Canadian Running’s top 10 running stories of 2024

As we tip our cap to the end of 2024, it’s time to recap some of Canadian Running’s most popular stories of the year. This year, the sport saw its share of controversies and triumphs. Noah Lyles became the first American sprinter to win the men’s 100m at an Olympic Games in two decades and even took a victory lap by racing YouTubers during his offseason. We all learned about the back pages of Wikipedia and what not to do at the New York City Marathon.

Anyway, let’s get to it—here’s a countdown of the top 10 most popular running stories of 2024, according to our readers.

10. Canadian sprinter loses NCAA conference title for showboating

It’s not often that a Canadian athlete makes major news in the running world, but 400m sprinter Michael Roth did just that at an NCAA meet in San Antonio, Texas. Roth had a significant lead as he rounded the bend into the final 100m of the one-lap race. Instead of running straight through the line, he looked back at his competitor and made a hand gesture.

Michael Roth (UTSA) 🇨🇦 was disqualified after he ran a PB of 45.78s to win the AAC men’s 400m title for unsportmanlike behaviour.

The unsportmanlike behaviour:👀 pic.twitter.com/t4zL2k65Ll

— Track & Field Gazette (@TrackGazette) May 13, 2024

Roth ended up being disqualified for unsportsmanlike behaviour, resulting in him losing the conference title and his new personal best of 45.78 seconds. “Soft disqualification, but it’s alright,” Roth wrote on his Instagram story. “I still have work to do.”

9. Things Gen Z considers “running icks”

You might have been a runner for decades, but in this social-media era, these are some major running no-nos that you might not be aware of.  Snot rockets and ankle socks, considered unattractive by some, are (mostly) completely acceptable in the running world. However, there are a few standards that many runners don’t comply with, like doing all your easy runs in super shoes or jogging on the spot at red lights.

8. New York runner receives marathon rejection email–with his face on it

For one runner, his New York City Marathon rejection email had an unexpected personal touch. New York’s own Nick Parisi applied for a spot in the 2024 New York City Marathon, only to receive an email featuring his own image giving finger guns with the message, “Better luck next year.”

Parisi was one of 160,000 runners who received the rejection email from New York Road Runners (NYRR), but he was the only one to see his own face. NYRR did the right thing by giving Parisi an honourary spot in the 2024 race. After all, they used his race photo.

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7. Usain Bolt’s 100m world record is the longest-standing in history

Even though Usain Bolt hasn’t touched the track in almost eight years, he is still setting records in his retirement. In May, Bolt became the longest athlete to hold the 100m world record in the Olympic Games era. Bolt has officially held the men’s 100m and 200m world records for over 15 years. He surpassed the previous record in the same event, held by American Jim Hines between 1968 and 1983. 

6. WATCH: 65-year-old sprinter decimates 100m field at Penn Relays

Masters athletes are some of the most dedicated sports stars in the world, and American 100m sprinter Michael Kish is no exception. At the 128th Penn Relays in April, Kish threw down a clinic in the men’s 60+ 100m competition, running a mind-boggling wind-legal 13.32 seconds.

They say you’re supposed to lose speed as you get older, but Kish might be an exception. He averaged a speed of 27 km/h.

13.32 (+0.6) for 100m from the Masters 70 and older race⁉️

Michael Kish was cruising in this 100m at @pennrelays#pennrelays pic.twitter.com/iT8sploYYR

— FloTrack (@FloTrack) April 25, 2024

5. Usain Bolt named ninth-greatest athlete of the 21st century

Before the Paris Olympics, ESPN dropped a list ranking the 100 best athletes in the world since the year 2000. And track and field’s very own Usain Bolt took the ninth spot, of course. It’s sometimes hard to believe that the worlds of the “Big Four” leagues (MLB, NBA, NFL and NHL), tennis, soccer, golf, and the Olympics all exist in the same universe. There’s no debate that Bolt was a generational talent, whose historic achievements and records still stand today. 

4. Lululemon ends partnership with ultrarunner Camille Herron

In one of the most jaw-dropping (and odd) stories of the year, American ultrarunner Camille Herron was dropped by her sponsor, Canadian activewear company Lululemon after we reported hundreds of Wikipedia edits made by Herron toward her own page and the pages of other ultrarunners (including Courtney Dauwalter and Kilian Jornet) to remove or downplay their accomplishments.

Lululemon was quick to kick Herron to the curb, dropping the four-time IAU International Ultra Runner of the Year just days after the article was published, citing: “We are committed to upholding equitable competition in sport for all and intentionally partner with ambassadors who embody these same values.”

3. The Toronto Marathon: a series of unfortunate events

In a tell-all, Canadian Running’s own Katrianna DeSante shared her experience at the 2024 Toronto Marathon. As a runner, it wasn’t everything she envisioned it would be. As a visitor to Canada’s largest city, she experienced a series of unfortunate race day mishaps by the organizers, including a lack of organization, food and refreshments, and race medals.

2. Running influencer enrages participants at New York City Marathon

In case you’re wondering if you can have support bikes on the course at any of the Abbott World Marathon Majors, American running influencer Matt Choi learned the hard way. Choi ran the TCS New York City Marathon on Sunday, accompanied by someone riding an e-bike, finishing the marathon in 2:57:15. After photos of him surfaced on Reddit, the New York Road Runners (NYRR) issued a release stating Choi’s result has been disqualified.

He was also banned from any future NYRR races.

1. U.S. ultrarunner Camille Herron involved in Wikipedia controversy

One of the world’s most accomplished distance runners, Camille Herron, and coach/husband Conor Holt were caught removing accolades from other athletes’ Wikipedia pages and “fluffing” her own. It stemmed from several edits to the Wikipedia pages of ultrarunners Kilian Jornet and Courtney Dauwalter, which degraded their accomplishments, while also adding accolades to Herron’s own page. The edits were all traced back to Herron’s email and Holt’s IP address.