Marathon

PETE Davidson and Colin Jost’s Staten Island Ferry wreaked havoc on the New York City Marathon and caused major delays for runners, a source has said.

The U.S. Sun can exclusively reveal that the massive ship’s trip through the waters between Staten Island and Brooklyn to display a Nike ad during the New York Marathon created issues for anxious racers on Sunday, November 2.

“Pete and Colin’s ferry caused a delay for runners taking the ferry to Staten Island for the start of the marathon,” a source claimed.

Despite the ferry being owned by a couple of comedians, no one was laughing. 

“Some people thought it was a joke but it wasn’t,” the insider continued.

Runners waiting at Pier 79 in Manhattan to get to Colin and Pete’s native Staten Island for the start of the marathon grew irritated as workers told them they were delayed due to the JFK Staten Island Ferry’s troubles in the harbor.

The Saturday Night Live co-stars ferry, which had been painted bright pink for the Nike advertisement, was tugged from its dock in Staten Island.

“The runners’ ferries were leaving about 20 minutes later than they should’ve, and they were told there were issues with Staten Island helping the guys out with the ferry. It was causing a backup on the river.

“Everyone was already anxious so it was a bit frustrating.”

The U.S. Sun reached out to a rep for the JFK Ferry for comment. 

ROUGH RIDE 

In photos exclusively obtained by The U.S. Sun last month, the ferry was seen painted bright pink with a hint of the Nike logo in its dock in Staten Island.

The massive vessel looked rusted and rotted in its slip, appearing far from the upscale entertainment venue the Saturday Night Live stars had envisioned.

From one vantage point, the famous ferry’s orange paint had faded to a faint pink after being left unattended on the salty water under the hot sun. 

The ship’s sides showed extensive rusting and what seem to be saltwater stains beneath the windows.

The opposite side of the decommissioned New York City Department of Transportation vessel showed the bright pink paint job with the Nike logo peeking out from behind giant tarps.

The comedians have been racking up huge docking fees for the boat they hoped to transform, but they also have unpaid legal bills, according to a lawsuit filed in New York against their company, Titanic 2. 

The suit claims an outstanding bill of $13,000 is owed to the law firm Nicoletti, Hornig, Namazi, Eckert & Sheehan.

The ship’s last public sighting before the marathon was when it was used for the Tommy Hilfiger show during New York Fashion Week in September 2024.

A video posted to the fashion house’s Instagram showed the ferry wrapped in their signature red, white, and blue logo, docked in New York’s harbor with the Statue of Liberty in the background, before it was docked for the event. 

PETE & COLIN’S GRAND VISION AND SETBACKS

In a December 2024 interview, Pete laid out his ambitious plans for the vessel.

“We do have, believe it or not, an in-depth plan,” Pete told the Wall Street Journal at the time. “Every day I get asked about this f***ing boat, and we’re raising the funds.

“We’re going to do a floor at a time. There’s a full plan in motion, and meanwhile, people are renting it out.”

The ferry was indeed rented for the Tommy Hilfiger show (which Colin Jost attended, though Pete did not) and also served as the set for a horror film, Steamboat Willie.

The ship’s planned renovation has faced numerous delays over the last three years.

FRIENDSHIP ON THE ROCKS

Once close friends and SNL castmates, Pete and Colin’s relationship soured in 2024 amid Pete’s personal struggles.

“Something big happened and Colin is now refusing to be in the same building, let alone the same room as Pete,” an insider exclusively told The U.S. Sun at the time. 

“Colin doesn’t want to be associated with Pete.”

The pair were seen shaking hands when Pete made a cameo on SNL in November 2024, but the interaction was visibly tense.

Pete seemed to hint at his rumored rift with Colin when discussing his friend and fellow comedian, John Mulaney, and the few friends who have remained loyal.

“I watched him as he took it on the chin a couple of years ago and had to completely revamp his life,” Pete said in the WSJ interview. 

“I’m kind of in the midst of that now, and he’s been helping me so much. It was so inspiring to watch him beat his addiction, become an even bigger comedian, go on an arena tour, start a family.

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“He’s so happy now and it looks effortless, but it’s not.”

He concluded by naming his closest confidants: “And I’ve got to say, he’s always had my back and he’s always there, and not a lot of people are for me. I would say it’s just him, Lorne [Michaels] and Machine Gun Kelly.”

