Hyderabad Marathon race week is here. If you are racing this weekend, our route preview breaks down the climbs, flyovers, rolling terrain and the revised finish, along with terrain-aware pacing guidance.
56:51 for a half marathon! Yomif Kejelcha reclaimed the world record in Buenos Aires, averaging an incredible 2:41/km. Coverage in #RunShorts
#WoW Weighted hip thrusts are our Workout of the Week, while this week’s running tip looks at releasing the psoas.
And our #GeeksPoll asks How do you really decide who gets your Strava kudos?
Happy Reading!
How do you usually give kudos on Strava? Do you look at the workout, give them to everyone, or simply return the favour? #geekspoll
Answer Live Poll Here.
The results of last week’s poll on how runners explain their training volume to their non-running friends are now out.
Weighted hip thrust improves glute strength, stabilizes hips and knees, improves acceleration, reduces hip drop, and boosts running economy.
How to do it?
Sit on the floor with your upper back resting on a bench.
Roll a barbell (or place a weight plate/dumbbell) across your hips.
Bend your knees so your feet are flat, hip-width apart, close to your glutes.
Keep your chin tucked.
Brace your core to avoid arching your lower back.
Push through your heels and extend your hips upward.
At the top, your thighs should be parallel to the floor, knees bent at ~90°, and hips fully extended.
Squeeze your glutes hard at the top for 1–2 seconds.
Slowly bring the barbell down until your hips are just above the floor.
Repeat for 8–12 reps.
The NMDC Hyderabad Marathon is this week on Sunday with its point-to-point course from People’s Plaza to Gachibowli, with a terrain to keep runners thinking. The 2026 edition also brings a revised finish approach to better separate the 10K, half marathon and marathon runners. Add warm, humid monsoon conditions and possible headwinds, and smart pacing becomes even more important.
Our route preview breaks down the route, key landmarks, weather, and terrain-aware pacing guidance so you can visualise the course before you run it.
Read the route preview here.
Race Preview Live Session with Race Leadership Team
Last week Kartik Iyer did a live session with the race leadership team. Here is the full video of the session.
Access the plans now at https://runstrong.geeksonfeet.com/training-plans/
Whether you are new to running or a pro runner. This one is for you. The training plan offers:
Personalised mileage and flexibility with training days per week
Pace calculator
Strength training, supported by workout videos
Got Running Questions? We’ve Got Answers. Hit a training plateau or need advice on your next race? Join the new RunStrong Community Forum to ask questions, share tips, and connect with fellow runners.
👉Join the Conversation
Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha regained the world half marathon record, running 56:51 at the Media Maratón Ciudad de Buenos Aires, a World Athletics Label road race, in the Argentine capital on 23 August 2026. Kejelcha took 29 seconds off the world record of 57:20* set by Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo in Lisbon in March.
Kiplimo had clocked 56:42 in Barcelona last year, but it could not be ratified as a world record because the race conditions were not fully compliant with World Athletics rules. Kejelcha averaged an astonishing 2:41 per kilometer (4:19 per mile) over the entire distance, with splits of 13:45 (5K), 27:19 (10), 40:41 (15K) and 54:04 (20K). Read more here
Mark Dowdle Wins the 2026 Last Soul Ultra
At the 2026 Last Soul Ultra in Germany (in its second edition), Mark Dowdle secured the win by completing 95 loops, covering 395.87 miles over four days. Last Soul follows the classic backyard-style ultramarathon format, with all runners starting together and the race continuing until only one runner remains standing. The race started on Friday, August 14, with all runners lining up at the start together on a 6.71km loop. From there, anyone who failed to finish the loop and return to the starting corral before the next hour would be eliminated.
Dowdle reached the venue just 15 minutes before the start due to flight delays and had to hop on a private chartered flight to make the race. The event ultimately came down to a grueling head-to-head battle with runner-up Ayyoub Ello El Osrouti, better known as Ello, who ended his run after an impressive 623 kilometers. The event was live-telecasted on YouTube, which saw even the participants hooked on, with Dowdle even responding to questions and comments on the stream as he’d run past cameras set up throughout the course.
Read more here, watch videos here
Race Calendar
Search and find races using our Race Finder at geeksonfeet.com/races.
Psoas muscle is the bridge connecting your lower spine directly to your legs. When it becomes shortened by continuous forward-motion of running and daily sitting, it restricts your hip extension. This acts like a parking brake on your stride, limiting stride length, and throwing extra rotational stress onto your lower back.
Because of how deep the psoas, foam rollers struggle to reach it effectively. Stretching is also not very effective for the same reason. A deflated football/volleyball is an excellent alternative because it provides broad, dull pressure that gently displaces the abdominal muscles rather than piercing into them.
Here is how to do the release:
Lie face down and place the deflated ball just inside your front hip bone,roughly halfway between your belly button and your hip joint
Take deep, slow diaphragmatic breaths. With each exhale, allow your body weight to sink deeply and heavily into the ball.
Once you feel the ball sinked in, make tiny, slow micro-movements side-to-side. Gently but repeatedly bend and straighten the knee of the leg on the side you are working on to make it more effective.
The name UTMB is also the description of the race. Which is basically an ultra-distance race circling Mont Blanc through 3 countries France, Italy and Switzerland.
In 2003, trail runners in Chamonix wanted to start a race which follows the route of The Tour du Mont Blanc or TMB. It is one of the most popular long-distance walks in Europe. The inaugural UTMB organizers in 2003 expected 300 runners. Instead, 722 runners started, just 67 finished. The first male winner was Nepal’s Dawa Sherpa (in pic) , and the first female winner was American Krissy Koehl. The winner received a wooden trophy!
UTMB has grown from this humble beginning and it has become the name of an entire global trail-running circuit, with 60+ events around the world. The UTMB finals is one of the most prestigious ultramarathons in the world.
UTMB 100M starts on Friday, August 28 at 5:45 PM in Chamonix, which is 9:15 PM IST. Live streaming is available in UTMB Live .
Contributors to this edition: Aditi Pandya, Karthik Nadar, RameshBabu PV, & Aravind Yarra
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