Coffee with Larry, April 30, 2025, Last weekend, Penn, Drake, Xiamen and London, next weekend, Grand Slam 2, Shanghai!

This is my daily chat with #RunBlogRun viewers and track fans on all things track & field!

Coffee with Larry, art produced by Mike Deering

This is #CoffeewithLarry for Wednesday, April 30, 2025.

Deep Thoughts on the Opening of the 2025 Diamond League in Xiamen, China

South Africa Delivered, Jamaica Faltered, and Spain Stunned Us All

This Day in Track & Field, May 12, Joan Benoit Samuelson takes Olympic Trials Marathon weeks after arthroscopic surgery (1984), compiled and written by Walt Murphy

Coffee is Larry has several sponsors:

Coffee with Larry is sponsored through August 2025 by OMIUS, the cooling technology company. OMIUS ( www.omius.io ) makes headbands, visors and hat with cooling pods. Moisten the cooling pods every 45 minutes, and the athlete stays cool. Sifan Hassan and Bashir Abdi used OMIUS headbands in the hot and humid Paris Olympics.

Omius hat with cooling cubes, photo courtesy of Omius

PACE EVENTS announced that the 25th anniversary of the Dubai Marathon will be on 1 February 2026. You can register at www.dubaimarathon.org.

Bedatu Hirpa wins the 2025 Dubai Marathon, photo by Giancarlo Columbo/Dubai Marathon

Global Athletics & Marketing managed the #adidasAtlantaCityGames on May 17, 2025! Learn more about the adidas City Games at https://www.atlantatrackclub.org/adidas-atlanta-city-games

2024 adidas Atlanta City Games, photo by Kevin Morris

Brooks Running, our longest partner, is sponsoring the #BrooksPRInvite on June 8, 2025. On July 12, Brooks is sponsoring the #SunsetTour stop by #SoundRunning. Brooks makes superb track spikes and training shoes, find them at www.brooksrunning.com .

Brooks Bedlam 2, photo by Brooks Running

Our topics:

1. The Penn Relays were covered by Orrin Konheim for RunBlogRun, here’s his story on Day 2: https://www.runblogrun.com/2025/04/2025-penn-relays-day-2-watching-a-very-busy-day-of-track-and-field-by-orin-konheim.html

100m hurdles, 2025 Penn Relays, day 2, April 26, 2025, photo by Orin Konheim

2. The Drake Relays, in its 115th year, featured some wonderful miles, here’s a podcast on Shelby Houlihan, Karissa Schweizer and Francie Larrieu-Smith: https://www.runblogrun.com/…/50th-anniversary-of-the

Presser for the 50th Anniversary of the Drake Relays Women’s Mile

3. The first meet of the Diamond League season, Xiamen DL, was held on April 26, 2025, here’s a review of the meet: https://www.runblogrun.com/…/warholm-flies-over-7

Akani Simbine (RSA) wins the Men’s 100m with a time of 9.99s at the Wanda Diamond League Red Star Macalline Xiamen on 26 April 2025

4. FloTrack is hosting the broadcast of Diamond League in 2025 in North America, here’s our interview with Ryan Fenton: https://www.runblogrun.com/…/runblogrun-presents

Ryan Fenton, 2023 The Running Event, photo courtesy of Ryan Fenton

5. AdiZero Road to Records was held on April 26 in Germany, here’s a review of their fast times! https://www.runblogrun.com/…/adizero-road-to-records

adidas adizero Prime X Strung, photo by Running Wearhouse

6. The London Marathon had serious marathon fields, with Sabastien Sawe and Tigst Assefa, both adidas athletes, taking the races! Here’s a piece by Deji Ogeyingbo, https://www.runblogrun.com/…/a-changing-of-the-guard-at

Sebastian Sawe, winner, 2025 London Marathon, photo by London Marathon Events

7. Athletic Ventures (UK Athletics, Great Run and London Marathon Events) join to bid for 2029 World Outdoor Athletics Championships, https://www.runblogrun.com/…/athletic-ventures-announce

London Olympic stadium, by Martin Bateman

8. Interview with Eilish McColgan, new Scottish NR in her debut, https://www.runblogrun.com/2025/04/a-scottish-record-for-eilish-mccolgan.html?swcfpc=1

Eilish McColgan, London Marathon, photo by London Marathon Events

9. Coffee with Larry, April 28, 2025, https://www.runblogrun.com/2025/04/coffee-with-larry-april-28-2025-drake-relays-penn-relays-xiamen-diamond-league-adizero-road-to-records-london-marathon.html?swcfpc=1

April 24, 1976, Drake Relays, Garry Bjoklund leads pack, Rudy Chapa in pack, in 10,000m, photo by Christopher Thien

10. This Day in Track & Field, April 30, 2025, https://www.runblogrun.com/2025/04/this-day-in-track-field-april-30-joe-mccluskey-set-steepe-ar-of-928-6-1932-and-other-stories-of-the-penn-relays-curtated-edited-and-written-by-walt-murphy.html?swcfpc=1

Renaldo Nehemiah, University of Maryland, photo by Collegesportsjournal.com

See you tomorrow on Coffee with Larry!

Author

Larry Eder
Larry Eder has had a 52-year involvement in the sport of athletics. Larry has experienced the sport as an athlete, coach, magazine publisher, and now, journalist and blogger. His first article, on Don Bowden, America's first sub-4 minute miler, was published in RW in 1983. Larry has published several magazines on athletics, from American Athletics to the U.S. version of Spikes magazine. He currently manages the content and marketing development of the RunningNetwork, The Shoe Addicts, and RunBlogRun. Of RunBlogRun, his daily pilgrimage with the sport, Larry says: "I have to admit, I love traveling to far away meets, writing about the sport I love, and the athletes I respect, for my readers at runblogrun.com, the most of anything I have ever done, except, maybe running itself." Also does some updates for BBC Sports at key events, which he truly enjoys. Theme song: Greg Allman, " I'm no Angel."
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