This is the medal for the Glow Run 5K that was held on November 3, 2012 in Miami, Florida.

Love glow in the dark medals!

MORE PHOTOS OF MARATHON/ULTRA MEDALS AND BUCKLES

[Medal submitted by Felipe Zambrana. Follow on Twitter @JustBringit247]

This is the medal for the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon that was held on November 3, 2012 in Indianapolis, Indiana.

MORE PHOTOS OF MARATHON/ULTRA MEDALS AND BUCKLES

[Medal photo submitted by Chris McCartney. Follow him on Twitter @mccartneycl22]

Mike Vaccaro, of the New York Post, has published part of a letter that New York Road Runners president Mary Wittenberg sent to the 47,000 runners who were supposed to run ING New York City Marathon this weekend.

In the letter, Wittenberg seems to blame the media as one of the main contributing factors as to why the race was cancelled.

“It became increasingly apparent that the people of our … area were still struggling to recover,” the letter reads, in part. “That struggle, fueled by the resulting extensive and growing media coverage antagonistic to the marathon and its participants, created conditions that raised concern for the safety of both those working to produce the event and its participants.”

Vaccaro didn’t take too kindly to Wittenberg suggesting the media’s antagonistic coverage was a reason for cancelling the marathon and he didn’t hold back in his column on his opinion of Wittenberg:

Antagonistic to the marathon and its participants? No, the media — and 99 percent of this city — were antagonistic to the NYRR and its tone-deaf co-conspirators. And you damn well believe we would be again. And will be. Until Wittenberg — the deafest of the tone-deaf — is gone.

Ouch!  Is Vaccaro’s interpretation of Wittenberg’s statement accurate or do you think she meant something totally different or that it was misconstrued?

Do you agree that Mary Wittenberg should be fired as president of the New York Road Runners?

Read more of Varraro’s article HERE

The World Marathon Majors® (WMM) has decided that Geoffrey Mutai (Kenya) and Mary Keitany (Kenya) are the champions of the 2011-2012 World Marathon Majors Series, in the wake of the cancellation of the 2012 New York City Marathon.

From BAA: With the cancellation of the 2012 ING New York City Marathon, the 2011-2012 Series has concluded and there will be no additional points awarded. Mutai had already secured the Series title in advance of the New York race with 75 points tallied in winning the 2011 Boston Marathon, the 2011 ING New York City Marathon, and the 2012 BMW Berlin Marathon. Keitany secured the title with 65 points accumulated with victories at the 2011 and 2012 Virgin London Marathons, and a third place finish at the 2011 ING New York City Marathon. These athletes will split the $1 million prize purse.

The New York City Marathon, that was scheduled for November 4, 2012, was cancelled after Hurricane Sandy struck the area leaving massive devastation and loss of human life.

NYRR president Mary Wittenberg along with NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg decided less than 40 hours before the start of the scheduled marathon to cancel the race after announcing earlier in the week that the race would proceed as planned.

World Marathon Majors Male Final Leaderboard

1. Geoffrey Mutai (Kenya) – 75 points
2. Tsegaye Kebede (Ethiopia) – 46 points
3. Wesley Korir (Kenya) – 41 points
4. Abel Kirui (Kenya) – 40 points
5. Moses Mosop (Kenya) – 40 points
6. Emmanual Mutai (Kenya) – 40 points
7. Wilson Kipsang (Kenya) – 35 points
8. Patrick Makau (Kenya) – 35 points
9. Martin Lel (Kenya) – 30 points
10. Stephen Kiprotich (Uganda) – 25 points
11. Feyisa Lilesa (Ethiopia) – 25 points

World Marathon Majors Female Final Leaderboard

1. Mary Keitany (Kenya) – 65 points
2. Edna Kiplagat (Kenya) – 50 points
3. Sharon Cherop (Kenya) – 45 points
4. Liliya Shobukhova (Russia) – 45 points
5. Priscah Jeptoo (Kenya) – 40 points
6. Firehiwot Dado (Ethiopia) – 30 points
7. Florence Kiplagat (Kenya) – 30 points
8. Atsede Baysa (Ethiopia) – 26 points
9. Tiki Gelana (Ethiopia) – 25 points
10. Aberu Kebede (Ethiopia) – 25 points
11. Caroline Kilel (Ethiopia) – 25 points

Complete List of Results at WorldMarathonMajors.com

Congrats to Geoffrey and Mary on their World Marathon Majors titles!

