Today is Thursday, August 14th, 2025 and on this day in 2020, after Covid had cancelled nearly every in-person international track competition for 5 months, Ugandan runner Joshua Cheptegei set the world record in the 5,000m at the Herculis Meet in Monaco.

In this episode, we'll hear about Cheptegei's background, how the Covid pandemic derailed the entire world of professional athletics, and how that incredible race played out, culminating in a new world record of 12:35.36.

I am running the 2026 London Marathon for the charity Keep a Child Alive! Check out my fundraising page and consider donating here. All contributions go directly to the cause, and no donation is too small!

This episode and every single other was edited and produced by my good friend Rob Garcia, who many know by his own ⁠⁠⁠⁠podcast "Rob on the Run"⁠⁠⁠⁠. If you are looking to get into the podcasting or Youtube space, but need some help on the technical side, I HIGHLY suggest reaching out to Rob. His email is robontherunpodcast@gmail.com

And as always, if you enjoyed this episode, make sure to ⁠⁠⁠⁠follow me on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠, or send me an email at ⁠⁠runningupthathillary@gmail.com⁠

Bibliography:

• https://web.archive.org/web/20181119133810/https://results.gc2018.com/en/athletics/athlete-profile-n6025842-joshua-kiprui-cheptegei.htm?source=mobile_app
• https://www.runnersworld.com/news/a33608803/joshua-cheptegei-breaks-5000-meter-world-record-monaco-diamond-league/
• https://worldathletics.org/news/press-release/diamond-league-2020-season-meetings
• https://www.diamondleague.com/news/general/wanda-diamond-league-announces-updates-to-2020-calendar/
• https://www.nnrunningteam.com/team/joshua-cheptegei/