It’s funny, I once tweeted about a run I did and someone responded with ‘Oh, you better not be tired for the concert I’m coming to tonight.’ And I thought, ‘Oh man, I better really bring it tonight!’”

Although Anjos got her big break in music performing with RAC, she’s recently been more focused on her own projects like her solo act Pink Feathers. Her first single was released in 2013 and she went on her first tour as Pink Feathers (with RAC) last spring. She calls her new sound “retro electro.”

Running-wise, Anjos’ focus is all on Chicago now. She’s been training to run a 2:55, but says that would be if everything went perfectly. Her secondary goal is to just beat her Philly time and PR.

The post Music and Running Collide at Chicago Marathon with RAC’s Liz Anjos appeared first on Competitor.com.

Salomon Running TV: Crossroads Peaks and Streets

Salomon Running TV’s latest episode follows professional ultrarunners Max King and Ellie Greenwood as they compete at the legendary Comrades Ultra-Marathon road race in South Africa and the breathtakingly beautiful trail race, the Marathon du Mont Blanc in France. For these two, no matter the terrain, it’s purely about having a deep passion for running and new experiences.

The post Salomon Running TV: Crossroads Peaks and Streets appeared first on Competitor.com.

Triathletes Strip Down for Annual Kona Underpants Run

Photo: Courtesy of Triathlete.com

You know it’s Ironman World Championships race week on the Big Island when you see hundreds of triathletes running the streets of Kona in nothing but their skivvies. In its 19th running, the Kona Underpants Run took place on Thursday, Oct. 6, and judging from this year’s photos there were plenty of colorful and cleverly themed undies to be seen. The run is much more than just a thrilling 1.5-mile jaunt in one’s underwear, though, over the years it has benefitted local organizations, and uses the proceeds from the event to give back to the community. Plus, it’s a fun way to blow off some pre-race jitters.

The Ironman World Championships will take place on Saturday, Oct. 8.

PHOTOS: 2016 Kona Underpants Run

MORE: The Story Behind the Kona Underpants Run

The post Triathletes Strip Down for Annual Kona Underpants Run appeared first on Competitor.com.

This Woman Will Be Running Her 50th Half Marathon in Brooklyn

Photo: Dan Cruz

Shortly before the start of Saturday’s Synchrony Financial Rock ‘n’ Roll Brooklyn Half Marathon, Gretchen Schoenstein will step into her corral. She’ll gab with the runners around her because she loves the race-morning electricity, loves hearing what motivates others to run.

She’ll recite the Serenity Prayer, the gun will sound and then she’ll take off on a 13.1-mile tour of the famed borough. And before reaching the party at Prospect Park, where she’ll celebrate with thousands, draping another stylish medal around her neck, the 44-year-old from Sonoma, Calif., almost certainly will cry. But, they will be tears of joy.

It was nearly 10 years to the day that Schoenstein was diagnosed with Sarcoidosis, an auto immune disease that attacks the joints and lungs.

To remind herself of the diagnosis she’ll look down at one of her shoes. Threaded through a shoelace will be the hospital bracelet from her eight-day stay when doctors finally discovered what was racking her body.

She’ll remember when the pain was so severe that it took her 20 minutes to get out of bed and walk to the bathroom. She’ll remember the courage it took to fight the fear of living with the disease. She stiff-armed that fear six years ago, running her first half marathon

Saturday will be her 50th half marathon, more than 40 of them Rock ‘n’ Roll races.

“It feels like a very honest sense of accomplishment and empowerment,” Schoenstein says. “The ability to come back from something and do the work. I’m not being handed this. I’ve had to put in the work physically, emotionally, and for me, spiritually.

“I’ve worked hard and I’ve earned this.”

Steroids and pain meds helped Schoenstein fight the disease. And while she was relieved when she learned about the diagnosis 10 years ago, she was also scared. Scared that if she pushed herself too hard physically her joints would swell, her lungs would become congested. So she tip-toed through life.

She’d hit the gym two, maybe three days a week and ease through workouts. Maybe 30 minutes on a treadmill or elliptical trainer. The occasional yoga class. But if the pain returned?

“I’d retreat,” Schoenstein says.

The fork in the road for her life turnaround came on New Year’s Eve, 2009. With the support of her male partner of nearly 10 years, she had decided to quit her job months earlier. Then on that New Year’s Eve, her partner broke off their relationship.

“I was in a freefall,” Schoenstein recalls.

She remembered years earlier, training for a 10K and the focus it gave her. And so in April of 2010, she ran the U.S. Half Marathon in San Francisco. Regarding the sense of accomplishment, she says, “It was, ‘Oh, my god. I can do this. I want to see if I can recapture this.’”

