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Lap One
Women's Champion Jemima Sumong fell and was harassed
The London Marathon was obviously the main event of the last week, so there's no better place to start. It's been well-covered that Sumong fell with about three miles to go yet still managed to come away with the victory. What didn't receive as much attention in the moment was that, soon after her fall and subsequent surge to the lead, a rogue spectator entered the course and may have attempted to interfere with Sumong. The link above provides a number of photos of both the fall and the spectator.
Lap Two
Eliud Kipchoge Nearly Set a World Record, but he's not disappointed
Kipchoge insists that he wasn't disappointed to narrowly miss out on a World Record, but does anyone actually believe that? It's like Joel Embiid tweeting pictures of him cheering after the Sixers selected him in the 2014 NBA draft. The initial reaction tells all. Just ask Embiid:
Lap Three
Alysia Montano Opens in 2:01.27
Montano is known for a lot of things--running while pregnant, running with a flower in her hair, going out way too fast--but she opened the season with an impressive 2:01.27 time. It's probably not fast enough to really scare Ajee Wilson, but certainly announces her as a solid contender to make the U.S. Olympic team out of the Trials in July as she ages into her thirties.
Lap Four
Stair Climbing Is Good for Endurance
It's long been common wisdom that stair climbing is a great way to build speed. However, it has often been overlooked for building VO2 Max, a study in the British Journal of Sports Medicine finds. Of course, the study is a little unrealistic as it asked runners to do five sessions of stairs per week for eight weeks. It's unlikely that fits in cleanly to any currently-available mainstream training program. Still, adding more stairs could be an easy and effective alternative to build some endurance.