Great Britain’s Patrick Dever came an impressive fourth on his marathon debut in the men’s race in New York as Benson Kipruto beat Alexander Mutiso in a dramatic photo finish to claim victory.

Preston Harrier Dever, who finished in a time of two hours eight minutes and 58 seconds, was part of a four-man group before Kipruto and Mutiso broke clear in the latter stages.

Mutiso nearly overtook his fellow Kenyan on the line but Kipruto held him off to win as both were given a time of 2:08.09. Their compatriot Albert Korir was third in 2:08.57.

Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge, who could have run his last marathon at elite level,, external was 17th in 2:14.36.

Hellen Obiri set a course record to win the women’s race in New York as the 35-year-old Kenyan claimed victory in 2:19.51.

The previous record of 2:22.31 had been set by Margaret Okaya in 2003.

Sharon Lokedi was second in 2:20.07 and fellow Kenyan Sheila Chepkirui was third in 2:20.24, while Great Britain’s Jessica Warner-Judd was seventh on her debut over the distance in 2:24.45.

Great Britain’s David Weir came second (1:34.09) behind Switzerland’s Marcel Hug (1:30.16) in the men’s wheelchair race.

Briton Eden Rainbow-Cooper (1:59.30) was seventh in the women’s wheelchair race, which was won by American Susannah Scaroni (1:42.10).

After Contreras’ offensive coordinator, Carlos Trujillo, did his work on Friday night during his team’s 39-14 win over Hollywood, he was picked up by car and whisked off to Los Angeles International Airport to take a red-eye flight to Chicago so he could complete the 11th marathon of his life.

“I will never be crazy enough to do one,” Contreras head coach Manuel Guevara said.

Running 26.2 miles is pretty challenging, but Trujillo has found something he enjoys, and players admire his commitment.

“The entire varsity [team] wished him good luck,” Guevara said. “It teaches the kids that coaches challenge themselves in different ways.”

He’ll be back for practice on Tuesday as Contreras (4-3, 2-0) prepares for a key Central League game against Bernstein on Thursday night.

Trujillo, 43, said he started running marathons when he was head coach at North Hollywood. He has run marathons in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Las Vegas and New York besides Chicago.

This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email [email protected].

It’s often said that picks and shovels made more fortunes in gold rushes than most prospectors. In crypto’s version of the story, the picks are electricity, mining chips, and hardware uptime. And that’s where Marathon Digital Holdings (MARA -0.40%) aims to win by operating as an industrial-scale and increasingly efficient miner of Bitcoin.

After Bitcoin’s most recent halving, only miners with cheap, reliable energy and top-tier efficiency can thrive. Marathon’s strategy is built around both. Let’s map out if an investment might help turn Marathon investors into millionaires.

Image source: Getty Images.

Cost and clean power are the moat

In terms of the company’s production capacity, Marathon’s management targets 75 exahash of computing capability by the end of 2025, up by more than 40% from 2024. Efficiency has been trending the right way; after closing 2024 at roughly 20 joules of energy per terahash of computing power (J/TH), its hardware fleet was improved to about 18.3 J/TH by the second quarter of 2025, marking a meaningful cut.

To accomplish that and future efficiency improvements, the company expects to begin energizing its Texas wind power generation site in the second half of 2025. If it can secure further cheap renewable energy buildouts, its self-powering operations will have a competitive advantage that could drive significant returns over the long run.

Is this a millionaire maker?

Marathon currently has 52,477 BTC, which ties its operating results tightly to price appreciation of the coin over time. If we assume Bitcoin will continue to gain value over time, could buying shares of this business mint millionaires?

The 100x outcome that’s necessary to create millionaires implies a process of massive value creation; Marathon’s market cap is currently $6.5 billion. Marathon could, over the course of years, exhibit such value creation via its energy investments, assuming Bitcoin cooperates and the mining company’s execution is solid.

So it isn’t impossible, but it isn’t a safe base case to do your investment planning around, either. Marathon’s potential rewards come with significant risks.

With temperatures of about 30C accompanied by intense humidity continuing to pose a challenge to the athletes in the Japanese capital, Cairess was unable to complete the men’s marathon.

The 27-year-old Briton, a medal contender after placing fourth at the Paris 2024 Olympics, stopped by the roadside with less than three of the 26.2 miles remaining and the lead group beginning to move out of reach.

“I tried my best. I just got too hot, simple as that really. The conditions were so tough,” said Cairess, who finished third in last year’s London Marathon.