She ran five half marathons in 2010. A numbers fanatic, she ran 11 halves in 2011. The race to 50 was on.

“It’s not addicting,” says Schoenstein, an executive for a communications and behavioral-change company. “It’s incredibly empowering.”

The Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series is part of the lure. She raves about the organization. When talking about Rock ‘n’ Roll, she comes back to a three-letter word.

“It’s fun,” she says. “And it’s inclusive. Yes, they have elites. But I’m in tears seeing all the people running, all the shapes, sizes and abilities, giving it their all.”

She’s working on a book entitled “Finish Line Moments.”

“You can’t get fired from the finish line,” Schoenstein says. “You can’t get divorced from the finish line. You can’t go into debt from the finish line. When you cross that finish line, it’s yours. You can tap into that feeling at any time. You can feel that sense of accomplishment, that feeling of resilience.”

There have been setbacks along the journey. Since July she has seen eight doctors in an effort to fight intense abdominal pain, fatigue and shortness of breath.

“I’ve been reaching for my inhaler more than I used to,” she says. But she rocks on, jogging one step at a time.

When asked what moves her, Schoenstein said, “I’m not ready to give up. I have been so low so many times. Anybody out there would have said, ‘It’s fine. Give up. You have been through the ringer. It’s OK. Stay down girl.’

“I’ve given myself that permission to just let go. But I can’t. There’s something in me that I can’t give up. I’ve got to keep going. I know there’s something better. I know there’s something more.”

The post This Woman Will Be Running Her 50th Half Marathon in Brooklyn appeared first on Competitor.com.

Olympian Jared Ward Returns to the Road in Brooklyn

In Los Angeles, Ward earned his ticket to Rio as part of the U.S. Olympic Marathon Team. At Rio he placed 6th overall. Photo: Justin Britton

Of all the athletes taking part in this weekend’s Synchrony Financial Rock ‘n’ Roll Brooklyn Half Marathon, one elite runner on the start line should stand out: U.S. Olympian Jared Ward.

One of America’s best distance runners, the 28-year-old BYU graduate not only qualified for the U.S. Olympic Marathon team in Rio, but he finished in an amazing sixth place there. Clocking in at 2:11:30 for the 26.2-mile race, a personal record in far-from-ideal racing conditions.

For Ward, this weekend’s Brooklyn race is as much about the fun and seeing the “Big Apple” as it is about running fast.

“I’m excited to be in New York City, representing my nutrition sponsor and Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series partner GLUKOS Energy,”  Ward said. “There’s a special feeling about being here. It’s also a great race because I will get a gauge to see where my fitness is at.”

Ward, who’s coached by two-time-Olympic marathoner Ed Eyestone, says he’s been taking a bit of a break from the grueling speed work and tempo runs that he had to string together prior to Rio and has been re-building his base for the fall.

“I’ve been back at it for the past few weeks,” he said. “I’m certainly not in the best shape of my life, but I’m thrilled to race again.”

Ward admits that his impressive Olympic showing was in less than ideal conditions and is confident that there is much more in store for him.

“I want to get into a fast marathon in the next few years and see how fast I can run in better conditions,” he said. “But there are still things I want to do. I haven’t run the Boston Marathon or the New York City Marathon. I want to build these types of races into my calendar for the next few years.”

Specifically, however, Ward isn’t fully committed to his next 26.2-mile race. He says he and Coach Eyestone are looking into perhaps a spring 2017 marathon, but aren’t sure yet. In fact, he says he believes he has unfinished business on the track and would like to see what he can do on the oval.

Still, the roads have a place in Ward’s heart. “The road running world is so fun, because they close down the street and I get to tour these cities while I race,” he says. “It’s a fun way to see America.”

This weekend won’t be his first Rock ‘n’ Roll event, but it is his first one in Brooklyn.

“The Rock ‘n’ Roll races do an incredible job of bringing the experience to the runner,” said the Olympian. “When I ran Seattle earlier this year, I was blown away with how everything felt along the way—from the start line to the bands, to the community outreach, to the finish. They do a great job of delivering the race to the runners.

“They also have GLUKOS Energy on course, which is a huge benefit to the participants. The GLUKOS Energy Gel I took in my last 5K of the Olympics helped me move up and finish my race strong.” GLUKOS Energy is the Official Gel & Gummies of the Rock ’n’ Roll Marathon Series, which will be available for all participants at mile 9.2.

Pace-wise, Ward hopes to run around 65:30 this weekend. He says he’s in a “building phase” and will be pleased going out at the kind of tempo he ran in the Olympic Marathon.

