Wrong Runner Accused of Doping | The Running Story

This week on The Running Story, Michael and Jessy cover the week’s top stories in running. They start with the death of Rachel Apa, a 24-year-old charity runner who collapsed at mile 24 of the 2026 New York City Marathon. Her father said the cause was rhabdomyolysis, a rare condition. Next, the TCS New York City Marathon reclaims the title of the world’s largest marathon. It’s the first marathon in history with more than 60,000 finishers (61,146), and Michael walks through Marathon Handbook’s new NYC Data hub, built from more than 2 million split times.

Then it’s on to the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon. Both course records fell, and 28 runners hit the US Olympic Marathon Trials standard (2:16 for men, 2:37 for women) on the road to LA 2028. After that, the story of Kenya’s anti-doping agency provisionally suspending “Noah Kibet,” and the media getting the wrong one. The 800m World Indoor medalist was never the athlete involved. Finally, a 7-year-old from Tennessee runs 1:39:48 at the Nashville Half Marathon, a reported age-group world best for the second straight year, which raises the question of whether kids should be racing these distances at all.

Chapters:
0:00 Intro
2:31 NYC Marathon Runner Rachel Apa Dies of Rhabdomyolysis
5:34 NYC Marathon Sets World Record With 61,146 Finishers
12:40 Indianapolis Monumental Marathon: Course Records & 28 Olympic Trials Qualifiers
18:57 Noah Kibet Mix-Up: Wrong Runner Accused of Doping
25:33 7-Year-Old Sets Half Marathon Record: Should Kids Race This Far?
32:14 Outro

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marathonhandbook.com/every-runner-2026-nyc-marathon-mapped

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