TribLIVE's Daily and Weekly email newsletters deliver the news you want and information you need An estimated 23,000 runners showed up Sunday morning to run the 2025 Pittsburgh Marathon and Half Marathon The 26.2-mile and 13.1-mile races wound up Thousands of spectators lined the streets to cheer on the runners Stay up-to-date on important news from TribLIVE 1-800-909-8742 © 2025 Trib Total Media | All Rights Reserved About Us Advertise Career Opportunities Contact Advertising Contact Circulation Contact Newsroom Contact Us Feedback Request Correction Resource Center Scholarship Opportunities Send Letter to the Editor Send News Tip Subscribe Subscriber Services Blog eFeatures Email Newsletters eTrib Facebook Home Delivery Instagram LinkedIn Marketing Minute Store Locations TribLIVE App - App Store TribLIVE App - Google Play X (formerly Twitter) Arts & Entertainment Best of the Best Business Directory Circulars Contests Coronavirus Lifestyles Local News YaJagOff Obituaries Opinion Our Publications Photos Real Estate Sports Video Weather Cookie Settings Privacy Policy Terms of Service It’s official: runners at the 2025 London Marathon were slower than last year average finish times for the London Marathon across every gender and generation dropped noticeably in 2025 compared to 2024 everyone crossed the line a little later this time around; in some cases Strava which tracked uploads from more than 60% of 2024’s 54,000 finishers and is used by over 150 million athletes worldwide has been keeping a close eye on how people prepare for (and perform in) one of the world’s biggest marathons The platform’s race-day and training insights offer a unique lens on the current state of running they reveal a clear trend: 2025 runners simply didn’t keep pace Strava reports that more than half of this year’s participants bonked which a term for a 10% or greater drop in pace during the second half of the race while the 5th kilometre was the fastest of the whole route That suggests a lot of runners went out too hard and struggled to hold on From weather and pacing errors to demographic shifts and training habits here are six possible reasons why London Marathon 2025 turned out to be a slower slog for so many runners and the difference between the two years ' finish times exemplifies this home and active products from the T3 experts the race day began with temperatures around 10–11°C in the morning temperatures rose to approximately 22–23°C by mid-afternoon While these conditions were pleasant for spectators especially those on the course during the peak heat hours the 2024 London Marathon experienced cooler temperatures These cooler conditions are generally more conducive to endurance running allowing for better performance and reduced risk of overheating Strava says the 5th kilometre was the fastest of the race Add that to the fact that over 50% of runners 'bonked' (slowed down by 10% or more in the second half) and it’s clear that pacing strategies went out the window this year with marathon participation up 14% over the past five years but it may also mean a field with more newcomers charity runners and people just aiming to finish Or maybe it was just a rough day for the 30–50 crowd runners who trained with others were significantly less likely to bonk (29% vs 45%) With social running and club participation up 64% in the UK last year it’s clear that those who tapped into group energy had the edge Strava hasn’t confirmed this year’s cross-training stats yet it could explain the fade in performance and late-race fatigue one thing’s clear: 2025 wasn’t a PB year for most it was a tough day out for thousands pounding the streets of London The marathon is still a massive achievement and there's always next year to chase that sub-4 Maybe not at the London Marathon with its 2% success rate of getting in due to overapplication but there are plenty of other long-distance races to choose from such as the European Specialist Sports Nutrition Alliance's ESSNawards you'll find him roaming the countryside and trying out new podcasting and content creation equipment you will then be prompted to enter your display name News | UK More than a million people have applied to run the 2026 London Marathon in what organisers say is a new world record A total of 1,133,813 people have asked to enter the TCS London Marathon on Sunday April 26 next year Organisers said the total shattered last year’s world record total of 840,318 applications for the 2025 TCS London Marathon “This is an absolutely staggering total which reaffirms London as by far the most popular marathon on the planet,” said Hugh Brasher “Marathon Day is always an extraordinary and inspirational day when we celebrate the very best of humanity “The unique camaraderie of the event and the amazing support from the huge crowds show London at its best and this year was the best yet.” Applications for the 2026 race have increased by 36% from last year and are nearly double the total for the 2024 London Marathon There were nearly equal numbers of male and female UK applicants in the public ballot The total number of UK applications for 2026 was 869,803 of which 49.87% were men’s (433,775 applications) 49.55% were women’s (430,983 applications) and 0.58% were from non-binary applicants (5,044 entries) There were a further 264,011 applications from non-UK residents in the international ballot This year’s London Marathon event also broke a Guinness World Record (GWR) for the largest number of finishers Armed forces parade overnight through London in VE Day dress rehearsal Ukrainian troops to join London procession to celebrate VE Day anniversary Zoe Ball to make BBC Radio 2 comeback after breakfast show departure Enter the AXA Startup Angel competition to win £25,000 A total of 56,640 participants crossed the finish line beating the 55,646 set by the TCS New York City marathon in November 2024 Mr Brasher said: “Breaking the Guinness World Records title for the largest number of finishers in a marathon “We also had a record number of children and young people take part in the 40th edition of the TCS Mini London Marathon the day before when more than 15,000 children took part in the mass event on The Mall.” 41 other GWR titles were broken from 87 attempts including a participant dressed as a traffic cone The ballot for the 2026 TCS London Marathon closed at 4pm on Friday Prince Louis steals the show at VE Day parade as he keeps dad William looking sharp and mimics brother George Prince Louis steals show with sweet antics at VE parade VE Day 2025 fashion: best looks from the day VE Day 2025 fashion: Princess of Wales to Lady Victoria Starmer Ukraine 'launches stunning Kursk offensive' in major blow for Putin ahead of Victory Day celebrations Ukraine 'launches stunning Kursk offensive' in blow for Putin Stacey Solomon 'regrets doing reality show with Joe Swash' for tough reason Stacey Solomon 'regrets reality show with Joe Swash' for tough reason Rihanna shows off baby bump at star-studded Met Gala 2025 as singer's third pregnancy with A$AP Rocky announced Rihanna debuts baby bump on star-studded Met Gala blue carpet ShareSaveCommentInnovationGamingThe Final ‘Marathon’ Closed Alpha Review: How Did It Go?ByPaul Tassi Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights movies and the internet.Follow AuthorMay 03 We are just 24 hours away from the end of the Marathon Closed Alpha a controversial outing for Bungie’s first new (well What was originally supposed to be an NDA-ed Alpha turned into one that ditched those NDAs seemingly to move past a recent gameplay showcase that many deemed underwhelming how did players getting hands-on with the game go I think there are two things to break down here namely the content of the Alpha itself and how it felt and then the larger reaction and story coming out of the Alpha in terms of impressions and reception while yes more action-focused extraction shooter than other entries in the genre This means attempting to please both existing extraction players and trying to pull in new players but splitting the difference has produced mixed results but it doesn’t exactly stand out if we’re talking about all-time shooter-maker Bungie and ran into controversy when PC players found they had intense aim assists where pushback was so forceful to that Bungie removed it entirely halfway through the Alpha More time is needed to see how that shakes out feel at least somewhat akin to Apex Legends fights “Hero” kits have special moves with long cooldowns but some have crazy bursts of mobility that don’t quite seem to connect with the style of play of the genre But “heat” stamina limits are a hard wall if you’re trying to make this a great-feeling Bungie actioner I don’t think the hero idea is a net positive for the game or a good twist on the genre and a custom character feels like it would have been the more engaging idea and this concept feels like it was jammed into the game because the Valorant director took over Unscramble The Anagram To Reveal The Phrase which make for solid sections of combat when other teams are not around can introduce a wild dynamic that makes things more intense I can see this expanded more broadly (though this also makes me wish this was a PvE extraction game like Helldivers The game is just brutal for solo players where future plans do not seem like they will meaningfully address that issue as the game relentlessly focuses on team games for launch Playing with randoms often results in counter-goals or teammates running off or dying easily Playing solo when everyone else is in 2s or 3s is a recipe to die when running into practically any other team so you’re just hiding and skulking around the entire time and this very much seems like a game you’re supposed to play with two friends or else you may not have a very good time at all But how often is that possible for many players The visuals are one aspect that are clearly unfinished but the exteriors and player models need an exceptional amount of work I still love the aesthetic even if it’s not quite what it’s been in Blender renders or cinematic trailers I expect this to improve pretty dramatically by launch can this sell the concept of an extraction shooter to players who have avoided the genre Getting in a death spiral of running into players loading into matches with stellar loot compared to default black market kits made many fights almost impossible Bungie has already started to try to narrow that gap but losing a farmed loadout every couple of games remains unappealing to me as does an end of season wipe erasing all of that plus your contract/upgrade progress even though it’s sort of necessary for the genre There is certainly something to be said about what’s missing the last of which promises to be some sort of higher-end endgame map and the whole game supposedly has more secrets to find when it’s live So that’s certainly worth circling back around for and once again the reception to this Closed Alpha was not positive but taking the temperature of the gaming community demonstrated the core components of the game Other players did not because…they were not given codes This was immensely frustrating for a huge portion of players hundreds of thousands attempting to get codes in a Discord That bodes well for interest for the beta or launch but it resulted in a lot of people angry at Bungie and new code waves that went out barely seemed to move the needle The trendlines haven’t been great over the course of the Alpha The literal numbers do not matter given that the Alpha is in fact closed The game quickly sunk to around 20% of its launch players and stayed there high profile streamers were very interested in giving it a shot but almost immediately moved on within a day or two and few were raving about it Twitch viewership was somewhere in the range of 1-6K These figures are not the end-all be all of success but I wouldn’t say they’re positive indicators of sentiment existing extraction shooter players thought the game was too dumbed down to be something that improved the genre A lot of casuals were turned off by the entire extraction shooter concept of losing loot or unbalanced fights Geared up players got bored of stomping on default kit players default kit players got tired of being stomped on There was of course a middleground of players who did like the game and are excited for it but this was not the majority view I found across social media ARC Raiders arrived a few days ago at the worst possible time for Marathon It is a much more traditional extraction shooter in the vein of Tarkov making it at least a little more accessible seeming ready for release despite it also being a Closed Alpha and kept extraction concepts in place Bungie didn’t solo play and just the general feel of the genre The reaction to that Alpha was visibly more positive than to Marathon’s but this does not seem like it’s going to be enough to convert me personally into an extraction player even if I plan to still put a lot of time in at launch (granted It will be the first Bungie game I’m not going to be heavily engaged with though knowing this type of game was coming as there is so much potential here with this world Reaction to the gameplay showcase was negative and attempting to prove that wrong with a hands-on Alpha seemed like it cemented that narrative more than it didn’t It feels like it’s splitting the difference between multiple genres but not doing anything better than each of them It felt like there was pretty clear interest drop-off quickly among most players who did have access I cannot buy the idea that this was “just” a Closed Alpha as this was a large chunk of content and at its core The Open Beta will be a better judge of sentiment with way more players poking around but the idea that at the end of this road players will be asked to play $40 is daunting That may not be the solution for all its issues but racing toward a September release just five months from now does not seem wise given what we’re seeing here PRAGUE -- Lemi Berhanu Hayle of Ethiopia won the Prague international marathon for the second straight year on Sunday while his compatriot Bertukan Welde claimed the women's race pulled away from Felix Kipkoech of Kenya before the 30-kilometer mark and cruised unchallenged to clock 2 hours He became the first runner to defend his title in the 30 editions of the race Tetsuya Yoroizaka of Japan was third in 2:09:10 Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com running hand in hand with her daughter Breanna Jennifer Pevec crossed the finish line of the 2025 Toronto half-marathon wearing carbon-fibre leg braces and a wide smile on her face.Laura Proctor/The Globe and Mail Jennifer Pevec had been batting away the warning signs for months: the bone-deep fatigue But as she neared the finish line of her second marathon she lost feeling in her right leg and started tripping over her own feet Soon after, Ms. Pevec was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis she had to step away from a high-intensity career in marketing communications that she loved She was in pain and regularly cried in the hours between dropping off and picking up her two small children And running was no longer possible; her doctors said she would need a wheelchair within five years she did something she never could have imagined back in those dark early days – she celebrated the 20th anniversary of her MS diagnosis by lacing up her white running shoes to race in the 2025 Toronto half-marathon Jennifer Pevec celebrated the 20th anniversary of her MS diagnosis by running in the 2025 Toronto half-marathon It was her 16th half-marathon since she was told her running days were over has also since competed in 16 full marathons four triathlons and seven three-kilometre open-water swims “In my wildest dreams I couldn’t have thought that I would be where I am today,” she says you would not expect to be better than you were 20 years ago Pevec has the relapsing-remitting form of MS characterized by symptom flare-ups followed by periods of remission she was determined to attack her disease with the latest and most aggressive drugs she could get her hands on her journey has also mapped onto a remarkable 20-year period of explosive progress in the MS landscape which has seen game-changing shifts in understanding and treating the disease MS is a chronic neurological disease where the immune system attacks the protective sheath covering nerve fibres disrupting communication between the brain and the rest of the body Canada has one of the highest MS rates worldwide Symptoms and disease progression can be variable and unpredictable; some people only experience mild symptoms while others eventually lose the ability to walk or speak especially for