When hip and knee pain strike, many runners suspect it’s their iliotibial (IT) band. While this thick band of tissue is a common culprit for hip and knee pain, there may be another muscle at play: the sartorius muscle.
The sartorius is unique. Not only is it the longest muscle in the body, but it’s one of only two muscles that cross two joints (the hip and knee), Christopher Hicks, M.D., a sports medicine physician with Northwestern Medicine in Illinois tells Runner’s World. Therefore, the sartorius is highly active during most phases of your run stride, and thus may contribute to muscle pain and cramps.
To understand how the sartorius works, let’s pause for a quick anatomy lesson: The sartorius is a thin, strap-like muscle that starts at the front of the hip, crosses the front of the thigh (quadriceps), and attaches to the inside of the knee, creating a stretched-out “S” shape. It flexes both your hip and knee, rotates your hip outward, and helps stabilize your pelvis—three essential movements in running, Hicks says.
So why does the sartorius muscle often cause problems in runners? We break down what you need to know to run ache-free at the link in our bio.
If you don’t know what pace you should be training at, Runner's World+ members can use our exclusive pacing charts to help. 🔗 in bio for more details. #marathontraining#pacing#pace#running
The last race of the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials resulted in a world record. Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone led from the start and was never challenged en route to winning her second-straight Olympic Trials 400-meter hurdles title. Her time, 50.65, lowered her own world record from 2022 by 0.03 seconds.
“I was not expecting that,” sydneymclaughlin16 said on NBC after the race. “I’m amazed, baffled, and in shock.”
For more on this iconic race, head to the link in our bio.
In a race that was fast and furious from the beginning and thrilling at the end, @nikkihiltz , the reigning national champion and indoor silver medalist, outkicked pre-race favorite Elle St. Pierre and Emily Mackay to win the women’s 1500 meters.
It’s the first Olympic team for Hiltz, 29, whose time of 3:55.33 broke the Trials record previously held by St. Pierre and now ranks them as the second-fastest American ever at this event.
At the bell lap, Mackay and Hiltz, along with Heather MacLean, a 2020 Olympian, challenged St. Pierre. For a brief moment, Mackay, MacLean, and Hiltz, all teammates at Team New Balance Boston, shared the lead, before MacLean dropped back.
But Hiltz swung wide and passed both Mackay and St. Pierre in the final 100 meters, making a definitive move that powered them to victory. “I told myself, ‘I’m not going to think about all the love and support until 100 meters to go. And then, at that moment, you can let it all fill you up and push you to the finish line,’” they said afterward. “That’s exactly what I did, and I think that’s what brought me home.”
For more, head to the link in our bio.
Each year, thousands of runners aspire to toe the line at the Boston Marathon. But in order to do so they need to run a qualifying race at a USATF-sanctioned marathon in the 12 months preceding Boston registration in September.
Many runners know, though, that it takes a lot more than slipping in under their qualifying time to lace up for this race. The constantly-shifting cutoff time, the amount by which you have to beat your qualifying time, favors the fastest runners.
For the 2022 and 2023 races, as runners returned to races after the pandemic, there was no cutoff time. For 2024, the cutoff jumped to 5:29.
Who knows what the cutoff will be for the 2025 race? And that makes selecting a Boston qualifying marathon critical, as you want the fastest time you can get.
We compiled a list of marathons to help Runner's World+ members get into that coveted 26.2. These races offer a mix of locations and at various sizes, they have no history of course errors (which means Boston wouldn’t recognize times run there as qualifiers), and the weather is generally conducive to fast times. Many also offer precise pacing, knowing that runners looking for BQs seek them out. If you're a member, head to the link in our bio to check them out. If not, and you're chasing that BQ, sign up to be a member today.
Weini Kelati, who’s already the American record holder in the half marathon, can now add another accolade to her impressive resume: Olympian. The 27-year-old won the women’s 10,000 meters in 31:41.07 and will represent the United States in Paris.
Parker Valby, 21, the six-time NCAA champion, placed second in 31:41.56. And Karissa Schweizer, 28, who’d already made the team in the 5,000 meters on Monday, was third in 31:41.56, just fractions of a second behind her. Yet despite their podium finishes, it isn’t yet clear whether they will be named to the Olympic team.
