Jordan Hasay and Galen Rupp are two of the biggest names in American distance running. They’re super popular among high school and college runners, but it seems like there’s a contingent of people within the running community that are still having a rough time processing the results of Sunday’s Chicago Marathon. Rupp won in 2:09 to become the first American champion in 15 years. Hasay finished third in 2:20 to become the second-fastest American woman of all-time in just her second marathon.

Yesterday, New York Road Runners held a conference call with Meb Keflezighi and Shalane Flanagan marking 26 days until the 2017 New York City Marathon got awkward at the end of questioning. Jon Gault of LetsRun.com asked the two Olympians for their thoughts on Rupp and Hasay’s races on Sunday.

What followed was a little bit of push and pull between Flanagan and Meb on who would answer the question first. Meb replied with “Ladies, first.” Flanagan laughed and then insisted that Meb answered.

Here’s what Meb said in response:

“I’m happy for Galen and Alberto, but there’s things that are still going on so it’s hard to comprehend. I’m [inaudible] that he won and I know she ran also, I think 2:20:57 so that’s amazing, especially in their second marathon and fourth marathon. So they achieved a lot.”

Gault asked him to elaborate on what he meant by “things that are still going on” but it was pretty clear to everyone that he meant the USADA investigation into the Nike Oregon Project.

“There’s a lot of speculation going on and I would love to know what’s going on and how far it’s gotten,” Meb added. “There’s allegations going on, so that’s what it is.”

Shalane then responded by echoing Meb’s sentiments. Here’s what she had to say (via LetsRun):

“That program, the NOP has been under investigation for the last two years. So as a fan of my own sport, it’s hard to have full excitement and faith when you don’t know all the facts yet. There’s still an investigation going on so it’s hard to truly and genuinely get excited about the performances that I’m watching. And I think it’s really important to consider who you associate with. We don’t get to choose our parents, but we certainly get to choose our friends and our coaches and who we want to include in our circle and put our faith and our trust in. I think it’s really important to think about who you include in your professional circle in this sport, and I think that who you choose to allow in says a lot about you.”

We know there’s been a rivalry between the Bowerman Track Club and the Nike Oregon Project for years but this goes beyond that. I think it’s been the best response that I’ve seen on how to process what we’re seeing. It was pretty evident to me who was on Twitter congratulating the two runners and who was notably silent. Our writer Kevin Liao had a solid tweet on Sunday: “This is one of those days when it sucks to be a running observer. You wanna be excited about what you saw, but it just feels slimy instead.”

I think I’ve written on here before that the best way to appreciate the sport is to enjoy the moment and the performance for what it is. We still operate in an innocent-until-proven guilty society. It’s OK to get excited but I think you have to keep things like a USADA investigation in mind before totally celebrating accomplishments.

Here’s a couple headlines to catch you up on the latest happenings of the track and field world as you sip your coffee. If there’s any story that you think should make the next edition of TLC, then shoot me message. You can reach me at: chris@citiusmag.com or tweet at me @ChrisChavez.

The USATF 5K Championships are loaded

The Abbot Dash to the Finish Line 5K and USATF 5K Championships might be the only race of the year that will feature a 2016 Olympic marathoner and 1,500 meter runner contesting the same distance. New York Road Runners announced the fields headlined by 10 Olympians including medalists Matthew Centrowitz and Paul Chelimo in the men’s race. Abbey D’Agostino returns for her first race since tearing her ACL and meniscus in the Olympic 5,000 meter preliminary heats. The women’s race includes Desi Linden and Brenda Martinez.

The full fields can be found below:

Matt Centrowitz vs. Paul Chelimo in the USATF 5K Championships in NYC on 11/4.

Also Abbey D returns from that Rio 2016 injury. Full Fields pic.twitter.com/KHegVx1mnX

— Chris Chavez (@ChrisChavez) October 11, 2017

Q&A with Paula Radcliffe

Shameless plug here for my interview with Paula Radcliffe on SI.com. We talked about how we put into context Mary Keitany’s greatness, processing Eliud Kipchoge’s brilliance and a few thoughts on Jordan Hasay as a marathoner. Radcliffe is one of the people who is excited for the 26-year-old star.

Wilson Kipsang added to the NYC Marathon field

Kipsang was a DNF at the Berlin Marathon just a few weeks ago and looks to rebound by winning his second New York City Marathon. That’s 42 days between both races. I’m doing the double but I’m not running anywhere near as fast as Kipsang. What struck me was this interesting tweet from Cathal Dennehy from race day in Berlin.

Anyone want to bet Kipsang heads to New York. Very strange dropout at 30K.

— Cathal Dennehy (@Cathal_Dennehy) September 24, 2017

Nailed it. That was the most hyped up 30K workout!

PreNats entries are out

Sneaking in a little bit of cross country action here to share with you the entries for this weekend’s race.