“When I stopped, I just took ages to just feel all right again. I used all the stations to be diligent with the ice and the sponges. While it helped, it just still got too hot.

“I did a decent amount of preparation for the conditions, as much as I could balancing it with training. I’ve not known conditions like it, but this is only my fourth marathon. I did the best I could.”

Watch all the drama from the women’s marathon at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo as Kenya’s Peres Jepchirchir beats Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa in a sprint finish, and Julia Paternain wins Uruguay’s first ever World Championships medal.

Available to UK users only.

Track and field’s Athletics Integrity Unit suspend Ruth Chepngetich after record marathon runner’s positive doping test.

Women’s marathon world record-holder Ruth Chepngetich has been provisionally suspended for a positive doping test.

Track and field’s Athletics Integrity Unit said on Thursday that Chepngetich tested positive for a banned diuretic and masking agent in March and “opted for a voluntary provisional suspension while the AIU’s investigation was ongoing.”

The Kenyan runner set the world record by almost two minutes at the Chicago Marathon last October in 2 hours, 9 minutes, 56 seconds. It was her third win in Chicago.

She also won the marathon at the 2019 world championships in Qatar, where the women’s race started at midnight to avoid extreme daytime heat.

The AIU gave no timetable for a disciplinary case for the 30-year-old runner.

Chepngetich was interviewed in person in Kenya in April and “complied with requests regarding our investigation”, AIU official Brett Clothier said in a statement.

The substance Chepngetich tested positive for, hydrochlorothiazide or HCTZ, can be used to disguise the use of performance-enhancing drugs.

Fauja Singh, a torchbearer at the 2012 London Olympics and the world’s oldest marathon runner, died Monday in a hit-and-run, according to police in the northwestern Indian state of Punjab. He was 114.

Born in India in 1911, Singh lived much of his life in London. On Oct. 13, 2011, in Toronto, he set a flurry of world age-group records at a meet established especially for him, the Ontario Masters Association Fauja Singh Invitational.

Singh, nicknamed the “Turbaned Tornado,” ran the 100 meters in 23.14, 200 meters in 52.23, 400 meters in 2:13.48, 800 meters in 5:32.18, 1500 meters in 11:27.81, one mile in 11:53.45, 3000 meters in 24:52.47 and 5000 meters in 49:57.39. He was 100 years old.

“He rested between the events by sitting down and having a few sips of tea,” Ontario Masters official Doug Smith told the New York Times in 2017. “He was actually running — both feet off the ground.

“It was the most astonishing achievement.”

Singh became the first centenarian to finish a marathon three days later, completing the Toronto Waterfront Marathon in 8 hours, 11 minutes and 6 seconds. He didn’t begin the race until 14 minutes after the starting gun because of the congestion of runners, so his official time was 8:25:17.

Guinness World Records wouldn’t recognize the feat because Singh didn’t have a birth certificate. India didn’t keep official birth records when he was born in 1911. The birth date on his passport was April 1, 1911.

A Punjabi Sikh, Singh moved to London in 1992 to live with an adult son after his wife, Gian Kaur, a son and a daughter died. He took up running two years later to alleviate his grief after the death of his fifth son, Kuldip.

“The villagers would tell one of his sons to take him to the UK because he would keep visiting the cremation ground and sit there for hours,” his biographer, Khushwant Singh, told NDTV.

Running soon became his passion. Easily identified by his long white beard and orange Sikh turban, Singh was honored with a letter from Queen Elizabeth II of England when he turned 100 and was the subject of a biography launched in the House of Lords.

In all, Singh completed nine marathons and ran his last competitive race in February 2013 when he was 101, finishing a 10K run in Hong Kong in 1 hour 32 minutes and 28 seconds.

Singh returned to India during the pandemic and was hit by a car Monday while on his daily walk in his home village of Beas Pind. He died in a hospital, his former coach Harmander Singh told the New York Times.

“We would always tell him that someone his age running in India would always run the risk of being hit given how reckless the driving here is,” Khushwant Singh said. “This is what ultimately happened, unfortunately,”

A BRITISH marathon legend has died after he was reportedly hit by a car in India.

Fauja Singh passed away at the age of 114 after he spent years making history – including becoming the world’s oldest marathon runner at the age of 101.

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The beloved athlete is still believed to be the oldest runner to ever complete a full marathon.

He tragically lost his life after he was smashed into by a car as he crossed the road in his home village of Beas Pind in Punjab on Monday, according to reports in India.

