With many runners glad to see the back of 2020, 2021 brought us many great and admirable moments in another rollercoaster year. We were blessed with the return of mass running events - albeit in a more controlled environment, but thankfully still resembled some much needed normality. Making up for lost time, it feels as though many running events were condensed into a shorter period. As the embers of another year have fizzled out,  we have curated our favourite running moments across 2021. 

NN Mission Marathon

One example of planning a running event in the face of adversity is with the NN Mission marathon. In April 2021, this elite only event on a closed course gave 70 athletes the opportunity to quality for the Olympic Marathon. Originally scheduled a week earlier than when it took place, in an entirely different city and country. - the event was reorganised within 10 days. NN Mission marathon saw the return of Kipchoge’s winning ways, in a time of 2:04:30. 

Sifan Hassan Olympic Triple

The delayed 32nd Olympic Games in Tokyo, produced some incredible moments. Despite the pandemic threatening to sink the whole event (again), many of our favourite moments come from these 17 days. 

Watching Sifan Hassan kick on the last lap of the track is a sight to behold. Going into the Olympic Games, Hassan had her sights on the 1500m, 5,000m and 10,000m gold - 6 races in total including qualifying heats. During one of the heats, Hassan had to overcome a fall that sent her to the back of the pack to qualify. With gold in the 5,000 and 10,000 meters and bronze at 1500, Hassan became just the second women in history to win three individual track medals at the same Olympics. 

Kipchoge Retains His Title

The heat and humidity took its toll on the athletes throughout the Olympics. Resulting in the start times for the men and women marathons changed to much earlier in the morning. Although this seemed to have no adverse effect on Kipchoge. Smiling and high fiving other runners on his way to becoming only the 3rd athlete to retain the Olympic marathon title. And the biggest winning margin in the men's Olympic marathon in five decades. 

Full Send Molly Seidel

Some people say, all good things come in threes, as was the case for Molly Seidel. Qualifying for the Olympics in her first ever marathon, Molly Seidel went on to win Olympic bronze in her third ever marathon. Finishing the gruelling event in Sapporo with a time of 2:27:46 Kenyans Peres Jepchirchir and Brigid Kosgei. There were no expectations going into the race that Molly would finish on the podium amongst a very talented field. Molly even indicated this herself, as she let out a scream crossing the finish line. 

Jakob Ingebigsten Continues to Rise

At the risk of sounding extremely obvious, Jakob Ingebigsten is a very talented runner at still a very young age. Even at the age of 16, Jakob became the youngest ever sub 4 minute miler, and has been tipped for Olympic greatness since. Going into the final 1500m race with confidence, Jakob clocked an Olympic record time of 3:38.32, overtaking Timothy Cheruiyot on the final lap. Cheruiyot had won 12 out of 13 of the pairs career clashes. After the race, as a nod of respect, Cheruiyo gifted Ingebigsten his Kenyan bracelet. 

Record Breaker Letesenbet Gidey

There seems to be an astonishing series of running records being broken in recent years as sports advance. This continued into 2021 with newly NN Running athlete, Letesenbet Gidey. In the space of 3 months, Gidey broke the 10,000m women’s world record and half marathon. With an incredible time of 62:50 in her half marathon debut and 29:01.03 in the 10,000m. The previous record held by Sifan Hassan, stood for merely 2 days. Her performances this year solidify her has one of the most prolific female distance runners in history. Gidey even wants to go on and break 29 minutes in the 10,000m and the marathon world record. 

Major Marathons Return - all at once

For the first time ever, the world’s six major marathons — Berlin, London, Chicago, Boston, Tokyo and New York City — was squeezed into a six-week window this autumn. The first major marathon to return since the pandemic was Berlin, marking the beginning of an unprecedented chain of marathon races. SCC Events had to develop a sophisticated and fair hygiene concept to allow the event to go ahead. Rules which have now become very normal to runners - staggered start times, mask wearing, PCR testing - but these did not damped any spirits on this amazing marathon weekend. 

157.2 Miles in 42 days

It is many runners dreams to run all major marathons in their lifetime, let alone in the space of 42 days. After two reconstructive knee surgeries, Shalane Flanagan was ready to come out of retirement to win back what she felt like she had lost - her love of running. The goal? To run all major marathons (virtual Tokyo) across the 42 days, all under 3 hours. And Shalane absolutely smashed her goal, completing all marathons under 2:47, saving her fastest to last, finishing New York in 2:33:32. Not only is this an incredible demonstration of personal strength and resilience, but this accomplishment has helped many others find joy in running again. 

2021 gave us so many iconic moments that we will never forget. With the return of public races and mass events after the unpredictable 2020. Running has brought hope, joy and fulfilment in 2021 to more people than we could ever imagine.