Free Republic

The Persian plans were intelligently and carefully conceived, as they usually were, but they were foiled by the genius of Miltiades who followed the military maxim pour les vaincre il faut de l'audace, encore de l'audace, toujours de l'audace. The Persians knew that after the withdrawal of the cavalry they were exposed to an Athenian attack, but they must have calculated that if this attack was launched they could embark their infantry and sail off before the Athenians reached the shore. At a normal pace it would take about 15 or 20 minutes for the Athenian hoplite formation to advance...

The Chinese communist regime announced on May 23 that 21 athletes, including China’s marathon champions, died at the Gansu ultramarathon due to the extreme weather.The death list includes Liang Jing, 31, China’s ultramarathon record holder, Huang Guanjun, 34, winner of the men’s marathon for hearing-impaired runners at China’s 2019 National Paralympic Games, and famous ultramarathon runners Huang Yinbin and Cao Pengfei.“All elite ultramarathon runners died,” a Chinese netizen wrote on Weibo on Sunday.From videos and photos that surviving sportsmen shot onsite and shared on social media, the athletes dressed in shorts were stuck in no man’s land and couldn’t procure...

Twenty-one people, including two of China’s top marathon athletes, died after freezing rain and high winds struck a 62-mile mountain race in northwestern China, local officials said Sunday. Liang Jing, 31, an ultramarathon champion, and Huang Guanjun, the winner of the men’s marathon for hearing-impaired runners at China’s 2019 National Paralympic Games, were among those found dead, according to state news media. The deaths prompted outrage in China, with online commentators questioning the preparedness of the local government that organized the race, held at Yellow River Stone Forest Park in Gansu province. Hours into the event Saturday, the weather suddenly...

The race — which hosts more than 50,000 runners from all over the world — had been set to celebrate its 50th anniversary in November. “While the marathon is an iconic and beloved event in our city, I applaud New York Road Runners for putting the health and safety of both spectators and runners first,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said.

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Four years ago, Molly Seidel wasn’t just the next big thing. She was the top female distance runner in the NCAA with four national titles and the Olympic Trials on the horizon. But instead of signing a splashy contract with a shoe company, Seidel was sidelined with a sacral stress fracture and watched the U.S. Olympic Track Trials from the stands at Hayward Field, where her Notre Dame teammate Dani Aragon gave her a reality check. “You look like you’re dying,” Seidel remembers her friend saying. “You need to get help.” The truth was, the fastest woman in the NCAA...

In most cases, if someone is sprinting away on their wedding day, it’s not a great sign. But David Ryland wasn’t a runaway groom in the traditional sense; he was just getting in one last race before tying the knot. Last September, Ryland, 26, and a handful of his best friends ran the Akron Marathon as a relay just hours before his wedding ceremony began. The Brecksville, Ohio, native was no stranger to the Akron Marathon, which he has finished twice as an individual as well as twice as part of a relay. As a competitive runner since his preteen...

Jeannie Rice is faster at 71 than she was at 70. In October 2018, she stunned the running community when she broke 3:30 for a marathon, running 3:27:50 in Chicago. On September 29, almost one year later, she broke her own 70–74 world record in Berlin, running 3:24:48. She averaged 7:49 per mile. Rice, who splits her time between Mentor, Ohio, and Naples, Florida, ran even splits most of the race. All her 5Ks were in the 23-minute range, until the 35-kilometer mark (about 21.7 miles). Then she slowed to a 26:34. “I faded the last 5K, but I knew...

Eliud Kipchoge has become the first athlete to run a marathon in less than two hours, although it will not count as a world record. Kipchoge was supported by 36 pacemakers who accompanied him in alternating groups, one of the reasons the IAAF will not ratify the time as a world record.

Just when we thought CNN couldn't get any more pathetic, they prove us wrong...again. The network on Tuesday announced their climate change town hall. The debate, scheduled for Sept. 4th will be seven hours long. Yes, seven hours. The reason? The network wants to give each of the 10 candidates ample time to respond to questions during this "unprecedented prime-time event." Each of the 10 candidates will be given 40 minutes to discuss their plans to address climate change. Hosts Wolf Blitzer, Erin Burnett, Anderson Cooper, Chris Cuomo and Don Lemon will act as moderators. Here's the schedule of events:...

Waving the Chinese national flag above her head, face ecstatic, Yao Miao sprints through thick, cheering crowds lining the streets of Chamonix, France. It’s September 2, 2018, and the 23-year-old runner is about to win one of the world’s premier mountain ultras—the 62-mile division of the Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc (UTMB). She crosses the finish line in 11 hours, 57 minutes, and 46 seconds. The second place woman, American Katie Schide, is more than 30 minutes behind her. Despite a race that’s infamous for its high-altitude passages and grueling weather conditions, Yao Miao’s stride and posture betray no signs...