Singh – who had lived in Ilford since 1992 – broke onto the global running scene after he started to compete in marathons at the age of 89.

He continued to run up until he was 101 years old competitively.

During those remarkable years he received a personal letter from Queen Elizabeth II, was honoured by the Guinness World Records and became a torchbearer for the London 2012 Olympics.

His London-based running club and worldwide charity, Sikhs In The City, confirmed his death today.

Touching tributes were led by Harmander Singh, Singh’s coach at the running club.

He announced: “Dearest runners. It is with great sadness that we can confirm our icon of humanity and powerhouse of positivity Fauja Singh has passed away in India. Aged 114 years old.

“He succumbed to injuries caused by a vehicle accident while crossing the road close to his home.

“In lieu of flowers please donate to his Clubhouse Appeal so we can carry on his legacy to encourage the world to keep fit and stay positive.”

The running club have planned several upcoming events in London to celebrate his life and achievements.

Singh’s legacy is made even more impressive due to him suffering from thin and weak legs which meant he was unable to walk until he was five years old.

After moving to London in the 90s he only took up running in 2000 after the death of his wife.

Aged 90, he ran the London Marathon in six hours and 54 minutes – beating the previous record for anyone over 90 by almost an hour.

Singh went on to compete in numerous marathons with his best ever finish being at the 2003 Toronto Waterfront Marathon.

It took him just five hours and 40 minutes.

When he hit 100, Singh showed no signs of slowing down as he attempted to become the first centenarian to run a marathon in 2011.

After finishing the race, Guinness World Records described it as an “inspirational achievement”.

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They were unfortunately unable to register it as an official record due to complications with Singh’s birth certificate.

He didn’t own the proper documents due to his upbringing in India during the early 1900s despite the date of birth on his passport being April 1 1911.

After running a few more events, he eventually retired from racing at the age of 101.

Other tributes have flooded in since his passing was confirmed.

MP Preet Kaur Gill said on X: “Saddened to hear about the passing of Fauja Singh.

“I had the honour of meeting him. A truly inspiring man. His discipline, simple living, and deep humility left a lasting mark on me.

“A reminder that age is just a number, but attitude is everything. Rest in power, legend.”

Fellow MP Jas Athwal MP added: “Deeply saddened to hear about the passing of Sardar Fauja Singh Ji.

“He was legendary – a man who continued running until he was 101. He was a global Sikh icon, that inspired millions across the world.

“His spirit and legacy of resilience will run on forever. My heartfelt condolences to all his family and friends. We will miss him. RIP.”

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WASHINGTON — After an overnight session and hours of floor debate, the House voted Thursday to approve the “Big Beautiful Bill” — clearing its final hurdle in a landmark achievement for President Trump, who wrangled Republican lawmakers to pass the most expensive legislation in history by the Fourth of July.

The 218 to 214 vote, which saw two Republican members side with the Democrats in opposition, was delayed by a record-breaking speech on the House floor by Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries that lasted eight hours and 44 minutes. “I’m going to take my time,” Jeffries said before launching into a marathon excoriation of the legislation, its Medicaid cuts and its Republican backers. “Shame on this institution if this bill passes.”

The bill encompasses Trump’s domestic agenda, extending tax breaks to millions of American households and businesses that are projected to add trillions to the national debt. The legislation also introduces new tax relief for senior citizens, tip and overtime workers, and new parents.

To offset a fraction of those costs, Republicans approved new barriers to access for Medicaid and cut funding streams under the Affordable Care Act, placing the healthcare of nearly 12 million in jeopardy over the next decade, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. Funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which provides food stamps, was also cut.

It has been a controversial bill within the Republican Party ever since it was conceived at the beginning of Trump’s second term, with fiscal hawks decrying its record contributions to annual deficits, and moderate Republicans fearing its cuts to healthcare would come back to haunt them in future elections.

Speaking with reporters after the vote, senior White House officials said Trump was the “omnipresent force behind the legislation,” crediting his personal relationships with lawmakers on the Hill for its ultimate success.

“I’ve lost count of the number of meetings the president has had,” one White House official said, adding that the bill “satisfies virtually every campaign promise the president made.”

Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said that Republicans defied the “doubters and the panicans” to secure passage of legislation that would “add funding for at least 1 million deportations per year.”

Beyond tax relief and healthcare cuts, the bill increases defense spending and adds a historic $150 billion to fund border security and mass deportations, exponentially increasing the budget of Immigration and Customs Enforcement — a fund larger than many national armies.