treating the progressive forms of the disease But walkers and wheelchairs are no longer a given for MS patients who now have more than 20 disease-modifying drugs available to them Pevec's 16th half-marathon since she was diagnosed with MS.Laura Proctor/The Globe and Mail Pevec only had four therapies to choose from director of BARLO Multiple Sclerosis Centre at St was still a neurology resident at the time and recalls the dark euphemism her classmates used for MS and other neurological diseases: “diagnose and adios.” It’s such a depressing field because there’s no treatments,” she recalls “But I don’t think some of my other classmates … have had this experience which is to see a field completely change in front of your eyes.” The first disease-modifying therapy for MS was approved in Canada in 1995 It belonged to a class of drugs known as immunomodulators a professor of neurology at the University of Ottawa and senior scientist with the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute “They trick the immune system back to not attacking the brain,” he says Early trials of immunomodulators showed they reduced relapse rates by 18 per cent to 34 per cent was an immunomodulator that had to be injected into her thigh muscle and left her flattened for days with debilitating flu-like symptoms “It was just a vicious circle of pain and discomfort and then anticipation of doing it all over again,” she said the immunomodulators were just buying her time until she could get natalizumab a next-generation MS drug she’d read about online it offered “an apparent doubling of efficacy” for reducing relapses according to a 2022 paper in The Lancet Neurology Oh recalls that some even speculated it might be a cure But “initial euphoria regarding this breakthrough turned to despair,” the Lancet paper says also put some patients at risk of developing an often-fatal brain infection Natalizumab returned in 2006 with a risk evaluation and mitigation strategy in place Pevec was among the first patients in line for it The drug Tysabri ushered in a new life for Ms as it allowed her to start running again.Laura Proctor/The Globe and Mail which was covered by her public and private insurance Pevec visited a clinic every month to receive her hour-long infusion she was walking her dog when she suddenly realized she was no longer tripping over her own feet she broke out into a run; she didn’t stop for 12 minutes “I got home and it was as if I had won the Olympic gold,” she says with a laugh MS was no longer the first and last thing she thought about every day She ramped up her volunteering and started working part-time jobs her risk of developing dangerous complications became too high her doctor had more than a dozen other therapies to offer including pills that could be taken at home Oh calls “the renaissance period of treatment of MS.” “Literally every year or two we started getting new treatments available,” she says A new class of “cell-depleting” therapies had also arrived and “proved to be game-changers,” according to the Lancet paper Pevec opted for one of the newer therapies It carried a high risk of side effects and required two rounds of multiday infusions at the hospital she switched to an even newer drug that can be self-injected monthly – her fifth MS therapy to date Pevec's medal after she and her daughter finished the half-marathon together She is grateful for the therapeutic advances that have given her 20 years of full and active living – and running.Laura Proctor/The Globe and Mail researchers have made huge strides toward better understanding MS and doctors no longer wait to start treatment “This completely changes long-term outcome,” she says “Even a year of a delay in treatment can change how you’re doing five to 10 years down the road.” But she’s grateful for the therapeutic advances that have given her 20 years of full and active living – and running she crossed the finish line of the 2025 Toronto half-marathon wearing carbon-fibre leg braces and a wide smile on her face Report an editorial error Report a technical issue Editorial code of conduct Authors and topics you follow will be added to your personal news feed in Following Jennifer Yang covers health science for The Globe and Mail a beat that aims to demystify medical research and connect it to our everyday lives Jennifer strives to capture and communicate the wonders of scientific discovery while also highlighting the people at the heart of these stories Jennifer's journalism has earned her multiple nominations and awards, including a National Newspaper Award for her explanatory piece on the 2010 Chilean mining disaster Jennifer now lives in Toronto with her husband and two daughters Welcome to The Globe and Mail’s comment community. This is a space where subscribers can engage with each other and Globe staff. Non-subscribers can read and sort comments but will not be able to engage with them in any way. Click here to subscribe If you would like to write a letter to the editor, please forward it to letters@globeandmail.com. Readers can also interact with The Globe on Facebook and Twitter Welcome to The Globe and Mail’s comment community This is a space where subscribers can engage with each other and Globe staff We aim to create a safe and valuable space for discussion and debate If you do not see your comment posted immediately it is being reviewed by the moderation team and may appear shortly We aim to have all comments reviewed in a timely manner Comments that violate our community guidelines will not be posted UPDATED: Read our community guidelines here We have closed comments on this story for legal reasons or for abuse. For more information on our commenting policies and how our community-based moderation works, please read our Community Guidelines and our Terms and Conditions crosses the finish line Sunday at the half-marathon at Eisenhower Park in East Meadow DeWitt Jones ran his first half-marathon at the Long Island Marathon in 1985 and has competed in it almost every year since he ran it with his two adult sons by his side and they think about the Long Island Marathon "And hopefully they will continue the tradition with their kids." Jones, an assistant basketball coach at Nassau Community College, and his sons, DeWitt II and Brandon, were among the thousands who ran in the marathon and half marathon Sunday that began and finished at Eisenhower Park in East Meadow. Sunday's events marked the end of race weekend at the park The weekend benefited the Nassau Parks Conservancy and Friends of Karen which provides advocacy and emotional and financial assistance to children with life-threatening illness runners crossed the finish line drenched in sweat and looking relieved and exhausted bagels and chunks of watermelon from race officials embraced their loved ones and wore medals around their necks politics and crime stories in Nassau County By clicking Sign up, you agree to our privacy policy Race watchers lined the route of the Long Island Marathon on Sunday did it to honor her late cousin Michael Shiel who died unexpectedly in October at age 35 About a dozen friends and family members joined Sticco on Sunday for the 13.1-mile race They raised more than $1,000 to donate to the animal shelter where Shiel had adopted his dog Sticco said she was thinking of Shiel as she started the race She wore a blue T-shirt — Shiel was a big New York Giants fan — bearing a picture of his face "It was very emotional in the beginning," said Sticco started running 20 years ago as a way to calm his newborn daughter who was colicky and would only sleep in her stroller 'You're the reason I run.' She was like I heard.' I repeat my stories apparently," Glick said fifty minutes — as he ran to help keep runners aware of their timing Ross said he viewed himself as something of a coach He would encourage those making good time to speed up and those who were who walking to start running again "There was one guy with me 23 miles from the beginning," Ross said I want you to take the last bit of energy you have.' " with a bushy gray beard and a black baseball cap framing his face a number of runners fist bumped Ross and thanked him including one man who spoke to him in Hebrew People sometimes call him the "Running Rabbi," Ross said he spoke of running as a metaphor for life "Not every day is going to be your day," Ross Joshua Needelman covers the Town of North Hempstead for Newsday A Long Island native and University of Maryland graduate his work has appeared in publications including The New York Times and The Washington Post Trump's influence on NY's future .. Get the latest news and more great videos at NewsdayTV Get more on these and other NewsdayTV stories The Newsday app makes it easier to access content without having to log in Unlimited Digital AccessOnly 25¢for 6 months Share on FacebookShare on X (formerly Twitter)Share on PinterestShare on LinkedInLINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) - The Lincoln Police Department was at the helm of keeping Sunday’s Lincoln Marathon running safe and smoothly but maybe the department’s most impressive presence at the event was a few of their own that crossed the finish line Around 7,000 people participated in the Lincoln Marathon and Half Marathon but a few took the task wearing a bit of a different uniform LPD investigators Jason Drager and Julia Sandman both spent some of their Sunday morning figuring out how to wear both their running bib and work vest as participants of the event adding difficulty to an already difficult task Drager’s reason for running was to raise awareness and funds for the Lincoln chapter of the first responder’s foundation Sandman took off in the first group of National Guard soldiers one of which was her son and walking partner Both said their officer training would likely come into play when pushing themselves towards the finish line “You have to have the mindset that you can’t quit,” Sandman said “You can’t fail and you just need to get finished one foot in front of another.” it’s approximately 20 to 25 pounds of gear,” Drager said until you actually do the real thing you don’t know what to expect Sandman and her son crossed the finish line with a time of three hours Click here to subscribe to our 10/11 NOW daily digest and breaking news alerts delivered straight to your email inbox May 5 // Central Division Semifinals – Game 2 // 7 p.m // Van Andel ArenaGRIFFINS at Texas Stars // Fri. May 9 // Central Division Semifinals – Game 3 // 8 p.m EDT // H-E-B Center at Cedar Park*GRIFFINS at Texas Stars // Sat. May 10 // Central Division Semifinals – Game 4 // 8 p.m EDT // H-E-B Center at Cedar Park (*If necessary)*GRIFFINS at Texas Stars // Mon. May 12 // Central Division Semifinals – Game 5 // 8 p.m EDT // H-E-B Center at Cedar Park (*If necessary) Listen: 96.1 The Game at 6:45 p.m Watch: AHLTV on FloHockey  2024-25 Regular-Season Series: 3-3-2-0 Overall All-Time Regular-Season Series: 45-32-7-5 Overall Home Promotions: $2 beers and $2 hot dogs; rally towels presented by Gun Lake Casino Resort; Cinco de Mayo celebration Game 1 Recap: The Texas Stars rode Remi Poirier’s 29 saves to a 4-0 victory over the Griffins on Tuesday in Game 1 of the Central Division Semifinals at Van Andel Arena The Stars scored two goals in the first and second periods before coasting to victory in the third Sebastian Cossa got the start in net but after 15 saves on 19 shots in 28:57 minutes former Texas Star Jack Campbell replaced him and finished with 11 saves on 11 shots in 30:36 of ice time The Griffins had won Game 1 in each of their last three playoff series and in seven of eight series dating to 2017 but the Stars handed the home team its second straight postseason shutout dating back to Game 5 of the 2024 Central Division Finals at Milwaukee The Griffins have been shut out in two straight playoff games for the first time ever - including Game 5 of the 2024 Central Division Finals at Milwaukee - after suffering their first home playoff shutout since Game 1 of the 2006 Western Conference Finals versus Milwaukee Grand Rapids’ scoreless postseason drought now stands at 128:27 going back to the third period of its 4-2 win over Milwaukee in Game 4 of the division finals on May 24 the Griffins have rallied to win two of four best-of-five series when trailing after Game 1 The six-day gap between Games 1 and 2 is the largest ever between the first two games of a Griffins playoff series The previous high of five days was set during Grand Rapids’ last playoff series the 2024 Central Division Finals against Milwaukee (Game 1 on May 15 in MIL Calder Cup Playoffs Debuts: During Game 1 last Tuesday seven Griffins made their Calder Cup Playoffs debut and Sandin-Pellikka (17th in 2023) are all recent draft picks of the Detroit Red Wings Keep the Faith: The last time the Griffins were shut out in the opening game of the playoffs or even Game 1 of a series Darcy Kuemper made 36 saves to lead the Houston Aeros to a 3-0 home win over Grand Rapids in Game 1 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals with the Griffins claiming Game 5 at home by a 7-0 count on May 4 outside Van Andel Arena fans can enjoy walking tacos concession stands will serve frozen margaritas and pour-over margarita specials and bars will be stocked with Topo Chico and Modelo The Consumer’s Credit Union Club Restaurant & Bar will also have margarita specials all night long Sunday's race kicked off at 14th and Vine Streets About 7,000 runners are expected to participate in either full or half marathon Be prepared for several streets to be closed for long stretches this morning, which you can learn more about here. You can also send your marathon photos to citydesk@journalstar.com to be included in our photo collection Running for Ryker: Lincoln mom honors late son by taking on full marathon Photos: Scenes from Sunday. Runners begin the 48th Annual Lincoln Marathon on Sunday on Vine Street in Lincoln Stick around for additional coverage of some of the sights sounds and faces from Sunday's 48th Lincoln Marathon The intersection of 12th and Randolph streets is now open to traffic The intersection of 56th Street and Normal Boulevard is now open to drivers Marathoners are working on the final 6 miles of the race The last of the half-marathon runners have officially crossed the finish line Full marathon runners have about 8 miles to go The tail of the full marathon was at mile marker 17 — approximately the intersection of Normal Boulevard and South Street Runners are still experiencing welcomed sunshine and temps that have approached the middle 60s The intersection of 10th and Van Dorn streets is now open Lincoln Police advise 13th Street is re-open for traffic Van Dorn and South 17th streets are now open to drivers The first female finisher of the full Lincoln Marathon has crossed the finish line and was all smiles A previous version of this stated the wrong winner due to technical issues at the marathon Jackson Caldwell finishes first in the 48th Annual Lincoln Marathon on Sunday Jackson Caldwell of Kansas has won the 2025 Lincoln Marathon with a time of 2:21:58 Caldwell also captured first place in last year's marathon beat the full-marathon course record for men in his age group (19-24) — finishing ahead of 2:22:11 record set by Jon Eggers in 1980 Pioneers Boulevard is clear of runners and open to traffic Runners have officially made it on to Capitol Parkway It's now 53 degrees in Lincoln with plenty of sunshine The marathon lead runner is getting close to the finish line Rachael Rudel from Colorado is the first female finisher of the half marathon with a time of 1:14:12 broke the half marathon course women's record for her age group (30-34) by just 26 seconds The previous record was set in 2021 by Pasca Myers with a time of 1:14:38 Ryder Searle has won the 2025 half marathon with a time of 1:04:58 The first finishers of the half marathon have crossed the finish line outside Memorial Stadium according to live updates posted by the Lincoln Marathon and Half Marathon Facebook page The 48th Lincoln Marathon kicked off at 14th and Vine streets Sunday morning as the start was signaled and a flurry of bright colors and marathon bibs were on their way down Sunday's routes sun and morning temps in the low 40s as the race kicked off near Memorial Stadium Sunday's high is expected to peak in the mid-70s in the afternoon alongside a light breeze Lincoln Marathon runners run along Sheridan Boulevard on Sunday A Lincoln Marathon fan holds a sign asking runners to identify their brand of running shoe Runners begin the 48th Annual Lincoln Marathon on Sunday Supporters celebrate runners as they pass the finish line of the 48th Annual Lincoln Marathon on Sunday Spectators cheer on runners