That’s because Kelati was the only person who entered the race having achieved the automatic Olympic qualifying standard of 30:40, a time faster than any woman ran tonight. But there’s another way to qualify—via World Athletics rankings. And though the answer won’t be definitive until July 7, Valby and Schweizer do still stand a strong chance of becoming Olympians in this event.
Why? Head to the link in our bio to find out.
While building mileage and time on your feet is paramount, the key to doing it successfully involves patience and persistence. “As much as volume matters—volume is king—too much volume too soon can get you on the sidelines,” Bertrand Newson, RRCA-certified run coach and founder and team captain of Too Legit Fitness, based in San Jose, California, tells Runner’s World.
Runner's World+ members have access to 8 additional tips from coaches and ultramarathoners to successfully increase mileage, avoid injuries, and crush longest distances. You can find them at the link in our bio, and if you aren't a member, sign up today!
Don’t ever count @lolojones out. At 41-years-old, she is the oldest 100m hurdler to qualify for the U.S. Olympic Trials, and while she didn’t have the race she wanted today, she qualified to run the semi-finals tomorrow.
Hurdle over to the link in our bio to read about Lolo’s recent injuries and how nervous she was to hit that starting line today.
On Thursday night, Tom Brady of Michigan lined up one last time in the maize and blue.
But instead of a sold-out Big House, Brady was on the starting line of the Olympic Trials 5,000-meter preliminary round at Hayward Field, the first step in qualifying for the Olympics.
One lap into the race, @tdbrady15 got a mention in the NBC broadcast, as announcer Leigh Diffey ran through the entrants: “Tom Brady is in this. No, not the Tom Brady.”
Brady, unfortunately, didn’t advance to the next round. He finished in last place in 13:49.85, but it was fine. A case of mono derailed much of his senior year outdoor track season at Michigan. He was just happy to be there.
Brady had an impressive career at Michigan. He won two Big Ten championships in the 10,000 meters for the Wolverines and earned second-team All-American honors three times. His personal best in the 5,000 meters, 13:24.16, qualified him for the Trials and is the indoor school record at Michigan, which routinely has one of the top distance-running programs in the country.
For more on this Tom Brady, head to the link in our bio.
That was fast! Yesterday, @pumarunning took a chance on @eholtthebolt and it's already starting to pay off.
Today, the 29-year-old made his first 800-meter appearance at the U.S. Track and Field Trials and placed fifth in his heat to advance to the semifinals.
We caught up with him after and he was understandably ecstatic.
For more on his circuitous story, one that took him from working the overnight shift at a psychiatric facility for teens in Katonah, New York to the Olympic Trials in Oregon, head to the link in our bio.
On June 23, @erinnmarshh was going over the high jump bar—one of four events she had on the day, as part of the seven-event, two-day heptathlon competition at the U.S. Olympic Track Trials in Eugene, Oregon.
Across the country, her older brother @brandon_marsh made a leaping catch in center field for the @phillies for a 4–1 victory over Arizona.
Erin Marsh cleared 1.73 meters, or 5 feet, 8 inches, but she told Runner's World that she doesn’t think she jumped higher than her brother did.
Erin finished 12th in the heptathlon competition and will not advance to the Olympics in Paris, although she was happy to have finished well despite dealing with a series of injuries starting in her back earlier this year.
🎥: @sarahlorgebutler
Rena Elmer hadn’t raced 26.2 miles since the 2020 Olympic Marathon Trials in Atlanta, where she ran 2:41:22 to place 53rd. In the two years since, she’s had two more children, Jane, born in January 2021, and Jessica, born in December 2022, to add to her previous nine.
In fact, the only time she’d raced in the past four years was in March. Then, she won the Irving Half Marathon in 1:17:58 to gain entry to the elite field at Grandma’s. Based on that, and the times she’d run in training, she expected to be able to run between 2:40 and 2:42.
Despite steady showers, she ran 2:35:45, nearly 5 minutes off her previous personal best, and placed seventh in her third marathon.
Head to the link in bio for more on Rena Elmer's running journey.
