Small Business 

Dr. Aaron Baggish and Dr. Jonathan Kim, leading researchers in sports cardiology, chatted with Leah to discuss findings from their recent study, RACER 2, which analyzed cardiac events in distance running over a 13-year span. The study found that while the rate of cardiac arrests during races has remained stable, the survival rate has significantly improved—nearly 70%—largely due to better emergency preparedness, such as widespread use of AEDs and CPR training. Drs. Baggish and Kim emphasize that running does not eliminate heart disease risk and advocate for regular medical checkups for runners. They also stress the importance of emergency action planning, especially for smaller races, and call for better data collection and reporting to help improve future outcomes.

Running USA looks forward to bringing the 2026 Industry Conference presented by haku to St. Louis, Missouri, from Feb. 1-3, 2026. To learn more about the city, its running scene and the Greater St. Louis Marathon, which will run its 25th edition in two weeks, we caught up with Mona Vespa, Executive Director of GO! St. Louis, who has dedicated her career to the organization. Watch the video to get to know Mona and learn more about what St. Louis has in store for us next year!

Running USA held its annual Town Hall meeting for members via virtual meeting on Tuesday, April 1. The meeting covers updates to the membership structure of Running USA, Board of Directors elections, the 2026 Industry Conference, 2025 Global Runner Survey and more! Links referenced in the video: Membership benefits: https://www.runningusa.org/membership/member-benefits/ Strategic plan: https://www.runningusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Running-USA-Strat-Plan-FINAL.pdf Conference registration: https://register.hakuapp.com/?event=04958b1fee4e66e9ebcf Apply to speak at conference: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSclTR1WbC6cp4r_NNDmEUWSSqlBhSz8A1_mJ8S45426SuxoYA/viewform HR and PR services: https://www.runningusa.org/running-usa-services-human-resources-consultation-and-press-release-creation/ AED rentals: https://www.aedbrands.com/running-usa-aed-rentals/ Take 2025 Global Runner Survey: https://survey.alchemer.com/s3/8158751/2025GlobalRunnerSurvey Boston event signup: https://in.njuko.com/2025-running-usa-and-rrca-spring-industry-reception?currentPage=select-competition  

Running USA announces new member benefits and updated membership tiers effective April 1, 2025, reflecting the evolving needs of the running event industry. This marks the first membership update since 2019, offering expanded benefits across six new tiers. See all benefits here. The new benefits are responsive to feedback from Running USA members, including expanded opportunities for networking and industry connection, the addition of professional services, expanded conference discounts and much more. “Running USA serves event organizers, vendors and brands of all sizes including large event companies, family-owned business, nonprofits and for-profit organizations,” said Jay Holder, Executive Director of Running USA. “These membership levels are meant to serve everyone in and deliver the type of benefits that will educate, engage and evolve the running event industry.” Each membership level will include individual account access, with organizations able to assign multiple users depending on their type of membership. Existing memberships will transition at the end of their current billing cycle, ensuring a seamless upgrade transition beginning April 1, 2025 and continuing through April 1, 2026.

(c) 2025 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved. Published with permission. NEW YORK (13-Mar) -- Four-time Olympian Karoline Bjerkeli Grøvdal of Norway will hit 35 this June, but is nonetheless coming off of her best-ever year as a runner.  In 2024 the adidas-sponsored athlete ran national records at 3000m (8:27.02), 10K (30:52), and the half-marathon (1:06:55).  She was also successful in championships racing, taking the silver medal at 5000m at the European Athletics Championships, the gold medal in the half-marathon at those same championships, and eighth place at the Paris Olympics in the 5000m. But it was here in New York where Grøvdal enjoyed one of her most satisfying wins.  At the 2024 United Airlines NYC Half last March, Grøvdal rallied in the 17th kilometer to catch Kenyans Gladys Chepkurui and Edna Kiplagat.  Grøvdal had finished third in both the 2022 and 2023 editions of the race and didn't want to land on the third step of the podium again. "I was so tired then," Grøvdal told reporters.  "Just thinking, it's third this year also.  But then, I don't know.  I just tried to don't get the gap too big.  Suddenly, I was just behind them again." She ended up dropping the Kenyan duo and went on to win by a comfortable 18 seconds, stretching her arms high as she broke the finish tape in Central Park near Tavern on the Green.  The $20,000 first prize wasn't bad, either. "It's up there," Grøvdal said when asked how last year's victory compared with the other important wins in her long international career which began when she was just 15 years-old.  "I have three European golds.  They are big, but I think this is right around that one." Grøvdal credits consistent training and staying healthy for her late-career success, and she's excited to defend her NYC Half title on Sunday. "I'm not sure what's the secret," Grøvdal told Race Results Weekly today in an interview in Times Square.  "I had a lot of years now with no injury.  I've been training well; I think that's the key.  And, of course, I started the season with this race last year and with a win, so it was a very good start."  She continued: "It's just many years with a lot of work." Varying her running has also been important to Grøvdal, who enjoys cross country, track, and road running equally.  Although she missed last December's European Athletics Cross Country Championships --an event in which she has a record 10 individual medals-- she did place 13th in the World Athletics Cross Country Championships last March. "I think that's what motivates me, to do a lot of races," Grøvdal explained.  "I love cross country, I love roads, and I love track.  So, I've always been very into competing, and competing in different distances from shorter to longer.  I think that's very important to me to have the drive to do running, actually." Remarkably Grøvdal is still maintaining --and even improving-- her speed.  Over the last three seasons she has lowered her half-marathon best to 1:08:07 in 2022, 1:07:34 in 2023, and then 1:06:55 last year.  She's also run season-best times for 5000m of 14:31.07, 14:45.24 and 14:38.62 for 2022, 2023 and 2024, respectively.  That made her the fastest European at that distance for 2022, and the third-fastest for both 2023 and 2024. That's noteworthy for an athlete who races half the time or more on the roads. "I just think when I'm in good shape I can do all the distances very good, and now is my first year I am training for a marathon.  Everybody tells me you get slower now.  So, hopefully I will run fast at 5 and 10K still, because I think I have to improve my 5 and 10K for the marathon, also." Grøvdal's first marathon is on the immediate horizon. She has chosen to try the distance at the Haspa Marathon Hamburg, the same event where two-time Olympic Marathon gold medalist Eliud Kipchoge made his debut.  She could have run in London (on the same day) and surely made a solid appearance fee, but in Hamburg she'll be able to run with less pressure and bring her own male pacers (the TCS London Marathon uses an all-women's elite race). "My plan is to run in Hamburg the 27th of April," Grøvdal said.  She continued: "It was that one or London.  But I think for my first marathon maybe it's good to have a more low-key (race).  I can have two guys who helping with the pacing; London is the women-only.  So, I think it will be a good place to start, then I do a fall marathon." On Sunday Grøvdal --and the approximately 27,000 other runners in the field-- will compete on a new course from Brooklyn to Manhattan which will cross the Brooklyn Bridge for the first time.  Her main rivals will be Lonah Chemtai Salpeter of Israel, Sharon Lokedi of Kenya, Emily Sisson and Fiona O’Keeffe of the United States, and Calli Hauger-Thackery of Great Britain. "We like to call the New York City Half 'the one to run,'" said New York Road Runners CEO Rob Simmelkjaer at a press conference this morning.  "We're excited to go over the Brooklyn Bridge." PHOTO: Karoline Bjerkeli Grøvdal of Norway in Times Square in advance of the 2025 United Airlines NYC Half (photo by Jane Monti for Race Results Weekly)