Frank Meza, a South Pasadena, California, physician who was recently disqualified from the Los Angeles Marathon for not following race rules, was found dead on July 4 in a dry channel of the Los Angeles River, numerous outlets reported. Meza was 70 when he recorded a time of 2:53:10 at the Los Angeles Marathon on March 24 this year. His time was 90 seconds faster than the official age group world record for the distance, 2:54:48, set in 2004. Meza’s performance raised suspicions among those online who root out race cheaters, especially because Meza had already been disqualified twice from...

Walking through the Pittsburgh airport with his wife last October after a beautiful Hawaiian vacation, Matt Scoletti immediately felt the enormous shift that had happened in his hometown. The usual banter and laughter were gone, replaced by a heartbreaking heaviness. A huge sign that adopted the Pittsburgh Steelers logo read “Stronger Than Hate,” in response to the mass shooting in the city that occurred at the Tree of Life, Dor Hadash, and New Light House of Worship on October 27th. Scoletti stood in front of it, and a wave of resolve washed over him. “This was not only an attack...

When Perry Shoemaker crossed the finish line of the Eugene Marathon in 2:43:33, qualifying for the 2020 Olympic Marathon Trials, it was the realization of a dream she had pondered as a possibility since 2015. She had kept the goal quiet, sharing it only with those closest to her. She’s a runner, a mom, and a preschool teacher, and, well, she’s realistic. Sometimes things go according to plan. Other times they don’t, and that’s okay, too. Plus, she’s 48 years old, and she didn’t know how many chances she had left. For her to run the sub-2:45 she needed? Everything...

House Democrats plan marathon public reading of 448-page Mueller report; 'It's not a ploy,' lawmaker insists More than 20 House Democrats are planning a grueling 12-hour-long public reading of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report on the Russia investigation in its entirety, except for the redacted parts, on Thursday. At the forefront of the spectacle is Pennsylvania Democrat Mary Gay Scanlon, vice chairwoman of the House Judiciary Committee, who’s been rallying other Democrats to join her in the public reading of the report that found no collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign, though it also noted there are 10 instances...

Consisting of 140 miles through the Sahara Desert, the six-day Marathon des Sables in Morocco is one of the toughest races on earth. And this year, a dog has run almost the whole thing. Runners and organizers are calling the pooch Cactus, and he joined the legendary race midway through Monday’s second stage. Since then the dog has been inseperable from the rest of the pack, running alongside the people and holding up just as well as any of them.

After a six-year hiatus from running, Anne Mahlum got back into it big time, finishing up her goal of completing a marathon on every continent. Her last remaining one? Antarctica. She crossed that off her list on March 17, and she did it for a good cause: She ended up raising $102,927 for the New York City chapter of Back on My Feet, a nonprofit she had founded in 2007 that uses​ running and community to empower people experiencing homelessness. While Mahlum hadn’t laced up in six years, she wasn’t inactive. She had been busy growing her boutique fitness company...

In February, Bonnie VanDeraa approached the finish line of the Sweetheart 5K in Tulsa, Oklahoma. With a determined look in her eye, and loads of cheers from the crowd, she focused on putting one foot in front of the other. This race was a major milestone for her; it was the first she’d complete without the aid of a walker in more than a year. At that point, VanDeraa had been running for a little more than five years, starting after she signed up for that same race back in 2014 with a coworker. Following that, she completed a bunch...

If you’ve ever wielded a stroller carrying a baby while running, you know just how awkward and difficult it can be. You can’t swing both of your arms freely at once, your stride is sometimes cut short, and no matter how “lightweight” the stroller’s packaging promised it would be, it’s a beast to push up hills. Now imagine that you have to push not one, but five kids in one—and for 26.2 miles. That will give you an idea of what 37-year-old Chad Kempel experienced at the Surf City Marathon in Huntington Beach, California, on February 3. Kempel is a...

Julie Stackhouse’s goal last Sunday was to win the Donna Half Marathon, a popular race that weaves through the coastal communities of Atlantic Beach and Neptune Beach east of Jacksonville, Florida. Stackhouse, a Jacksonville local, had good reason to think she could break the tape—she’s won the race twice in past years, and has notched victories in the marathon and relay, too. But even before she came face-to-face with an aggressive dog, Stackhouse knew she wasn’t going to win. She estimates her canine encounter slowed her down only around 45 seconds in total, but her impressive finishing time of 1:25:54—enough...