as they approach the finish line of the 48th Annual Lincoln Marathon on Sunday Jackson Caldwell finishes first in the 48th Annual Lincoln Marathon with a time of 2:22.01 on Sunday on Stadium Drive in Lincoln Spectators watch as runners approach the finish line of the 48th Annual Lincoln Marathon on Sunday Sheri Roberts and Grace Pemberton support the half-marathon runners as they enter the final mile of the 48th Annual Lincoln Marathon on Sunday who was completing his first half marathon Medics and volunteers assist an exhausted runner after his completion of the 48th Annual Lincoln Marathon on Sunday Spectators watch as runners work on their final mile of the 48th Annual Lincoln Marathon on Sunday Spectators cheer as runners reach the finish line of the 48th Annual Lincoln Marathon on Sunday Runners celebrate crossing the finish line of the 48th Annual Lincoln Marathon on Sunday Runners and supporters celebrate crossing the finish line of the 48th Annual Lincoln Marathon on Sunday Spectators cheer as runners reach the finish line of the 48th Annual Lincoln Marathon on Sunday along Stadium Drive in Lincoln Spectators cheer as half-marathon runners begin to reach the finish line of the 48th Annual Lincoln Marathon on Sunday along Stadium Drive in Lincoln Runners start the 48th Annual Lincoln Marathon on Sunday on Vine Street in Lincoln Runners start the 48th Annual Lincoln Marathon on Sunday along Vine Street in Lincoln Spectators cheer as half-marathon runners begin to reach the finish line of the 48th Annual Lincoln Marathon on Sunday Runners start the 48th Annual Lincoln Marathon on Sunday Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter Email notifications are only sent once a day Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device Account processing issue - the email address may already exist Invalid password or account does not exist Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account CINCINNATI — The 2025 Flying Pig Marathon had thousands of runners fly across the Finish Swine on Sunday Representatives from all 50 states and 30 different countries braved the gloomy conditions and slick roads to run 26.2 miles through Cincinnati for the 27th year of the marathon The weekend saw 39,292 participants across all the events which began in 1999 and is considered one of the top marathons in the country The number increased by almost a thousand runners from 2024's 4,994 Almost every race saw an increase in numbers from last year the Flying Fur Dog Walk/Run and the Fifty West Mile The marathon saw first-time winners — and first-time participants in the marathon itself — for both the men and women's titles finished first in the marathon with a time of 2:22:41 Following Ryan in second place was Bridger Altice Sean Ryan — 2:22:41Bridger Altice — 2:26:05Ethan Davis — 2:28:05 She was followed by Emma Bell in second and Daniella Townsend in third Last year's holder of the women's title in the marathon did not return to run in this year's Flying Pig Tori Parkinson — 2:40:06Emma Bell — 2:50:57Daniella Townsend — 2:51:12 For a full list of this year's Flying Pig winners, click here. INDIANAPOLIS —Downtown Indianapolis buzzed with excitement as tens of thousands participated in the IU Health 500 Festival Mini-Marathon Saturday The event kicked off with the Delta Dental 5K claimed victory in the men’s division with a swift time of 13:31.93 triumphed as the male winner with a remarkable 1:04:39.45 For full results from the races, click here Excitement is already building for next year's race. You register for the 50th Running of the Mini-Marathon on May 2, 2026 by clicking here. Marathons have a unique way of bringing out the best in humanity And this special caught-on-camera moment from the Boston Marathon was no exception Kempton was standing near the finish line of the 26.2-mile mark of the race when she caught something remarkable on camera An exhausted competitor suddenly slowed and began struggling to keep himself up Despite cheers of encouragement from the crowd That prompted an incredible act of sportsmanship from fellow runner the Brazilian runner immediately stopped to help I knew something special was about to happen," said Kempton "I remember watching two men help carry a woman over the finish line last year and I was just waiting for someone to stop and help." And they weren't just for the injured runner Watch one runner's selfless act of kindness at the Boston Marathon below "It was an incredible portrayal of humanity and a beautiful moment to represent the Boston Marathon," said Kempton After the two runners walked together to the finish line When asked why the video resonated with over 20 million viewers "Sometimes people just need a simple reminder of humanity and genuine human kindness and I think that this video fulfilled that." Humankind is your go-to spot for good news! Click here to submit your uplifting, cute, or inspiring video moments for us to feature. Also, click here to subscribe to our newsletter bringing our top stories of the week straight to your inbox Tigst Assefa won the women’s race and Sabastian Sawe the men’s while Catherine Debrunner and Marcel Hug took the wheelchair events for the third and seventh times 27 Apr 202513.54 CESTMy goodness we’re spoiling you today. Things to look out for are: backache, tummy ache, changer in poo, tiredness, yellowness on the skin or around the eyes. 27 Apr 202513.46 CESTHere’s Sean Ingle’s race report. 27 Apr 202513.38 CESTAlso going on: Finally, Sawe says he hopes the marathon will be important to him and easy for him. Us too, old mate. 27 Apr 202513.09 CESTAh, here’s Sawe. He’s “so happy” in his first attempt at a major marathon. He was well prepared and that’s why it became “easy” for him to win. Easy! 27 Apr 202512.59 CESTI’m going to grab a drink, but I’ll be back in a few minutes to meet some of our regular heroes. 27 Apr 202512.50 CESTYee hit the deck as soon as he finished and I’m intrigued to see what he does next Updated at 12.48 CEST27 Apr 202512.46 CESTI’d love some interviews, but thus far, nothing doing. 27 Apr 202512.44 CESTA little bit of reading for you… 27 Apr 202512.43 CESTAfter 26 miles, Mutiso, last year’s winner, and Nageeye, cannot be separated! They sprint for the line – how is this even possible?! – and I think Mutiso sneaks it, but what a moment that is! They embrace and look back to normal immediately! Insane. 27 Apr 202512.41 CESTKiplimo of Uganda, the half-marathon world-record destroyer, comes second and doesn’t he enjoy the moment. Imagine how good he’s going to be after a few more races; this too is a line in the sand! 27 Apr 202512.40 CESTSabastian Sawe of Kenya wins the men's raceHe wins in 2:02:26 27 Apr 202512.37 CESTSawe must be in agony, but is that a grin playing across his face? He knows he’s done it, and he’s embracing the moment of his life so far, having devastated one of the strongest fields ever assembled. What a joy this must be. 27 Apr 202512.33 CESTSawe has destroyed the field, and kicking at drinks was such a strong move. Second is Kiplimo, 46s behind, and this is a really good effort form him on his marathon debut – I can’t wait to see how he develops – but at 29, Sawe has plenty of improving to do too. 27 Apr 202512.32 CESTEilish McColgan finishes eighth in 2:24:25 which is a new Scottish record – the previous mark was Steph Twell’s 2:26:40 and also breaks her family record – mum Liz’s best time is 2:26:52 27 Apr 202512.28 CESTThe 1-2-3 pose for photos at Assefa’s behest, and that’s lovely to see – they’ve hurt each other something fierce, but it’s in the past and they’re all martea again now, until the next time. 27 Apr 202512.25 CESTJoyciline Jepkosgei is bushed. Her legs are made of wood and barely belong to her, things she can’t feel moving, just about; she looks behind to see what’s going on behind, but she’s safe, just. She finishes second and here comes Hassan to take third. 27 Apr 202512.23 CESTTigst Assefa of Ethiopia wins the women's race in a women's-only world record timeA wondrous piece of work The course record survives; her time is 2.15:50 27 Apr 202512.20 CEST385 yards to go! Come on Tigst! 27 Apr 202512.20 CESTThe time we’re looking for is 2:16:16; that’s the women’s only world record – Ruth Chepng’etich ran 2:09:56 in last year’s Chicago Marathon, but that was a mixed race. 800m to go and Assefa, an Olympic silver medallist at that distance, will know she can devastate that. What moments! 27 Apr 202512.17 CESTAgain, I’d love to know what’s in Assefa’s mind now. The race is one, but how much pain is she in? Is she enjoying the moment? Taking it stride by stride? Singing American Pie to herself? She’ll be finished the race before the man there said the music wouldn’t play. 27 Apr 202512.14 CESTSabastian Sawe of Kenya is punishing himself and the rest of the field; he’s run a 4.18 mile – and the one before was 4.40, 4.46 before that. If he settles back in to where he was before the break, it’ll still take something major to catch him. And have a look! Assefa has gone from 5.26 and 5.28 to 5.03! With two miles to go, this is over, and she still looks perfectly chill. Everything you need to know ahead of the annual race I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice The London Marathon returns in 2025 with an even more star-studded field than usual for one of the biggest events of the year and a record number of runners entering the mass participation event run at the same time All the Olympic and Paralympic marathon champions from last year’s Paris Games will compete along with over 56,000 total runners - smashing the record of 55,646 finishers set at the New York Marathon in November Last year a closely-contested women’s race was won by 2021 Olympic champion Peres Jepchirchir in a world-record time for a women’s only race (as in while her compatriot Alexander Mutiso Munyao won the men’s race in 2:04.01.Here’s everything you need to know: The 2025 London Marathon is on Sunday 27 April 8.50am – Elite wheelchair men’s and women’s races 9.35am – Elite men’s race followed by mass start Viewers in the United Kingdom will be able to watch the London Marathon live on the BBC with extensive television coverage and online streaming available via the BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport website The London Marathon tends to follow a largely unchanged route since it was first run in 1981 dropping down from the high point of the race to follow a largely flat course first heading east to Woolwich before doubling back on itself and follow the Thames to Bermondsey the runners cut across London Bridge and turn right to take in Canary Wharf and London’s old Docklands before a U-turn to track through central London running along the Embankment until another right turn at Westminster Bridge towards St James’s Park The route takes in many famous London landmarks the Tower of London (mile 22) the London Eye and Big Ben (both mile 25) before its iconic finish line on The Mall near Buckingham Palace Olympic champion Sifan Hassan and Tigst Assefa, the second-fastest woman and previous world record holder, will be in action. World record holder Ruth Chepngetich and the reigning champion Peres Jepchirchir had to withdraw two weeks before the race The British contingent will feature Eilish McColgan making her debut at the race 29 years after her mother Olympic champion Tamirat Tola and 2024 London champion Alexander Mutiso will compete alongside the likes of Sabastian Sawe who ran last year’s Valencia Marathon with a fastest-ever time for a debutant in history But Kenenisa Bekele has withdrawn due to injury The big draw for many British fans this year will be triathlete Alex Yee, who won Olympic and world gold last year, making his debut in the marathon discipline. Emile Cairess and Mark Scott have pulled out due to injury. - Eliud KIPCHOGE (KEN, Personal best 2:01:09) Last year’s race was the first to offer equal prize money to the elite wheelchair races as their able-bodied counterparts. In 2024, the elite men’s and women’s able-bodied races and men’s and women’s wheelchair races had a total prize pot of £243,000, with the winners receiving $55,000 (£44,000) each. The prize money on offer this year is the same, with $55,000 going to each winner, the runners-up earning $30,000 (£23,100) and third-place $22,500 (£17,400). There are also $150,000 (£115,900) bonuses on offer for running sub-2:02 for the men and sub-2:15 for the women, $125,000 (£96,500) for setting a new world record, and $25,000 (£19,300) up for grabs in the elite men’s and women’s races for a new course record. Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies Race route and how to watch on TV","description":"Everything you need to know ahead of the annual race Boston Marathon winner Sharon Lokedi high-fives spectators in front of Boston College in Newton kisses the trophy while celebrating after the race breaks the tape to win the Boston Marathon hold up the winner’s trophy after winning the men’s and women’s wheelchair divisions during the Boston Marathon An actor portraying Paul Revere tries to pull his horse during a ceremony for the Patriot’s Day holiday at the finish prior to the Boston Marathon Colonial militia reenactors cross the finish line during a ceremony for the Patriot’s Day holiday prior to the Boston Marathon Boston Marathon Race Director Dave McGillivray sends a group of Massachusetts National Guard members across the start line Massachusetts Army National Guard Cadet Meghan Drysdale kneels to take a photo of the road painted in commemoration of the 250th anniversary of Patriots’ Day at the start of the Boston Marathon Monday State Police Trooper Cory Hetu takes a selfie with the group of race volunteers at the start of the Boston Marathon Monday Four-time Boston Marathon winner Bill Rodgers and wheelchair athlete pioneer Bob Hall greet race volunteers at the start of the Boston Marathon Monday They are the grand marshals of the 129th Boston Marathon Four-time Boston Marathon winner Bill Rodgers and wheelchair athlete pioneer Bob Hall greet race volunteers at the start of the Boston Marathon Monday April 21 breaks the tape to win the men’s wheelchair division during the Boston Marathon after winning the men’s and women’s wheelchair divisions during the Boston Marathon outruns two-time Boston Marathon defending champion Hellen Obiri over the final mile of the course Lokedi won and broke the Boston Marathon course record approaches the finish line to win the race dons a wreath by Boston Mayor Michelle Wu after winning the women’s division of the Boston Marathon Runners approach the finish line during the Boston Marathon Runner Matthew Nawn crawls to cross the finish line during the Boston Marathon hoists the trophy while celebrating after the race BOSTON (AP) — A rider dressed as Paul Revere eased his horse up to the Boston Marathon finish line and proclaimed And even “The Star-Spangled Banner” got some air time as the race and the region commemorated the 250th anniversary of the first shots fired in the American Revolution Sharon Lokedi of Kenya broke the Boston Marathon course record by more than 2 1/2 minutes on Monday outkicking two-time defending champion Hellen Obiri a year after losing to her in one of the closest finishes in race history A record finish and a sibling first headlined the day at the 129th running of the world’s oldest annual marathon “I always feel emotional when the national anthem is played,” said Scaroni who won in 2023 but couldn’t defend her title last year because of an injury historic anniversary gives me goosebumps.” 22 seconds to claim the $150,000 first prize and another $50,000 bonus for breaking the course record of 2:19:59 set by Buzunesh Deba in 2014 A year after sprinting to an 8 second victory Obiri was 19 seconds back in her attempt to become the first woman to win three straight since Fatuma Roba in 1999 I passed her this year,” Lokedi said with a laugh ‘Where is she?’ I’m just so grateful to her for pushing me all the way through.” Six months after winning on Chicago’s flatter course Korir finished in 2:04:45 — the second-fastest winning time in Boston history as the runners took advantage of perfect marathon weather to conquer the 26.2 miles (42.2 kilometers) from Hopkinton to Boston’s Copley Square And he did it despite getting tripped up from behind near the start and falling He got up to rejoin the lead pack at the rear “What came to my mind was should I stay down Korir’s race bib fell off and he tucked it into his running tights pulling it out as he sprinted to the finish line Waiting to congratulate him: 2012 Boston winner Wesley Korir Although the race has been won by a pair of unrelated John Kelleys and two different Robert Cheruiyots the Korirs are the first brothers to have won “He explained to be tough and believe in yourself,” said John Korir who finished fourth and ninth in his two previous Boston attempts “So I believed in myself and I followed his advice.” finished fourth after losing a three-way sprint to the finish with Alphonce Felix Simbu of Tanzania the other American women bowed to her in tribute “I had those folks in front of me who paved the way And they always made me feel like I belonged “So I’ve always tried to do that for the folks in this sport as well.” A field of 30,000 left Hopkinton on Monday morning for Boston’s Back Bay where riders in Revolutionary War garb — accompanied by a fife and drum playing “Yankee Doodle” — rode down Boylston Street in a reenactment of Paul Revere’s ride The ceremony came to a temporary halt when the horses was spooked by the finish line decal on the street and pulled up The actor portraying the colonial silversmith and patriot had to hop off and walk the last few steps himself as the small early crowd laughed and clapped read the voice-over that introduced the reenactment ‘Are these professional horses?’ Because it seemed like a lot for them,” she said afterward Scaroni finished in 1:35:20 on a day the Boston Athletic Association celebrated Hall’s push to add a wheelchair division in 1975 “I am only here today because so many incredible individuals had integrity tenacity — they knew they belonged as athletes and they allowed us to have what we have today,” she said “I’m only here because of how awesome those people are.” Associated Press writer Jennifer McDermott in Hopkinton This sawn-off shotgun has a gorgeous twirl animation when you whip it out think Tex Mechanica meets Conditional Finality The RPM of the Conquest LMG spins up as you fire it If you hear gunfire in the distance you can be sure another crew is near because they're either fighting each other or bots Pick off the survivors and scoop their gear Health and shields don't regen over time in Marathon—you'll need to use patches and boosters from your consumables Two days spent on Tau Ceti IV confirm that Marathon will be one of the year's most exciting shooters Here's the easy part: Marathon is an extraction shooter in which crews of three runners race against the clock using 3D-printed cybernetic bodies to strip resources from a mysteriously abandoned colony on Tau Ceti IV robot forces left behind by the colony's owner Marathon is also Bungie's first non-Destiny release in 11 years and as such is one of the most hotly-anticipated games of 2025 The early buzz centred on its startling art style—screaming acid colorways and blocky industrial shapes—which all but guarantees Marathon will be the best looking extraction shooter when it launches on 23 Sept Having now spent a couple of days playtesting I'm also confident enough to say it's going to be a good game largely thanks to the secret sauce that makes combat in Bungie shooters feel so good Now here's the hard part: All of that might not be enough to make Marathon a success unlike Destiny which uses a hybrid of client-server and peer-to-peer networking Marathon has been built for dedicated servers from inception It was a non-negotiable from the design team Marathon has been built around the three-person crew format you can queue as a solo or duo by switching off the crew autofill option Just know that you will be at a severe disadvantage How does loot rarity work?The standard common epic system applies with the corresponding colours you're used to What determines a base weapon's rarity is actually the number of attachments on it Weapons have a hidden durability stat that ticks down when they change hands (ie you die and someone takes it) The idea is to prevent the economy getting bloated with the best guns over a season but has to factor in the capacity for it to create horrendous experiences which means players need to be able to instantly block problematic players in the sense that the AI will fill in for you while you try to reconnect Bungie wants to help protect against actual outages not create an incentive to yank out your ethernet Before we get to the hurdles in Marathon's way Each trip to Tau Ceti IV lasts up to 25 minutes At the beginning of a run you're given an exfiltration point to reach Along the way you can choose to investigate any of the other points of interest on the map solving simple puzzles (think matching computer terminals) and even tackling what Bungie describes as boss encounters The only one of these I ran into involved a bunch of particularly beefy UESC robots hunkered down in a red dome that did damage over time Marathon's AI enemies are surprisingly aggressive and will chew you up fast if you get complacent but how much risk you want to take is down to you It's possible you snag a couple of decent bits of gear early and decide to book it to the exfil point praying not to get mugged by players along the way you might have already whittled down the number of competing crews and opt to harvest as much from the map as possible The kicker is that each time you fail to extract This is not unusual for an extraction shooter but even Soulslikes give you one shot at getting your gear back Marathon doesn't tell you when you're the last team standing so the threat of encountering other players is a constant tension My adrenaline spiked each time I heard a 'runner spotted' warning It was especially pronounced during the final 30 seconds while posted up around the extraction flare waiting for rescue If all three of you jump into the circle it'll cut the timer down to 10 but then of course you're even more exposed to a perfectly-placed grenade and heartbreak it's possible to hijack another team's extraction by dashing into the circle at the last second Downed players can also claw their way into its radius provided the other team doesn't make a killshot which makes for some rowdy after-action stories The Faustian Pact of Marathon's risk/reward dynamic is that each time you make it out will feel spectacular but the late losses are just as heartbreaking Arguably even worse are the runs where you spend 10 minutes gathering gear only to get team wiped while barely registering a shot The emotional result is that Marathon's highs are mountainous but the lows feel like you're at the bottom of the Mariana Trench Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals Bungie says the expected survival rate on a typical map is under 50% which means even good players should expect to die a lot which I worry will see a lot of casual players bounce straight off I can certainly confirm that a string of bad beats during the first day had me ready to tilt all the way out of the solar system even if we did lose the equivalent of the kids' college fund in items Weaponry in Marathon is the expected range of sidearms albeit as imagined by a Lego designer in a PCP-fuelled revenge fantasy As far as I could tell there was little in the way of alt fire modes or wacky options with light machineguns and the railgun representing the heavier hitting options The one break from the norm are the battery operated 'volt' weapons the scout-rifle style 'Twin Tap HBR' is particularly nasty in the current build I found nothing in the way of rocket or grenade launchers presumably because anything that can wipe a team in a single shot is too much of a rage inducer even for a game as uncompromising as Marathon it's like sliding into the comfiest suit of power armor The shadow of Bungie's other live service game hangs heavy throughout Marathon but the DNA is most obvious in combat—the bounce of your reticule the almost pornographically pleasing reload animations It all drips with Bungie's signature shooter sauce Live service games simply don't launch with everything calibrated correctly right out of the gate Bungie should know this better than anyone Marathon's base time to kill is punchy because the studio doesn't want players to win fights simply because they out-gear their opponents I need to be able to put you down even if you're rocking a purple tier shield it can feel oppressive when you're equipped with one of the poverty starter kits that the game hands you after a failed run and you know you're up against runners with the net worth of Warren Buffett I expect that kind of power delta stuff to be extensively rebalanced based on player feedback from the alpha and beta tests I imagine there will be quite a bit of discourse about whether it's easy enough to spot whether distant enemies are actual players or AI bots After a while you get a sense for how they move differently but on more than one occasion I was caught out by a real runner using the PvE enemies as a distraction That feels both like a legitimate strategy and a potential irritant the Marathon reveal livestream will have concluded during which alpha sign-ups were announced You can think of runners as akin to classes: Each has a prime and tactical ability making for genuinely distinct playstyles and consideration when it comes to team comp Her Echo Pulse prime (ie ult) pings a large radius around her which enables you to perform a finisher on a wounded runner that simultaneously reveals the location of their remaining crew You show me a team that doesn't want wall hacks (Image credit: Bungie)RUNNER PROFILE: BLACKBIRDPrime: Echo PulseTactical: Tracker DroneTrait 1: InterrogationTrait 2: Stalker Protocol Blackbird's ability to provide map information is invaluable on any team Because she gleans extra awareness from finishing opponents it actually creates an incentive to keep wounded enemies alive until Blackbird is in position As with everything in Marathon: risk=reward (Image credit: Bungie)RUNNER PROFILE: LOCUSPrime: Search and DestroyTactical: Riot BarricadeTrait 1: ThrusterTrait 2: Tactical Sprint My biggest issue with Locus is that his bulky Mjolnir suit-looking ass makes him blend into the UESC bots at a glance he combines strong defence in the form of a deployable shield and a powerful prime that temporarily adds tracking rockets to your outgoing weapon damage (Image credit: Bungie)RUNNER PROFILE: VOIDPrime: Smoke ScreenTactical: Active CamoTrait 1: Shadow DiveTrait 2: Shroud Void's day job as a Stealth Assassin should be enough to tell you he's The Sneaky One This is the character to pick if you like playing Nightstalker Hunter in Destiny 2 as his kit centres almost entirely on going invisible and talking in a growl (Image credit: Bungie)RUNNER PROFILE: GLITCHPrime: AmplifyTactical: DisruptorTrait 1: MicrojetsTrait 2: Power Slide Most of Glitch's power budget has been spent on her neutral game in the form of double jumps and long slides with little cooldown Lore-wise she's a Martian freedom fighter and 'combat anarchist' Glitch is likely to be the pick for high-skill sweats who like breaking opponents' ankles with crazy movement During my visit I bounced between all four available runners Glitch is the high mobility option that will feel most familiar to Destiny veterans (Marathon is otherwise a notably slower while Locus is your generic beefcake whose shield tactical and damage-focused prime make him a strong I found myself gravitating most towards Void The ability to go invisible on demand is a great way to open engagements with the 15-second duration feeling very generous especially as firing your weapon only breaks stealth temporarily His Smoke Screen prime is also clutch when it comes to reviving teammates or as an insurance policy during exfils The focus on three-player crews encourages a pleasing tactical flow It also creates the potential for simple positional strategy One of the more skilled teams in our session ran two aggressive attackers with their final player hanging back with precision weapons to make easy picks during the skirmish map knowledge will be a major determinant in Marathon's skill ceiling both of which will be included in the alpha Perimeter is a woodsy mid-sized map designed for five crews while Dire Marsh is a more open map with six crews in mind indoorsy map that will end up hosting either three or four crews What unifies all the maps is that stellar aesthetic which Bungie senior concept lead Tobias Kwan calls variously "acid ROMS" Marathon also avoids feeling cartoony by keeping the runners and their weaponry realistically proportioned Into the Spider-Verse and Mirror's Edge as touchstones and (of course) cyberpunk in terms of the runners' wardrobes there's a delicious sense of menace under the surface which is only enhanced by an eerie soundtrack that fizzes with digital distortion (Image credit: Bungie)I'm a sucker for a haunted house in space so I'm already itching to find out what's waiting on the UESC Marathon Ship (Image credit: Bungie)The Marathon colony ship was built into a chunk of the Martian moon Deimos but it isn't set to arrive until a couple of weeks after launch The UESC Marathon Ship is the titular vessel hanging in low orbit which Bungie is billing as the hardest map Some of the content creators at the hands-on event have played older versions of it and although they're locked into NDAs about the specifics they seem genuinely convinced that the map is a game changer There was even breathless talk that it could have the same energizing effect on Marathon that the Vault of Glass raid had on vanilla Destiny Joe ZieglerSocial Links NavigationGame Director MarathonPrior to joining the Marathon team in July 2023 working first on League of Legends before going on to become game director on Valorant I pressed Bungie for hints about what makes UESC Marathon Ship different from the other maps and was told by game director Joe Ziegler that it has: "Other vectors of pressure" he said there are objectives which lead to puzzles "raid-like mechanisms" and different "gameplay stressors" There is breathless talk that the UESC Marathon Ship map could have the same energizing effect that the Vault of Glass raid had on vanilla Destiny you will encounter extraterrestrials in the form of scuttling red ticks which are about the size of a small dog and sometimes you'll need to destroy their nests in order to complete a contract for a faction It's possible to work for multiple factions in Marathon but you can only have one contract active at a time Earning rep from factions unlocks their passive perks like being able to buy a specific item from the game's Black Market Picking up a bigger backpack is an early priority because the essential items you need to bring on each run—two types of ammo med patches etc—take up too much inventory space forcing you to make Sophie's Choice-style decisions about what loot you keep too early Some faction contracts are locked to specific maps which may alleviate the risk of one map becoming the de facto community favourite while the others are left to rot Bungie says all the factions will have secrets that can be uncovered over time but not to expect week-to-week narrative beats like Helldivers 2 "We're not really focusing on the format that Arrowhead delivered [narrative] in which is the ongoing war," Ziegler told me "but what we do like is the idea of there being disruptive elements that help shift the narrative." It sounds like this stuff isn't totally locked down but Bungie acknowledges the need to surprise players in order to keep them coming back to hear the chatter and overall vibe of a new season and be like: 'Wait we have to deal with what now?' In a good way." that's about as public a rebuke as they come Solving what happened to the colony is going to be the main narrative driver across Marathon's seasonal model your loot and faction perk progress will be wiped at the end of each season but gold tier rarity mods exist that substantially change the performance of specific guns the Magnum can be turned into a pocket sniper—with no drawbacks—using a gold scope while the Railgun can have an AoE detonation added to its beam Snagging one of these from a downed runner is going to feel like hitting the jackpot New seasons will also bring additional runners although it sounds like maps will be relatively rare—probably only one or two a year Which brings us to perhaps the biggest issue facing Marathon: price So far Bungie hasn't confirmed how much Marathon will cost but it's the incumbent from which Bungie will need to lure players the question remains: Will the extraction shooter genre which feels inherently designed to generate as much stress as it does happiness ever be mainstream enough to support the kind of success Bungie and Sony need to fund a game with the high production values Marathon has My biggest worry is how Marathon can mitigate the bad vibes from those shuttle crash runs when you lose everything I put it to Ziegler that players need some sort of lockbox in which they can protect a single item from a failed run As it turns out, Tarkov already has that in the form of the Kappa secure container although that can't hold guns and is so grindy to obtain that few players will see one in a season Ziegler points to the fact you can still earn XP and complete contracts even if you don't make it to exfiltration but to me progress on an XP bar feels like the thinnest of gruel although I do concede that not every failed run felt awful if the gunfights were particularly good senior design lead Lars Bakken explained that ring-fencing items in that way could cause duping issues due to the way Marathon handles gear sharing It'll be interesting to see what the feedback is around gear loss from the alpha and beta Perhaps the real loot will be our own dead bodies left along the way it's hard to imagine Marathon will bottle lightning quite like Helldivers 2 did even as someone with so much time in Destiny 2 I would enjoy the high-stress setting on an extraction shooter But I left the session wishing I could log back on for another run Which is not to say my worries have been allayed over two and a half decades of covering videogames I can't think of many games which have been freighted with more problems to solve to the inherently hostile nature of the genre and Bungie's own chequered history with Destiny's live service model These are substantial hurdles the game has to clear Which is why just being good still might not be enough for Marathon Tim ClarkSocial Links NavigationWith over two decades covering videogames that meant playing Elite in 'co-op' on a BBC Micro (one player uses the movement keys the other shoots) until his parents finally caved and bought an Amstrad CPC 6128 Tim spends his time complaining that all Priest mains in Hearthstone are degenerates and raiding in Destiny 2 He's almost certainly doing one of these right now.  