Athletics is a group of sporting events that involves competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking. The most common types of athletics competitions are track and field, road running, cross-country running, and racewalking.
World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation and International Association of Athletics Federations and formerly abbreviated as the IAAF, is the international governing body for the sport of athletics, covering track and field, cross country running, road running, race walking, mountain running, and ultra running. Included in its charge is the standardization of rules and regulations for the sports, certification of athletic facilities, recognition and management of world records, and the organisation and sanctioning of athletics competitions, including the World Athletics Championships. The organisation's president is Sebastian Coe of the United Kingdom, who was elected to the four-year position in 2015 and re-elected in 2019 for a second four-year term, and then again in 2023 for a third four-year term.
An ultramarathon is a footrace longer than the traditional marathon distance of 42.195 kilometres. The sport of running ultramarathons is called ultra running or ultra distance running.
The North American, Central American and Caribbean Athletic Association (NACAC) is the continental confederation governing body of athletics for national governing bodies and multi-national federations within Northern America, Central America, and the Caribbean. NACAC is one of six area associations of World Athletics (WA), previously named the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). NACAC was founded on December 10, 1988, in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
The European Mountain Running Championships is an annual international mountain running race. Inaugurated in 2002, it is organised by the European Athletic Association (EAA) in July each year. The venue for the championships is changed each year.
World Masters Athletics (WMA) is the worldwide governing body for the sport of masters athletics – which includes track and field, cross country, and road running events – as participated by people over 35 years of age.
The NACAC Cross Country Championships is an annual regional cross country running competition for athletes representing member nations of the North America, Central America and Caribbean Athletic Association (NACAC). The event was inaugurated in 2005 and was held in Florida, United States until 2009. The following two editions were held in Trinidad and Tobago.
The World Mountain Running Championships, is an international mountain running competition contested by athletes of the members of WMRA, World Mountain Running Association, the sport's global governing body.
The World Long Distance Mountain Running Championships, is an annual international mountain running competition organised by the World Mountain Running Association (WMRA).
The Central American and Caribbean Cross Country Championships was an annual Cross country running competition organized by the CACAC for athletes representing the countries of its member associations. The competition was established in 1983 following a proposal of Wallace Williams from the Virgin Islands, then secretary of the CACAC. The rationale was that also smaller countries without adequate athletics' facilities could host such an event. The approval for the competitions' implementation was given during the 1982 CACAC meeting in Havana. The first championships were to take place in 1983 on the Virgin Islands, but because of the US invasion of Grenada, the event was postponed and relocated to Puerto Rico.
The South American Mountain Running Championships is an annual Mountain running competition organized by CONSUDATLE for athletes representing the countries of its member associations. The event was established in 2006.
The African Mountain Running Championships was an annual Mountain running competition organized by the CAA for athletes representing the countries of its member associations. The event was established in 2009 and ceased in 2014.
The WMRA World Cup is an annual series of mountain running competitions organised by the World Mountain Running Association (WMRA) that runs from around May to October. Athletes are awarded points for each performance on the tour. Its predecessor was the Alpine Grand Prix, a 1997 formation including four European races in the Alps region. It formally became the WMRA Grand Prix in 1999 and subsequently expanded to six races in 2001. It reverted to four races in 2007 and from 2008 onwards began to vary between five and seven races. The competition took its current title World Cup in 2014.
Sean McGorty is an American middle- and long-distance runner, who competes mainly in the 5000 meters and 10000 meters. He represented the United States in both events at the 2023 World Championships and in the 5000 m at the 2022 World Championships. McGorty is a two-time gold medalist at the NACAC Championships, securing victories in the Junior Men's 6K in 2014 and the 10000 m in 2022.
Sasha Gollish is a Canadian competitive runner. She won a gold medal in the half-marathon at the 2013 Maccabiah Games in Israel, a bronze medal in the 1500 m at the 2015 Pan American Games, and gold medals at the 2017 Maccabiah Games in the 800m, 1,500m, and 5,000m events. She won the 2016 Canadian women's 10K Cross Country Championship, the 2017 women's 8K North American, Central American and Caribbean Athletic Association (NACAC) Cross-Country Championship, and the 2018 Canadian Half Marathon National Championship. In 2022, Gollish set a new women’s 40+ indoor mile world record, and that same year she won the gold medal at the 2022 NACAC Half Marathon Championships
The 10th NACAC U18 and U23 Championships in Athletics were held in Queretaro, Mexico from July 5–7, 2019. It was the first time that an U18 competition was added to the event alongside the U23 category.
Grayson Murphy is an American mountain, road, and track runner. Representing the United States, she is a two-time world champion in mountain running, as well as a five-time US national champion in mountain running and one-time US national champion in the vertical kilometer. At the University of Utah, Murphy competed in cross-country and track and field and was a five-time All-American. Murphy also has a strong presence on social media, where she is affectionately known as Racin' Grayson. She is also growing her entrepreneurial presence with her company, Wild Strides Paper Co.
The 2021 World Mountain and Trail Running Championships was an inaugural event which combined the World Mountain Running Championships and IAU Trail World Championships. The event was organised by the World Mountain Running Association, International Trail Running Association and International Association of Ultrarunners sanctioned by World Athletics. It was held in Chiang Mai, Thailand, from November 4–6, 2022.
Adam Peterman is an American professional ultra-distance and marathon runner sponsored by Hoka.
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