“I’ve been running, but haven’t done the type of workouts to make me sharp, so I will be happy with anywhere in the 65 to 66-minute range,” he said.

Joining Ward in Brooklyn will be a contingent of local elite runners who should make Ward’s victory far from assured. Tadesse Dabi, a 27-year-old Bronx resident is a local ace, having placed top two in all the New York Road Runner races he’s entered this year. Dabi has been excelling at distances shorter than the half marathon, having set personal bests in the mile, 5K and 10K all this year.

Also in the mix on Saturday is Tekeste Nekatibeb who lives and trains in the region. The 36-year-old, who owns a 1:02:12 personal best in the half marathon, won the NYRR Bronx 10 miler last month.

TheSynchrony Financial Rock ‘n’ Roll Brooklyn Half Marathon starts on Saturday, Oct. 8 at 7:00 a.m. The course will begin outside the iconic Brooklyn Art Museum and head out along the city’s tree-lined Eastern Parkway then back on Kingston Avenue in the first two miles. Between the second and third mile, participants will make a left onto Washington Avenue and get some great visuals of the fall foliage in Prospect Park on their right.

Organizers have made several other key improvements to the participant experience. Additional security screening checkpoint entrances have been added for a quick and easy entrance into the corrals. To minimize the stress of finding a bathroom before the start, more than 210 porta-pottys have been added to the start line village. Lastly, the gear check area has been moved closer to the start line in Grand Army Plaza, for easy access to drop off items participants will need post race.

In true Rock ‘n’ Roll fashion, more than 20 entertainment stages will line the race route, concluding with a celebratory finish line festival and post-race Toyota Rock ‘n’ Roll Concert Series headlined by Brooklyn band, Here We Go Magic at the Nethermead in Prospect Park.

The post Olympian Jared Ward Returns to the Road in Brooklyn appeared first on Competitor.com.

Sweet Kicks: Fall 2016 Special Edition Running Shoes for Kona, Chicago and New York

For the past decade or so, running shoe brands have been creating special makeups of some of their popular models to sell at the world’s biggest marathon and triathlon race expos. Here are some of the shoes that will be available in time for the Ironman World Championships (Oct. 8), Chicago Marathon (Oct. 9) and New York City Marathon (Nov. 6) this fall. Most are being sold in limited quantities at the respective race expos, select retail shops in those regions and each brand’s online channels.

 

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Hoka Clayton Kona, $150

Designed with a orange and yellow Hawaiian floral motif.

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Newton Aha Kona, $125

A brilliant red upper with a stylish Hawaiian pattern.

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Saucony Chicago Kinvara 7, $120

Representing the Chicago flag with a blue, black, red and white color scheme and six-pointed stars.

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Nike LunarGlide 8 Chicago 2016 (women), $130

The four red six-pointed stars on the Chicago flag represent four historic events in the city: the founding of Fort Dearborn in 1803, the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893, and the Century of Progress Exposition of 1933–34.

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Newton Aha Chicago, $125

Highlighting the grand Chicago skyline.

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Saucony Chicago Kineta Relay, $80

Playing off the Chicago flag with blue, white and black upper details, plus red stars off the back.

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Nike LunarGlide 8 Chicago 2016 (men), $130

This fall, the Cubs are in the Hunt for Red October and a lot of fans take the Red Line train to Wrigley Field, a route that also passes through the Chicago Marathon course.

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New Balance Vazee Pace 2 NYC, $120

The inspiration for this shoe plays off the age-old “city that never sleeps” theme. The words "Always Running NYC" are printed on the footbed.

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Brooks Gray Lady Adrenaline GTS 17, $130

The shoe is inspired by NYC newspapers, newsprint and classic crossword puzzles and it captures the true essence of New York and its cultural landmarks and boroughs.

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Altra Torin NYC, $130

This shoe highlights the graffiti art and the concrete jungle of urban New York City.

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Saucony NYC Kinvara 7, $120

The popular Kinvara 7 has been decked out with a a data-influenced grid pattern inspired by Wall Street.

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New Balance 860 v7 NYC, $135

The graphic on the outsole and collar liner are inspired by the high-level view of the city, the graphic nature of the roads and transportation; another nod to the constant movement within the city. There are a lot of bright reflective elements to provide safety features when running at night because NYC is always running.

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Saucony NYC Triumph ISO 3 NYC, $160

The newest edition of the Triumph ISO has been tweaked a bit and this one sports a data-influenced grid pattern inspired by Wall Street.

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Brooks Gray Lady Adrenaline GTS 17, $130

The footbeds of the Brooks Gray Lady are reproductions of classic crossword puzzles.

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