Metrics details Here we use magnetic resonance imaging to study the impact of marathon running on brain structure in humans We show that the signal for myelin water fraction—a surrogate of myelin content—is substantially reduced upon marathon running in specific brain regions involved in motor coordination and sensory and emotional integration These findings suggest that brain myelin content is temporarily and reversibly diminished by severe exercise a finding consistent with recent evidence from rodent studies that suggest that myelin lipids may act as glial energy reserves in extreme metabolic conditions Fat is more abundant in the body than carbohydrates and it can provide a sustained source of energy for prolonged endurance exercise we further hypothesize that myelin lipids may contribute to brain activity as does body fat to fuel muscle we estimated water trapped between the lipid bilayers of the myelin sheath around axons and excluded luminal water that accounts for intra- and extracellular water Source data White matter areas that show a significant reduction in the MWF post-run (n = 10). Segmented white matter regions are displayed using the JHU atlas (https://neurovault.org/collections/264/ collection:264) Source data lower myelin content in grey matter limits resolution to monitor MWF and those changes are uncertain indicating that the reduction in myelin after marathon running should indeed be lower (approximately 40–50%) than the measured decrease in MWF these data provide solid evidence of bilateral MWF decrease after marathon running in motor- and non-motor-related brain connections with a similar amplitude in each hemisphere it is important to emphasize that the overall MWF reduction in the whole brain is limited and occurs in restricted areas thus leaving the bulk of myelin unaffected MWF status goes back to normal in myelinated tracts involved in motor and non-motor functions after two months of strenuous exercise these findings provide compelling evidence that white matter tracts undergo a reduction in MWF that is later restored after recovery from prolonged endurance exercise It would therefore be important to evaluate whether these changes transiently affect neurophysiological and cognitive functions associated with those regions Our findings show that running a marathon reduces runners’ MWF levels in white matter areas MWF values recover thereafter and reach pre-run values two months after the event This reversible reduction in MWF upon prolonged exercise and recovery after lowering physical activity strongly suggests changes in myelin structure and content that may open up a new view of myelin as an energy store ready to use when common brain nutrients are in short supply We define this process as metabolic myelin plasticity MWF values correlate with changes in myelin content although they represent semiquantitative measurements of myelin This limits an accurate account of the actual extent of myelin content changes measured MWF may vary for reasons other than changes in myelin content including increases in permeability of myelin membranes alterations in iron concentration or axonal swelling the impact of these features on MWF reduction in marathon runners is unlikely (see ‘MWF confounding factors’ and references therein) Our findings strongly suggest that widespread reversible MWF reduction in endurance physical exercise represents a new form of plasticity to support brain function at the expense of myelin lipid use This pilot observational imaging study has limitations including a relatively small number of participants that will require validation in a larger cohort difficulty in assessing grey matter MWF changes due to relatively low myelin content that compromises the signal-to-noise ratio and limited spatial resolution due to long scanning times and the inherent slight movement of subjects the potential relevance of the findings described here to brain energy metabolism warrant additional studies Randomization was not necessary as we studied a single group of subjects MRI scans were acquired on a 3T whole-body MRI system (Achieva Dstream Philips Medical System) using the internal quadrature body coil for transmission and a 32-channel phased array coil for reception Each subject underwent an imaging protocol that included: (1) a multi-echo 3D gradient and spin–echo sequence (GRASE) for myelin water imaging with the following parameters: TR = 2,000 ms; 32 echoes with a minimum echo time of 9.3 ms and maximum of 298 ms; SENSE 2.5; flip angle 90° bandwidth in EPI frequency direction 2,591; field of view (FOV) 230 mm2; 78 slices in transverse orientation; voxel size 1.2 × 1.2 × 1.8 mm3; total scan time 7:08 min; and (2) a high-resolution T1w anatomical image in a sagittal orientation with the following parameters: TR = 7.4 ms; TE = 3.4 ms; matrix size 228 × 228; flip angle 9°; FOV 250 × 250 × 180 mm; slice thickness 1.1 m; 300 slices; acquisition time 4:55 min discarding all data below Q1 – 1.5 × IQR or over Q3 + 1.5 × IQR limits intracellular space and between myelin layers Approximately 70–85% of the brain mass is water and approximately 40% of the mass in myelinated axonal tracts is compartmentalized water This fully distinguished the myelin-bound and luminal populations These previous reports indicate that even if minor oedema appears in a standard marathon run it is unlikely that changes in iron homeostasis contribute significantly to MWF reduction after prolonged endurance exercise it may underestimate real myelin content reduction MWF value comparisons within and among subjects at all stages were made at similar MRI plane levels and orientations Further information on research design is available in the Nature Portfolio Reporting Summary linked to this article Regulation of energy substrate metabolism in endurance exercise Astrocytic glycogen-derived lactate fuels the brain during exhaustive exercise to maintain endurance capacity Acellular perspective on brain energy metabolism and functional imaging Oligodendroglial fatty acid metabolism as a central nervous system energy reserve DECAES—decomposition and component analysis of exponential signals Magnetic resonance of myelin water: an in vivo marker for myelin MWF of the corpus callosum is a robust measure of remyelination: results from the ReBUILD trial Myelin biomarkers in the healthy adult brain: correlation An atlas for human brain myelin content throughout the adult life span Insights into human cerebral white matter maturation and degeneration across the adult lifespan The SRI24 multichannel atlas of normal adult human brain structure Ramos-Cabrer, P. et al. Source data and code. Zenodo https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14726926 (2025) In vivo visualization of myelin water in brain by magnetic resonance Myelin water imaging in multiple sclerosis: quantitative correlations with histopathology Myelin water imaging of multiple sclerosis at 7 T: correlations with histopathology Organisation of cingulum bundle fibres connecting the anterior thalamic nuclei with the rodent anterior cingulate and retrosplenial cortices MRI factors associated with cognitive functioning after acute onset brain injury: Systematic review and meta-analysis Short-term mechanisms influencing volumetric brain dynamics Does hydration status affect MRI measures of brain volume or water content Visual evoked potentials and signal detection following a marathon race Substantial and reversible brain gray matter reduction but no acute brain lesions in ultramarathon runners: experience from the TransEurope-FootRace Project MRI brain changes after marathon running: results of the Berlin Beat of Running 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survival in CNS white matter during energy deprivation: a developmental study Oligodendroglial energy metabolism and (re)myelination White matter integrity is disrupted in adolescents with acute anorexia nervosa: a diffusion tensor imaging study Undernutrition in the developing rat: effect upon myelination Relative synthesis of myelin in different brain regions of postnatally undernourished rats Relationship of iron to oligodendrocytes and myelination Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) (American Psychiatric Association Cerebral gray matter and white matter volume deficits in adolescent girls with anorexia nervosa Cerebral gray and white matter involvement in anorexia nervosa evaluated by T1 Altered thalamo–cortical and occipital–parietal–temporal–frontal white matter connections in patients with anorexia and bulimia nervosa: a systematic review of diffusion tensor imaging studies Large-scale exploration of whole-brain structural connectivity in anorexia nervosa: alterations in the connectivity of frontal and subcortical networks Initial evidence of abnormal brain plasticity in anorexia nervosa: an ultra-high field study Genome-wide association study identifies eight risk loci and implicates metabo-psychiatric origins for anorexia nervosa Regular exercise is beneficial to a mouse model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis Physical activity as an exogenous risk factor for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: a review of the evidence Physical activity as risk factor in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis Glutamate receptor-mediated toxicity in optic nerve oligodendrocytes Treadmilling model for plasticity of the myelin sheath Adaptive and maladaptive myelination in health and disease The first step for neuroimaging data analysis: DICOM to NIfTI conversion Symmetric diffeomorphic image registration with cross-correlation: evaluating automated labeling of elderly and neurodegenerative brain Water content changes in new multiple sclerosis lesions have a minimal effect on the determination of myelin water fraction values A critical overview of outlier detection methods Rapid whole cerebrum myelin water imaging using a 3D GRASE sequence Inter-vendor reproducibility of myelin water imaging using a 3D gradient and spin echo sequence Variability and reproducibility of multi-echo T2 relaxometry: insights from multi-site multi-session and multi-subject MRI acquisitions Quantitative myelin imaging with MRI and PET: an overview of techniques and their validation status Extreme mountain ultra-marathon leads to acute but transient increase in cerebral water diffusivity and plasma biomarkers levels changes Overview of quantitative susceptibility mapping The influence of brain iron on myelin water imaging Effect of marathon and ultra-marathon on inflammation and iron homeostasis Metabolic responses to a 48-h ultra-marathon run in middle-aged male amateur runners Download references We thank runner volunteers for their generosity and patience Pérez-Cerdá for insightful discussions and suggestions on the manuscript We also thank Osatek-Galdakao for providing human imaging facilities for MRI scans Funding: Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation and Universities grants PID2022-143020OB-I00 (C.M.) Basque Government grant IT-1551-22 (C.M.) Basque Government grant KK-2021/0009 (P.R.-C.) the Ikerbasque Research Professors Program (P.R.-C.) These authors contributed equally: Pedro Ramos-Cabrer Center for Cooperative Research in Biomaterials (CIC biomaGUNE) Basque Research and Technology Alliance (BRTA) University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) and CIBERNED-Instituto Carlos III Alfredo Rodríguez-Antigüedad & Carlos Matute The authors declare no competing interests Nature Metabolism thanks Alex MacKay and the other reviewer(s) for their contribution to the peer review of this work Primary Handling Editor: Alfredo Giménez-Cassina in collaboration with the Nature Metabolism team Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations Sagittal, axial and coronal views of the 3D images acquired with T1 weighting for anatomical reference, pre- and post-run. Images show no significant interindividual differences for the different imaging sessions. Volumes of whole brain and structures was unaltered (see also Extended Data Fig. 5) Top) Pre-exercise MWF maps for subjects scanned in this study Bottom) Average maps obtained after ANTs Syn registration of all images to a common spatial frame Source data Student’s t values were calculated using a one-tail paired t-test Source data To assess further the lack of post-run dehydration as a confounding factor in MWF values we analyzed images as described below: 1) We carried out a bi-exponential decay analysis on acquired T2 multi-echo sets of images to obtain (a) 2 sets of T2 maps (low and high mobility protons) and (b) 2 sets of S0 images (Signal extrapolated at TE=0 ms) (c) Total S0 maps were obtained by adding the two individual S0 components registering pre- (c) and post-run images (d) 3) Percentage of change of S0 images were determined pixel by pixel for each subject using the following image operation 100*(pre-post)/pre (e) Subjects were scanned with identical acquisition sequence in the same scanner At fixed T1 weighting changes on water content should be reflected as change in S0 maps between pre- and post-run Comparisons were made using one-tail paired Student’s t-test Source data Source data Slab volumes (average intensity projection) of MWF maps from 5 consecutive coronal slices centered in motor descending pathways from all subjects (mean MWF of scanned individuals) at imaging sessions before the marathon (pre-exercise) after (post-exercise) (n=10) and at 2-months of recovery (n=6) Color code bar displays represented values Notice that MWF values return to pre-run values at 2-months of recovery Diagram illustrates the time points at which the runners were scanned Imaging sessions were carried out 24–48 hours before (Pre-run) and after (Post-run) the marathon (n = 10) two weeks (n = 2) and two months later (n = 6) Code used in Python to calculate MWF values for each individual and each image session Code used for bi-exponential fit of T2 MRI data to calculate proton densities for each individual and each image session Raw MWF data for all individuals and percentage changes from baseline per brain region Text file with label description of the JHU atlas for ITK-Snap Raw data for construction of Extended Data Fig Download citation DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s42255-025-01244-7 Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content: Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article. Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily. After playing enough Marathon to get a pretty good feel for it in its alpha state, I’m already fairly confident it’ll scratch the Bungie PvP itch that’s been left unscratched for a number of years now. Here’s hoping they’ll knock it out of the park when it comes to PC and consoles in September. boldly striking out into a new genre despite humble origins is the big-budget refinement that could become the emerging category’s Fortnite.","@type":"Article","datePublished":"2025-04-12T18:00:00.000Z","headline":"Marathon Hands-on Preview: Can Bungie Do to Escape From Tarkov and Bungie’s gameplay and mechanics are always top tier Games of this nature I feel like I’ve aged out of Simply do not have time for live service games with the limited amount of time I do have including the seemingly infinite amount of choice there is to play this kind of game for free And with many gamers likely in the same boat a price to entry for this game is just too much to ask especially knowing the pvp focus behind it If you haven’t watched the 8 minute story short Maybe it's still too early to tell or I'm burned out but the gameplay reveal looked kinda basic I miss when games had SP and a MP component I think this game will struggle out of the gate for the following reasons: Teaming up with randoms will get you killed but finding 2 other people to consistently play with has to be a struggle for working adults haha wish they did a single player game that looks like this I just can't believe they're putting a price tag on it given the current state of multiplayer games and what happened with Concord Something like $40 for a game with only one dedicated pvp mode no single player or even a dedicated solo option for the online play progression you can lose in one bad game / lose at the end of each season no matter what This type of game is only for a very specific type of shooter gamer and a multiplayer game lives and dies by it's player count You might at least draw in some new blood by making the game free but a price tag on an MP game in a day and age where most new MP PVP games launch free People were incredibly negative in the YouTube comments about the gameplay not sure what mind-bending space time continuum-breaking game they were expecting when they literally told us what the game is I just don't understand why a company would take this direction in a game The genre is saturated and while this looks unique I think the art style won't resonate with a ton of people I would rather they went back to Marathon's roots and made a story focused game with these other elements mixed in Bungie starts amazing story projects like Halo and Destiny but the stories get stretched out too long to make more money I guess by not having a real story element they can milk this one as long as people care to play The reveal cinematic trailer was also very good Keen to seeing how they will keep building this world not sure I want to buy an MP only game in the year 2025 I’m surprised Sony is putting this out on Xbox also. that said- I have absolutely zero interest because it’s multiplayer only If it was an epic single player campaign- I’d be all over this cool art style but these kinds of games are a dime a dozen these days Don't have the time to grind doing the same stuff over and over again same reason I skipped Destiny and all of these kind of games I am a Sony fan and I have ZERO interest in this Is it even related to the original in any way other than name the games go stale and flat faster than a warm coke in the sun to see so many studios drop their focus on single player stories for MP garbage is sad I was interested until they mentioned it’s a paid title I’ll wait until it’s on PS plus or like $10 This should have been a single player game instead of a money grab live service clone like the dozens of alternatives already available I like the art style and I think it'll play well I just have very little interest in MP to begin with I got Helldivers 2 to play with friends but after a few weeks we all stopped I haven't even seen the 3rd enemy type they added The thing that made me quit tarkov was all the quest grinding Unfortunately in order to get better ammo types and items Hopefully they dont get carried away with that part Can Bungie do to Tarkov what Fornite did to PUBG Tarkov has a very specific draw and its not the \"extraction\" part of the extraction shooter and tense encounters is why it has it's audience Hunt is really the reigning \"popular\" extraction shooter and maybe Marathon can go toe-to-toe with it with its sci-fi hyperstylized setting...its really just competing against all the lower tier attempts at the genre PUBG was an everyman's game and it was beaten by another everyman's game (that got a huge boost targeting kids) Hunt's following is only going to be undone by Crytek and Tarkov can only be killed by Battlestate as those playerbases are there for a very specific reason but the art for this game looks both unique and generic at the same time This quote makes me just not even pay attention to a game anymore: \"can’t wait to group up with my most tryhard friends and ruin people’s day.\" Everyone is trying to get out an extraction shooter that appeals to the masses right now and I feel like this game has a good shot and stands out compared to others Embark studios (the finals devs) have been working on ARC raiders Delta Force has been working on bringing their extraction mode to consoles Arena Breakout has been trying to compete directly with EFT in the PC space Extraction shooters look to be the next BR type genre that takes over eventually I don't think the goal for them is to compete directly with Tarkov because with that level of detail and controls they could never make it function like it does on PC with mouse and keyboard They even mentioned they don't have damaged limbs to repair and stuff so it's definitely not as hardcore which isn't bad it's just easier for new players to pick it up and not have to learn so many new mechanics It's watered down compared to EFT but it still looks very fun It honestly reminds me of The Cycle: Frontier more than anything with the colorful world and unique art style I'm excited for this game the only thing I wish they leaned more into is character customization if these heroes are just base models and you can completely make your own unique looking character that would be huge they also need to add VOIP which they mentioned would be too toxic but extraction shooters thrive on VOIP making encounters even crazier Also comes down to their loot and progression system Your support helps make our show possible and unlocks access to our sponsor-free feed Runners compete in the New York Marathon in New York City on November 3 New research suggests that marathon runners may deplete a fatty substance in their brain called myelin Running an entire marathon takes a lot of energy. Neuroscientist Carlos Matute knows this: he's run 18 of them He wondered how runners' bodies get the energy they need to make it to the finish line His new research in the journal Nature Metabolism may be the first step in answering the question – and suggests their brains might be (temporarily) depleting a fatty substance that coats nerve cells called myelin After scanning the brains of 10 marathon runners Matute and his team saw that myelin decreased in areas important for things like motor coordination – how we move our bodies – and sensory and emotional integration The changes were temporary – so runners, no need to panic – but Matute thinks the study could be a step towards understanding conditions like multiple sclerosis, where myelin decreases in the brain and typically doesn't return. Have other questions about the brain? Let us know by emailing shortwave@npr.org Listen to Short Wave on Spotify and Apple Podcasts Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave This episode was produced by Berly McCoy and Mia Venkat It was edited by Geoff Brumfiel and Christopher Intagliata Kwesi Lee and Jimmy Keeley were the audio engineers Become an NPR sponsor Marathon feels like it'll deliver satisfying gameplay, but the experience around it could leave a lot to be desired I've been trying to distill my thoughts and feelings about playing Marathon into something easily communicable and I keep coming back to Season 6 titled "And Maggie Makes Three," Homer learns that he's become a father for the third time and reacts with a despondent thumbs up that simultaneously acknowledges that something good has happened but that it also creates the potential for stress I hate to reduce playing an alpha version of the next game from the team behind Halo and Destiny to a reaction meme deployed by millennials in group chats but the accuracy of what homersadthumbsup.jpg conveys is undeniable After around eight hours of gameplay where I faced off against developers I left Bungie's Bellevue studio keen to play more of its high-stakes PvPvE multiplayer game I couldn't deny that I had serious concerns about the experience that its compulsive gameplay loop is couched within I'm worried Marathon could launch as a solid multiplayer shooter that is brimming with potential but thin on content And in the dog-eat-dog world of multiplayer games what made playing Marathon so compelling was immediately evident and extracting to identify that the core of the experience leverages Bungie's pedigree as a best-in-class first-person-shooter developer As longtime Halo or Destiny players can attest to there's a satisfying texture in the moment-to-moment gameplay that makes Bungie's games hard to put down The satisfying thump of a melee kill or the glee that comes from sticking an enemy with a plasma grenade has carried Halo through multiple generations And deep loot-based progression layered on top of that gives Destiny a gravitational pull that's hard to escape but within the framework of an extraction shooter this is a relatively new flavor of multiplayer shooter that takes the thrills of PvP and marries it with the tension of battle royale to create a game about dropping in and then making it to an extraction point to get out with your goodies in a single life Most of the individual components of the genre are familiar territory for Bungie but what makes it appealing for the team is the highly engaging risk-versus-reward format that treads some new ground for the studio while also leaning into the PvP roots that helped make its name the opportunity of an extraction shooter really comes from two parts," said game director Joe Ziegler "One is that we have a team that's very excited to build it and we also have this idea of how do we create the next step of Bungie but also harken back to some of the PvP roots that Bungie originally had with Halo and things of that sort "We're also doing something quite crazy experimental We're trying to build a service that's like a PvPvE game where we can do a lot of the cool storytelling things that Bungie really does but do it in the context of a game where a lot of the content is driven by players interacting with one another I think that nexus of things really makes us very excited to create this experience for players." Whether Marathon represents a bold new future for Bungie remains to be seen but at this stage I can confidently say that its gameplay sits comfortably in the genre feeling familiar but not so much as to be derivative of its past works The framing of the PvP is in line with most modern extraction shooter or battle royale games: Multiple teams of three spawn into a map that is filled with loot that's up for grabs and some of it is items that are associated with quests or objectives relevant to the game in progress or the overarching progression system Matches can take anywhere between a minute if you're unlucky/bad to around 20-minutes if you’re lucky/good so there are decisions to be made about the balance between what to keep and what to leave behind You can fill your pockets with things that will be valuable later or things that could be necessary to your objectives now and items to keep in your vault might make future runs less of an uphill struggle but if you can't get it to the extraction point because you didn't grab enough health or shield recovery items and got jumped you're going to end up losing it all anyway Tried-and-true shooting akin to Halo and Destiny is the bedrock of the game while characters called Runners facilitate a variety of playstyles and team roles Their various abilities are somewhat analogous to the skills and Supers employed by Destiny's Guardians or Apex’s Legends but commonalities are more on a functional level than being impressive ways to live out a power fantasy and there's a weightiness to it that means it moves at a slower pace than its stablemates which emphasizes the tactical flow that is intended to drive skirmishes Movement is governed by a stamina meter that fills as you sprint and slide around so things are a little more controlled--if you're expecting the floaty leaps or over-the-top abilities Destiny usually has grounded gameplay is crucial to the tension of most extraction shooters and it serves that purpose in Marathon effectively will reinforce the idea of making gameplay that feels different from its past games and creates moments that tell their own stories "Bungie is known for its very action-forward [gameplay]; that 30 seconds of fun is the phrase that's always been there with Halo and the extension of building your own superhero with Destiny," explained gameplay director Andrew Witts we're getting a little bit more into tactical action which is something that Bungie's never dipped into Part of that is that you have to introduce a little bit of friction but good friction in a way where you want to get people to lean forward and feel the tension Ziegler added: "So much of it is driven from the pressure of the scenario and the stories you tell become really meaningful when they have a certain amount of agency You chose to do a bunch of things and then some of the loops that we're trying to create really reinforce that idea of storytelling This is what happened to me and this is why it's cool because I overcame odds I did this really cool thing and I got this unique story out of it that nobody did by surviving that session or by getting through the trials and tribulations of the session.' For us that does mean going a little bit more tactful at times to make sure that the decisions that people are making have really clear consequences where it's like I got destroyed by AI because I made the wrong move.'" All of that bears out in the way the Runners are played Although they have distinct abilities that are enabled by futuristic cybernetic technology the impact of these are restrained just enough so that they provide a small tactical advantage instead of enabling the user to bulldoze through enemies His abilities include launching shoulder-mounted missiles that home in on enemies to immobilize and do damage He also has an energy barricade that can be held to block incoming damage but drains quickly when attacked His movement ability is a short dash using boosters which is regulated by the additional heat it generates but the alternative Runners don't mix things up significantly either I found myself yearning for abilities that were a little more exciting I don't need to soar into the sky and unleash a barrage of rockets or call in a sidekick named Bob to dish out some punishment when I hit a button but everything I did in Marathon was very lacking in originality--again closer to the character toolset from Apex Legends which is well-trodden territory at this point The upside of having Runners with relatively simple abilities and it's very easy to understand what your enemies are capable of too makes the game much more approachable than its contemporaries especially given how overwhelming other multiplayer games that have been running for years can be approachability is a key aspect of Bungie's games the barrier to entry for gameplay is very low and when it comes to getting to grips with mechanics that looks to be the case for Marathon too This is in contrast to the notoriously complex and finicky nature of most other extraction shooters "I think our ideal is that if you're really into PvP experiences and you really are excited by getting into the sandbox nature of play this is an approachable way to enter that extraction shooter experience," Zeigler said It really depends on how you think about the Bungie audience expand that audience into people who want to do some of these more survival-based but not have to go through a lot of the finicky nature of what's being offered currently to make that happen but our approachability doesn't mean pulling from the depth of the experience but more how we stage and remove some of the things from the front layers to get people to those really deep survival experiences." "Approachability on the gameplay side of things is really about touchstones that people go "That is a basis for people to learn versus just upfront obtuse mechanics We're really trying to be recognizable and [have] the approach on that angle be