As we posted minutes ago, Mayor Bloomberg and NYRR president Mary Wittenberg have canceled the 2012 ING New York City Marathon just hours before the race was to take place on Sunday, November 4, 2012.

Many believe it would have been the right call 60 hours ago, but Bloomberg reassured everyone the race would go on and runners from all over the world hopped on planes to travel to NYC to run the historic race.

Now many angered runners are lashing out at the decision by Bloomberg to cancel the race after so many traveled to the city upon his word that the race would go on. Runners have lost thousands of dollars in airline tickets and hotel rooms.

Here is what some runners are saying on our Twitter feed (pro and con) when we asked them for their thoughts:

New York City Marathon Canceled – 2012

Storified by Joshua Holmes · Fri, Nov 02 2012 16:05:11

Runners, already in New York, pack your backs…you are going back home without running the 2012 ING New York City Marathon according to the NYRR and Mayor Bloomberg’s office.

The race has been canceled after Bloomberg said two days ago that the race would go on as scheduled on November 4, 2012.

RUNNERS RESPOND TO CANCELATION ON TWITTER (READ)

Here is the Tweet from Bloomberg:

Marathon cancellation statement from NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg & NYRR CEO Mary Wittenberg: “The Marathon has been an integral part of New York City’s life for 40 years and is an event tens of thousands of New Yorkers participate in and millions more watch. While holding the race would not require diverting resources from the recovery effort, it is clear that it has become the source of controversy and division. The marathon has always brought our city together and inspired us with stories of courage and determination. We would not want a cloud to hang over the race or its participants, and so we have decided to cancel it. We cannot allow a controversy over an athletic event — even one as meaningful as this — to distract attention away from all the critically important work that is being done to recover from the storm and get our city back on track. The New York Road Runners will have additional information in the days ahead for participants.”

The decision has been confirmed by NBC, ABC News, and ESPN.

The decision is a horrible one coming today. Two days ago it would have been the right decision. Instead runners from all over the world have been traveling to the city this weekend to run in the famed #NYCM.

Bad decision followed by another bad decision after preparations to hold the event and runners were already at the Expo checking in for the event.

The NYRR have a cancelation insurance policy and should be able to collect up to $427,000 according to ESPN’s Darren Rovell.

Bloomberg is no Mayor Giuliani when it comes to making the right calls during disasters.

Agree? Disagree? Drop your thoughts in the comments below.

Here is a look at all of the elite women that will be taking part at the ING New York City Marathon on November 4, 2012.

The favorites will be Tiki Gelana from Ethiopia (2:18:58) and Kenya’s Edna Kiplagat (2:19:50).

Be sure to keep an eye on former Boston Marathon champ Sharon Cherop (2:22:39) and Ethiopia’s Bizunesh Deba as well.

We will be pulling for all of these elite women on Sunday, especially Run It Fast’s Leah Thorvilson from Arkansas.

ELITE 2012 NYC MARATHON WOMEN

Best of luck to these elite women and all of the women taking part in this year’s ING NYC Marathon!

[source: Let’s Run]

Here is a look at where everyone is running this weekend. We had 45 responses this week. Good luck to everyone and Run It Fast!

Best of luck to everyone, especially those at the Marine Corps Marathon in D.C.

To join Run It Fast – The Club then click HERE to read more details.

Where Run It Fast Runners Are Running This Weekend (Nov 3-4, 2012)

Storified by Joshua Holmes · Fri, Nov 02 2012 10:53:21

This is the medal for the Life Without Limits Half Marathon that was held on October 27, 2012 in Florence, Alabama.

Great title for a race!

MORE PHOTOS OF MARATHON/ULTRA MEDALS AND BUCKLES

[Medal photo submitted by Jeremy Holley. Follow him on Twitter @jeremy_ms]

This is the medal for the Columbia Gorge Marathon that was held on October 28, 2012 in Hood River, Oregon.

MORE PHOTOS OF MARATHON/ULTRA MEDALS AND BUCKLES

[Medal photo submitted by RIF #147 Josh Liggett.  Follow him on Twitter @waves_of_light]