Marathon

MAMMOTH LAKES, Calif. - Yordanos Keflezighi and her shopping cart made it just a few steps down the supermarket aisle before they were stopped by another shopper.

"Oh, you're Meb's wife," the woman said, more a declaration than a question.

Runners suffered heart attacks in the Boston Marathon in April, the Myrtle Beach, S.C., Marathon in February, the New York and Philadelphia marathons last November and the Chicago Marathon last October. These incidents sparked renewed interest in possible links between distance running and heart failure.

BOSTON -- Trailing the leaders by 200 yards when the Boston Marathon slogged through Heartbreak Hill, Wesley Korir passed them one by one until he took the lead on his way out of Kenmore Square.

That's when leg cramps forced him to slow down and relinquish the lead.

PHILADELPHIA -- A photography exhibit about a rugged ultra-marathon in the canyons of Mexico -- and the native people who inspired it -- has taken on new poignancy after the unexpected death of the race's founder.

American distance runners have gone to great lengths to find the magic formula for success.

Former Stanford star Ryan Hall has gone to Redding, Calif., to join a faith-healing church.

America's best marathoner changed ZIP codes just months before the U.S. Olympic trials Saturday in Houston because he decided he doesn't need a coach as much as conviction in what he believes.

"It's pretty cool to be on the starting line and think the guy who is my guiding coach is the creator of the universe," Hall said. "It's pretty cool to wake up every morning and talk to him about training."

PHILADELPHIA -- Two runners collapsed and died near the finish of Sunday morning's Philadelphia Marathon.

LONDON -- Rob Sloan boasted he'd completed an "unbelievably tough" marathon near Newcastle after crossing the finish line in third place with a personal-best time.

Apparently, he didn't count the bus ride.

Sloan dropped out 20 miles into the race, hitched a ride on a spectator shuttle bus and emerged from the woods near the finish line to make the podium.

After Sloan initially described as "laughable" claims he cheated in the Kielder Marathon on Sunday, the 31-year-old former army mechanic admitted his transgression following an investigation by organizers.