one of 'I know Bungie games but this is very different in a way where it's demanding in this way or I have to take my time and be slow here and I can't just have push forward constantly.'" Marathon in its alpha phase is an extraction shooter that is easy to pick up and get into It is satisfying to play and feels well made as opposed to being eurojank held together by whatever the coding equivalent of gaffer tape is I trust Bungie to make good on its ideas and realize its ambition in some form or another Destiny reached a much better place after the hard work put in to build on what was there each map in Marathon is also populated by AI-controlled robots that can be mowed down as you do your business and occasionally run into human opponents you are able to do the point-and-shoot stuff that feels good and gain experience and build the confidence to keep playing and getting better Other games have these fodder-type enemies too but what elevates Marathon's is their behavior Bungie is known for creating foes that are an actual challenge and The same can be said of Marathon's roving AI enemies and even use high ground to get an advantage so I'm not ashamed to say that I got overwhelmed by them and team-wiped a few times during my sessions the difference between AI and human is obvious but for many the line between them won't really matter since they push back enough to make you feel like you earned the kill The enemy behavior and the way they're used to boost confidence and build momentum for the player is genuinely one of the most impressive parts of Marathon The other major contributor to Marathon's polished exterior is its arresting visual aesthetic It's easy–and accurate–to describe it as having a futuristic robotic humanoid characters that also look like they're part-time fashion designers but there's a style and cohesion to it that is unique Bungie used a lot of phrases to describe what they were going for my favorites being "cyber simplicity" and "future less" because they really speak to an aesthetic that is built around being antithetical Marathon is a bright and vibrant game that uses simplicity as its north star and graphic design as the basis for its visual language easy to digest and appreciate; high-fidelity have these eye-catching details and flair that give them personality Bungie's own description is the most apt: Nike meets Teenage Engineering Using my decidedly less eloquent approach: It looks kinda like if Metal Gear Don't ask me how three participants have one baby--it's the future; you figure something out every new screen is a visual feast of cool icons and 3D-printed-looking objects has a kind of neon industrial vibe that reminded me of Mirror's Edge It looks so good that when we switched to Dire Marsh where a thick fog would occasionally roll in Mostly because all the nice visuals were being covered up but also because sneaky players used it as cover for jumpscares Marathon makes a great first impression but what's not there becomes as impactful as what is I have to pivot and also point out that everything it is doing is very ordinary it was very evident that it didn't have a hook; a special something that will help it stand out from the crowd; an X-factor that gives it a fighting chance in a crowded world of multiplayer games that demand all of your time and attention I wouldn't go so far as to say it felt soulless but it definitely felt like something was missing that one more ingredient to bring it all together numerous other games popped into my head as more exciting prospects most of those games aren't extraction shooters I have to assume a large portion of the intended audience isn't going to make that distinction Marathon will be competing for the same time and attention that people have given so it's going to take something special to make them even consider switching or splitting attention Repeating Ziegler's words from earlier: Marathon is being built as "a service that's like a PvPvE game where we can do a lot of the cool storytelling things that Bungie really does." None of that And various other parts of the game that were highlighted as being key to Marathon and its longevity were ideas we didn't get to see firsthand It was a lot of tell with very little show Marathon takes place in Tau Ceti IV in the year 2893 when a cryptic message from the planet's colony causes panic The Unified Earth Space Council is doing its best to keep the details of what happened to the colony a secret but whatever happened has led to Runners--people who are essentially transferring their consciousness to external shells--to exploit the resources on the planet Players will uncover secrets of the universe and what happened on Tau Ceti IV not because I saw any indication of it in-game The narrative in-game manifested in a Faction system where the player can take contracts from one of six groups that are vying for power This is ostensibly a progression system where the contracts ask the player to complete objectives during a run and curry favor with the faction to build up a rank and unlock upgrades that marginally improve things like how long it takes to decode items from loot boxes and death boxes Each of the three factions had a very brief history about what their deal is but beyond that there was little to dig into As a taster of a metagame that feeds into character progression it felt very detached from the character I was creating and the world I was in each faction will have their own narrative mystery but at this stage said narrative mystery wasn't there–beyond completing objectives there was no other way to engage with the faction It also seemed like I could work for multiple factions with no consequence But whatever is going on will be explored in games and the player will have a hand in shaping events I left thinking it involved having special items "Some of the later contracts actually have interactive VO that is piped into you as it's happening and they have a little bit more intricate requirements for the contract as you're going through it," explained Zeigler you feel a little bit more of the presence of the narrative being told around you "We're working on a system that's more about collecting things and then you get a bit of lore like a clue in the season to actually help you understand that One thing we really wanted to tie storytelling into is we didn't want the storytelling to dominate the player's experience but to complement their own stories as they're telling it There's things that are more related to what we called for a while which is the idea it's more about you going out there finding loot in the world how does some of that loot help you tell the story that you want to how do we create the context for you to tell the stories that you're going to be having of surviving that session rather than being no "Part of our season model is actually to make it so as you're having these adventures and there are things that you are earning and commemorating at an account level Some of which are achieved by you doing some crazy things with friends or things of that sort that unlock things potentially cosmetics or things of that account level that will stay with you throughout the time "The idea is every season should be a moment to go on adventures some of those commemorative elements you can use as expressive elements for yourself in the future whether they be skins or titles or things like that as a new season starts--a new opportunity to go on a new adventure Part of the burden on us in terms of thinking about the service is to make sure every adventure that every season offers is in and of itself different and feels different to create those new stories." this sounds potentially interesting to me as a certified item-description reader--but "potentially" is the operative word I can't help but think back to the launch of Destiny when the story was threadbare and explored via Grimoire Cards accessible outside of the game itself And without any concrete narrative hooks visible in what I experienced of Marathon it's hard to get excited about a major part of why I enjoy Bungie's games Witts continued: "We're taking some pretty big swings for what the middle and end of the season looks like and we're already starting to think about what's happening in the world How does that manifest into the decisions that players can make interesting ways on the mercenary fantasy and all the different ways that happens Am I just getting something and getting out Things like that and that add to more fidelity and choice." The kicker here is that Marathon is going to launch as a "premium" product although Bungie said it will not be a "full-priced title." Exactly what "premium" means remains to be seen as Bungie will reveal more at a later time three maps (with a fourth arriving shortly after launch); fun but no-frills gameplay; a story that currently is all very vague in its nature and unclear in its implementation; and a character-progression system that doesn't yet show signs of offering a meaningful sense of growth Maybe it's there behind-the-scenes and will be ready for launch Destiny 2's ups and downs also brought with them incredibly memorable characters The gameplay of both games also evolved as time went on to become more intricate and engaging Bungie has repeatedly shown a dedication to its games I am excited about where Marathon could go But there's also a graveyard filled with short-lived games-as-a-service titles that failed to capture the attention of an already-committed audience. And lately big-budget titles from well-funded high-profile teams have unfortunately made it there too there are certain things that players already have and expect from similar titles if they are to find a place in their gaming lives a paid game that is light on content but full of hopes and ambitions may not be enough to inspire in others the same confidence I have in Bungie This story has been updated to note that Marathon will not be a "full-priced title." Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email news@gamespot.com Tamoor Hussain is the Managing Editor of GameSpot. He has been covering the video game industry for a really long time, having worked in news, features, reviews, video, and more. He loves Bloodborne and other From Software titles, is partial to the stealth genre, and can hold his own in fighting games too. Fear the Old Blood. Get the latest news and videos for this game daily, no spam, no fuss. We'll begin emailing you updates about %gameName%. ESCLog in to comment "data-img-src" : imgSrc } = buylink %> />><%= itemTitle %> and deals sent to your inbox Monday to Friday Six of the robots successfully finished the course but they were unable to keep up with the speed of the humans developed by Chinese robotics company UBTech in collaboration with the Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Center finished the race in 2 hours and 40 minutes after assistants changed its batteries three times and it fell down once The slowest time allowed for human runners in the race was 3 hours and 10 minutes and Tiangong Ultra was the only robot that barely qualified for a human participation award Most of the humanoid participants didn’t stay in the game for long and disappeared from the live broadcast soon after they took off from the starting line Alan Fern, a robotics professor at Oregon State University, tells WIRED that researchers who build these robots typically focus on trying to get them to complete tasks and respond effectively in a diverse range of different environments, rather than run as fast as possible. Fern adds that the AI technology used in humanoids hasn't progressed very much since 2021, when his team sent a bipedal robot to run a 5K race is how robust humanoid hardware has become we didn't really know how to get robots to walk reliably and this will be a good demonstration of that,” he told WIRED on Thursday before the race took place His team’s robot fell twice during the 2021 5K run once due to operator error and another due to overheating “The impressive thing about going from a 5K to a half-marathon is really a hardware robustness problem I'll be surprised if one of these companies makes it through without replacing the robot,” he says Fern’s predictions were totally right. On Saturday, almost every robot fell down and faced overheating problems prompting their operators to switch them out for new replacements While the event did generate a lot of interest and pride among Chinese people—many human runners stopped to take selfies with Tiangong Ultra when they saw it—it also showed the reality and limitations of China’s humanoid robot industry Unitree didn’t officially participate in the race but two of its robots were running the half-marathon while being operated by other institutions (One of its robots fell on the ground before reaching the starting line and struggled to stand up quickly.) While capabilities like dancing can be fun and eye-catching they don’t actually show how useful humanoid robots are in real-world situations Even being able to run a half-marathon isn’t a very useful benchmark for their skills—it’s not like there’s market demand for robots that can compete with human runners The benchmarks that Fern says matter to him are how well they can handle diverse real-world tasks without step-by-step human instructions “But I would expect to see China shifting this year to focusing more on doing useful things because people are going to be bored of dancing and karate,” Fern says The robots who participated in the race came in a variety of forms Sporting a blue and white tracksuit and waving to onlookers every few seconds What all of the robots have in common is that they are bipedal instead of running on wheels As long as the robots met that requirement and the companies behind them adopted a wide range of strategies to try to get an advantage over their competitors Some were wearing kid-sized sneakers (though screwed to their pedals to avoid falling off) Others were equipped with knee pads to protect their delicate parts from damage when they fell Most of the robots had their fingers removed and some were even missing heads—you don't need such parts for running and taking them off reduces a robot’s weight and the amount of burden placed on their motors the N2 robot made by Chinese company Noetix Robotics The performance of the other humanoids was mostly disastrous only moved at the speed of a snail for a few minutes while its head shook uncontrollably—as if it could fall off any time Another robot named Shennong looks like a real Frankenstein’s monster with the head that resembles Gundam and four drone propellers that face backward and it’s not clear how that alone wasn’t disqualifying But that wasn’t even Shennong’s biggest problem as the robot immediately twirled in two circles after taking off from the starting line and dragged down its human operators with it Duct tape proved to be the most effective problem-solving tool Not only did the accompanying humans make makeshift robot shoes with duct tape they also used it to adhere the head of a robot back onto its body after it repeatedly fell off during the run Some held control panels that allowed them to give the robot instructions while other operators led the way for their robots and tried to clear potential obstacles on the ground Quite a few of the humanoids were being held on what looked like “You wanna think of these robots more like running a remote control car through the race But the robots don't have wheels,” says Fern many people who tuned into the livestream started to comment on how exhausted the robots’ human operators looked and endlessly spraying liquid on them to cool down their motors some of the robots also performed dances and backflips Seven robot dogs and one humanoid also performed more dances on a nearby stage yet another robot brought the trophies onto the award stage and presented them to their four fellow robots who completed the run a robot developed by the Chinese company Noetix started off strong but broke down more and more frequently toward the end of the race and its head became dislodged from its body A team of human operators quickly swooped in with duct tape to fix things and put Xuanfeng Xiaozi back on its way When it was finally almost done with the race Xuanfeng Xiaozi had a cooling pad attached to its front and its right foot was out of step with its left and yet it managed to wobble to the finish line The half-marathon certainly showed off the design flaws of these robots far more than their capabilities I was really happy to see Xuanfeng Xiaozi finish the race In your inbox: Upgrade your life with WIRED-tested gear “Wi-Fi keeps going down”: Trump’s RTO mandate is going terribly Big Story: The worm that no computer scientist can crack Yuval Noah Harari: “Prepare to share the planet with AI superintelligence” Uncanny Valley: An insider look at the influence of Silicon Valley It is the essential source of information and ideas that make sense of a world in constant transformation The WIRED conversation illuminates how technology is changing every aspect of our lives—from culture to business The breakthroughs and innovations that we uncover lead to new ways of thinking adding that the robot switched batteries just three times during the race.SOME ROBOTS STRUGGLESome robots One robot fell at the starting line and lay flat for a few minutes before getting up and taking off One crashed into a railing after running a few metres causing its human operator to fall over.Although humanoid robots have made appearances at marathons in China over the past year this is the first time they have raced alongside humans.China is hoping that investment in frontier industries like robotics can help create new engines of economic growth question whether having robots enter marathons is a reliable indicator of their industrial potential.Alan Fern artificial intelligence and robotics at Oregon State University said contrary to claims from Beijing officials that such a race requires "AI breakthroughs" the software enabling humanoid robots to run was developed and demonstrated more than five years ago."Chinese companies have really focused on showing off walking and other feats of agility."Generally but they don't demonstrate much regarding the utility of useful work or any type of basic intelligence," Fern said.Tang said: "A focus going forward for us will be industrial applications for humanoid robots so they can truly enter factories and finally households."