Bizarre, strange and unusual stories from the world of running
What happens in Vegas... - Olympic track star Suzy Favor Hamilton had her invitation to the annual "Disneyland Half Marathon" rescinded after her secret side job as a high-priced escort was revealed. In fact, Mickey Mouse's bosses have banned Hamilton from all Disney sporting events. After Hamilton fessed-up to being a $600-an-hour hooker, the folks at Disney decided their family-friendly race had no place for the hard-bodied head-turner.
Runners hope to improve their performance with Viagra - Athletes looking for a performance boost are increasingly turning to a little blue pill more usually taken for its off-the-field benefits: Viagra. The World Anti-Doping Agency is currently studying Viagra's effects in athletes, but hasn't yet banned it. Experts are divided over whether it actually offers runners an edge.
Runner kills dog with bare hands to protect his son - Joshua Harris was running with his seven-year-old son riding his bike. Along his run he was attacked by a dog that soon met its fate at the hands of Harris in an act of self-defense. Harris was scratched and biten several times on the arm, finger and nose. When police arrived the dog was already dead.
Honesty of the long-distance runner - Is winning all that counts? Spanish athlete Iván Fernández Anaya was running second, some distance behind race leader Abel Mutai who mistakenly pull up before the finish, thinking he had already crossed the line. Anaya quickly caught up with him, guided the Kenyan to the line and let him cross first.
Runner attacked by owls - Female joggers along the west dyke in Richmond are being warned to wear a hat after a woman was tailed and attacked by a pair of owls. The caution comes after Elena Vinarskaia decided to go for her daily run along the dyke. She felt something was flying close to her head but, because owls make little or no noise in flight, she didn't know they were there until she looked up.
9-year-old marathoner - At just 9-year-old, Nikolas Toocheck has already established himself as a record breaking runner. He is running full marathons towards a goal of taking a million steps and raising a $1 million for his grandfather's charity.
This never happens! - As I approached an intersection, I ran in front of a white van stopped waiting to turning right. I jumped and yelled as he missed me, close enough that I felt a rush of air as he cornered just behind me. I've almost been hit by right-turning drivers dozens of times but never has one ever said a word to me that didn't start with "F".
Marathon runner rides bus to third place - A British runner was stripped of his third-place marathon medal when it was discovered that he got an "unfare" advantage from a tourist bus. Cairns, a police officer, was awarded the third-place medal after the runner's disqualification.
Pregnant runner finishes marathon and delivers baby - Days from her due date, 27-year-old Amber Miller joined 45,000 other runners to participate in the "Bank of America Chicago Marathon" and then gave birth to a baby girl named June hours later. She said she never expected to finish the race.
Mom wins an ultramarathon while breast pumping - Sophie Carter didn't want her eight-month-old son to go without breast milk while she took part in the race last month, so she decided to pump milk for him while running an ultramarathon - she crossed the finish line in first place.
11,000-volt cable hanging across a path kills runner - A runner has died after coming into contact with a power cable. He was jogging with three other people when he struck an electricity cable. Two were treated for minor electric shock injuries.
Bandit runner wins marathon - The Cowtown Marathon featured the gathering of thousands of registered participants Sunday on the grounds of Will Rogers Memorial Center. And two men's marathon winners because of one who was not registered. The situation with the bib in the men's race was much, if not exactly, like the storyline in 2003, when Greg Floyd won the marathon after Augustine Hernandez was disqualified for the same offense.
Runner with cardio mask causes post office shutdown - Word to the wise runners: Maybe it is not the smartest thing to jog in what looks like a gas mask and body armor, and then jam a package in a post office box. It could touch off what happened at the busy San Jose post office: a full-scale police response, complete with the bomb squad and a robot.
Police tickets runner for jogging backward - When Alex Mesa goes for a run, he usually gets a reaction: "People honk, wave, drive next to me and ask questions," he said. "They give me high-fives, scream my name and cheer me on". But on a recent 5-mile run through South Beach, Mesa got a different kind of reaction - a ticket for $77.50 for running backward.
Runner hit by a flying deer - Krystine Rivera was running when a driver hit a deer with her sport utility vehicle. The deer was sent flying into Rivera, who was left with minor injuries.