(This story has been refiled to fix a typo in paragraph 2)Reporting by Eduardo Baptista and Alessandro Diviggiano; Editing by Tom Hogue Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab , opens new tab Browse an unrivalled portfolio of real-time and historical market data and insights from worldwide sources and experts. , opens new tabScreen for heightened risk individual and entities globally to help uncover hidden risks in business relationships and human networks. © 2025 Reuters. All rights reserved In a weekend jam-packed with marathoning, New Tecumseth, Ont.’s Ana Laura Fray delivered one of the most impressive performances of all the 48-year-old made a powerful statement at the Toronto Marathon blazing to an overall women’s victory in 2:50:40 and proving that age is no barrier to excellence Her win was a standout moment among incredible results from across the country, including the BMO Vancouver Marathon and the Georgina Spring Fling on the shores of southern Ontario’s Lake Simcoe “If you had told me 15 years ago when I ran my first half-marathon in Toronto, that today I would be the winner of the full distance, I would not have believed you!” Fray wrote on Instagram A post shared by Ana Fray (@analau_77) The 2025 Toronto Marathon marked Fray’s 27th time tackling the 42.2-km event; even at 48, her performances sit short of her personal best of 2:46 by a mere four minutes. Fray’s coach, elite runner and coach Emily Setlack surprised her by entering the race herself and running beside Fray throughout; Setlack took second overall in 2:50:42 “I couldn’t be more grateful for having her running with me and throwing a bunch of positive thoughts my way as I fought throughout the race,” Fray said The outstanding run comes despite Fray’s late start to training The Toronto Marathon brought its usual slew of road closures–and a showcase of outstanding efforts A post shared by Toronto Marathon (@torontomarathon) Full results here Her race was cancelled, but she ran a marathon PB anyway The BMO Vancouver Marathon saw solid performances by Canadian favourites, with 2023 champion Dayna Pidhoresky of Windsor returning to reclaim her title in a brisk 2:35:07 A post shared by Dayna Pidhoresky (@daynapid) Full results here Canada’s road racing star Andrew Davies highlighted Sunday’s half-marathon performances in Vancouver continuing his dominant streak with a 1:04:10 to win by over a minute Full results here A post shared by BMO Vancouver Marathon (@bmovanmarathon) the spring edition of the Georgina Marathon delivered once again near Jackson’s Point Full results here Get the digital edition of Running for your chosen platform: Independence native Sean Ryan couldn't have mapped out his first-ever Flying Pig Marathon any better Henry High School alumnus who had been planning to run in the event for four years It went about as perfectly as it could have," Ryan said found a few hours each day after work to train for Sunday's marathon during a busy tax season "It was interesting to put in the tax season hours then going out and running a few miles a day," Ryan said it can get monotonous just running as much as possible I'm looking forward to having a more open schedule." Over the last four years, Ryan typically used this weekend to train for conference championships while running cross country for Lewis University in Romeoville, Illinois. More: Everything you need to know about the 2025 Flying Pig Marathon More: Jonathan Harley, Maddy Trevisan set course records in Flying Pig Paycor Half Marathon wins Ryan logged 15 top-10 finishes and won a pair of events and the Flying Pig Marathon was the next step "I've been looking at this race since I got into college "I graduated in December and there is no time like the present I was fresh off my college training and still in the groove." Lewis said he found his groove Sunday around the fourth mile when he was hovering toward the top of the leaderboard Ryan pulled away from the rest of the pack to log the seventh-fastest time in Flying Pig Marathon history Bridger Altice was the runner-up in 2:26:05 and Ethan Davis finished third in 2:28.05 Not too much left and maybe you can actually do some good here 'It's time to get this thing moving,'" Ryan said "I'm not typically too emotional of a person To do this a lot and getting to the finish is very exciting." Pittsburgh’s marathon route has been cleared of downed wires and debris from this week’s storms and runners this weekend can look forward to “optimal” conditions and a massive public safety presence The Dick’s Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon Weekend which is expecting record-breaking attendance will draw tens of thousands of participants and spectators Though many communities in Southwestern Pennsylvania are still removing felled trees repairing damaged roofs and awaiting power to return the streets along the 26.2-mile route are free of hazards Pittsburgh police Commander Lance Hoyson told reporters after a news conference at the David L Lawrence Convention Center in Downtown Pittsburgh More than 46,000 people have registered to participate in marathon-related activities this weekend making it the largest marathon weekend the city has ever seen That includes more than 10,000 children participating in a kid’s race Saturday a record 6,000 5K participants and 23,000 people running the marathon and half marathon Runners represent all 50 states and 24 countries Over 300 police officers will be stationed throughout the marathon footprint Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office personnel Pennsylvania State Police and officers from neighboring municipalities It’s “very difficult” to police the sprawling marathon route and the city’s police force has long partnered with other agencies to staff the event “It makes it easier with a lot more people but it’s very manpower intensive,” Hoyson said The marathon will not impact the bureau’s operations elsewhere in the city and officials have not had to cancel days off for Pittsburgh police officers Hoyson urged people to be aware of parking restrictions and detours Thirty-five ambulances will be stationed throughout the race courses said Acting Assistant Emergency Medical Services Chief Jennifer McDermott-Grubb Pittsburgh EMS will be relying on help from outside agencies to man the event Additional medics will be on bicycles and motorcycles to ensure they can quickly get to people no matter where they are during the event who serves as the event’s medical director said a medical team of more than 300 volunteers sports medicine emergency medicine and other workers will be on hand They’ll staff 17 aid areas along the marathon route a field hospital at the finish line and a treatment and cooling center in Point State Park the medical team treats about 200-300 people during the marathon with the majority of the injuries strains and sprains They also see cardiac and respiratory events and weather-related issues “We’re expecting pretty optimal conditions for running this weekend,” Weiss said shows temperatures in the 50s or 60s with clouds and light rain coming in and out Julia Burdelski is a TribLive reporter covering Pittsburgh City Hall and other news in and around Pittsburgh. A La Roche University graduate, she joined the Trib in 2020. She can be reached at jburdelski@triblive.com Utah native Tori Parkinson won the 27th Flying Pig Marathon on Sunday in 2 hours "My training wasn't exactly what I wanted it to be so I was really happy to feel strong when the later miles kicked in," Parkinson said opening up a sizable gap by the time she came off the Clay-Wade Bailey Bridge at about mile 4 she had opened up an eight-minute gap on Emma Bell and Daniella Townsend she mistook some of the female half-marathon leaders as her fellow competitors It wasn't until the split in Walnut Hills that she realized she was all alone Despite running by herself for the majority of the race she clocked an even split of 1:19:41 for the first half and 1:20:25 for the second half Men's winner: 'It's very exciting.' St. Henry High School alum Sean Ryan wins Flying Pig Marathon Half-marathon winners: Jonathan Harley, Maddy Trevisan set course records in Flying Pig Paycor Half Marathon wins "I would channel some of the runs I've done at home and pictured what those felt like Playing the mental games through it really helped me the most," Parkinson said Parkinson raved about the energy on the course saying it "might be my favorite marathon I've ever done." Her first win at 26.2 miles may have contributed to that feeling A graduate of Utah State she has run six marathons including the 2021 Boston Marathon She also won the 2023 Salt Lake City Half Marathon and the 2024 Hobble Creek Half Marathon I love seeing the little girls cheering," Parkinson said Dayton native and 2024 champion Olivia Anger was considered a pre-race favorite to break the tape but she dropped out the day before the race Parkinson's time is now the second-fastest women's winning time in race history Anger previously held that title with a time of 2:43:22 Three-time winner Caitlin Keen has three of the top six winning times The current trend suggests that Tatyana Pozdnyakova's course record of 2:34:33 could be broken in the near future "I think women's marathoning is making huge progress right now There's been a lot more research on what women need I feel like I'm understanding recovery a lot better and seeing improvements in my own running," Parkinson said Parkinson turned her attention to her favorite post-race meal of street tacos taking recommendations in the post-race huddle She is also focused on qualifying for the 2028 Olympic Trials marathon but the Games of the XXXIV Olympiad will be in Los Angeles She also has her eye on the New York City Marathon which would be her third Abbott World Marathon Major after previously completing the Chicago and Boston marathons Cincinnati native Daniella Townsend and Emma Bell a recent high school graduate from Demotte with Townsend in second (2:51:14) and Bell Editor's note: This story has been updated with updated information from the Flying Pig Marathon semi-soggy and overcast Sunday provided the perfect atmosphere for runners to break records champions Jonathan Harley and Maddy Trevisan each set course records After crossing the tape in 1:10:40 last spring Harley set his sights on the course record "After getting first last year it was like then I looked up the course record and it was 68:30," Harley said "That was the goal I set for myself this year.” With the help of coaching from a former teammate over the last few months Harley shaved nearly three minutes off his 2024 time Getting out there and running every day," Harley said of his training to repeat "I think last year I was dealing with some injuries I knew I could get there if I just put the work in In her first Flying Pig Paycor Half Marathon Detroit native Maddy Trevisan took first place in a new course record of 1:19:50 She broke Jules Madzia’s previous record from last year by three seconds I had a lot of people warn me about that big hill I run that area a lot so I knew that would be the toughest part that can carry you a little bit,” Trevisan said Trevisan ran at the University of Michigan before moving to Cincinnati in 2023 to work for Procter & Gamble She works alongside decorated half-marathoner Eric Gruenbacher ‘Why not try to train and see what I can do?’” Trevisan said she stayed within herself and ended up surprising herself Trevisan came in third place in the 2024 Flying Pig 10K and her brother completed the 2024 half-marathon in 1:34:10 “He and I have been running together for a long time,” Trevisan said Three-time Olympian and former 3,000-meter steeplechase American record holder Jenny Simpson took second place in 1:21:30 Tricia Hengehold rounded out the top three with a time of 1:22:42 and it wasn't just the sweat from 26.2 miles worth of exertion he had just won the 2025 Colorado Marathon in his first-ever attempt running the event But Lehn was just grateful for the "spiritual experience" that a picture-perfect spring Sunday morning in and around Fort Collins provided him en route the Colorado Marathon in the Poudre Canyon with the sun peaking above the canyon walls," Lehn said Lehn took the overall title in the marathon's 23rd edition The Boulder-based runner held off 19-year-old Oregon runner Garret Anderson who surged from several minutes behind at the halfway point to close within a mere five seconds by the finish line the pair were more than eight minutes ahead of third place after pulling away from the pack charging out with an early pack before breaking away by the halfway and 5K splits "Took the first mile pretty chill with a few dudes and just started rolling downhill from there," Lehn said Race season: Fort Collins-area 2025 running and race calendar He brings a strong racing pedigree with this win Lehn was an NCAA Division III All-American cross country runner at Minnesota's St helping the Oles win their first national title in 2013 Olaf and Augsburg College until moving to Colorado in 2021 starting out in Fort Collins before moving to Boulder "I spent my first year (in Colorado) here with friends so Fort Collins always has a special place in my heart." Lehn also won the Steamboat Springs Marathon and has been an active member of the Fort Collins and Boulder running communities in the 2020s The 31-year-old who teaches middle-school science in the Boulder Valley School District improved his winning Steamboat time by more than eight minutes in this one winning another big race and nearly matching his pre-race hopes of finishing in under 2 hours and 30 minutes But the morning meant more to a runner that embraces the sport's intangible and personal elements "I love running and racing and the deeper meaning and community behind it all I'm really out here for more than myself," Lehn said "You can’t take something like this for granted." rolling in under the 3-hour mark with a winning time of 2:55:40 McNally was the only women's runner under that 3-hour total beating second-place finisher Amber Matzoll (Denver) by nearly five minutes Make it a big month for the runner and Wisconsin native who is a pre-med student at Colorado State The 21-year-old is set to graduate from CSU this May after competing in track & field and cross-country the past four years helping the Rams' women's team win Mountain West championships McNally was greeted by a boisterous contingent of friends in the final strides the fourth-best finish for a women's runner in Colorado Marathon history Colorado runners dominate top spots againIt is the Colorado Marathon after all The event's namesake provided another banner year for in-state runners Eight of the top 10 marathon finishers and 20 of the top 25 hailed from Colorado And 11 of the top 30 were from Northern Colorado with Sky Grahn (9th) the top finisher from Fort Collins Chris Abshire covers high school and community sports for the Coloradoan.