The president, Leavitt said, would host a “big, beautiful signing ceremony” Friday at 5 p.m. Eastern, marked by fireworks on the National Mall celebrating Independence Day — a deadline he imposed on the Republican caucus to secure passage of the legislation.

It also includes a host of parochial provisions. The bill provides $1 billion for security, planning and other costs for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, and $30 million for the construction of a sculpture-laden “American Garden of Heroes” to be built at an undetermined location.

In total, the Congressional Budget Office projects the bill could add up to $3.3 trillion to the debt by 2034. Republicans dispute the figure as inflated, arguing the CBO assumes status economic growth, while still other groups say the projection is conservative.

In a statement after the vote, the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, which has advocated fiscal responsibility for decades, warned the bill “would add more than $4 trillion to the debt, accelerate the insolvency of Social Security and Medicare, and leave us even more vulnerable to the whims of the Treasury markets.”

“In a massive fiscal capitulation, Congress has passed the single most expensive, dishonest, and reckless budget reconciliation bill ever — and, it comes amidst an already alarming fiscal situation,” the group said. “Never before has a piece of legislation been jammed through with such disregard for our fiscal outlook, the budget process, and the impact it will have on the well-being of the country and future generations.”

And yet, despite issuing scathing criticisms of the Senate language for its historic contributions to the debt, opposition from the House Freedom Caucus, also founded to advocate for fiscal responsibility, all but melted away in the early hours of Thursday under intense pressure from the White House.

Several of the Medicaid provisions kick in only after the 2026 midterms, buying Republicans time to sell the bill without facing its real-world consequences before the next election. But Democrats are already campaigning against the legislation as the greatest attack on healthcare since Republicans tried to repeal the Affordable Care Act in 2017, which prompted a Democratic wave in midterms the following year.

The legislation introduces a work requirement for Medicaid enrollment that will require extensive new paperwork for applicants, and restricts state taxes on healthcare providers, known as the “provider tax,” an essential tool for many states in their efforts to supplement Medicaid funding.

Several Republican lawmakers fear that provision could have devastating effects on rural hospitals. The Senate added a rural hospital fund to the bill to help mitigate some of the impacts of the funding cuts.

The bill also rolls back green energy tax credits that have fueled an entire manufacturing workforce in wind and solar energy in states across the country.

The bill passed through the Senate despite bipartisan opposition, with three Republicans joining Democrats to vote against it. House approval of the Senate text Thursday morning occurred barely 24 hours after the upper chamber’s vote.

On Wednesday night, a number of House Republican lawmakers had said openly they would not support a rushed process to approve the bill. But a floor vote on debate rules kept open by House Speaker Mike Johnson throughout the night kept conversations active, and ultimately swayed the holdouts.

Two Republican House members, Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania and Thomas Massie of Kentucky, voted against the final bill, citing its effects to the healthcare system and to the national debt, respectively.

“What a great night it was,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform before the final vote. “One of the most consequential Bills ever. The USA is the ‘HOTTEST’ Country in the World, by far!!!”

In the call with reporters, one White House official also credited Vice President JD Vance for his efforts to secure a victory on the legislation, noting his huddle hours before a final Senate vote on Tuesday with Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, a lawmaker who secured exceptional carve-outs for her state in the bill and yet still expressed disappointment with its harshest provisions after voting to approve it.

Democrats will welcome the vice president receiving credit. Several expressed hope to The Times they can tie any successor of Trump’s to unpopular healthcare cuts in 2028.

Race director James McIlroy said Cheptegei’s involvement is the “culmination of a few years’ hard work behind the scenes”.

“To have the reigning double Olympic champion and double world record holder headline a very fast race, we believe it to be the fastest in the world, it’s going to be fantastic,” McIlroy told BBC Sport NI.

McIlroy explained that previous attempts had been made to bring Cheptegei to the event.

“This isn’t the first conversation we’ve had on it. He was going to come for a couple of years but the diary had to suit timing wise.

“Obviously the Olympic Games last year in which he was retaining his title didn’t help us for 2024.

“Once he confirmed the Amsterdam marathon, we were confirmed as well, which was fantastic news for us.”

McIlroy is expecting other big names to sign up for this year’s event but acknowledges Cheptegei will be the main attraction.

“Effectively what you have got is the most high-profile runner in the world currently running on one of the most beautiful roads in the world.

“We know he’s bringing two pacemakers. He has said he’s going to run a very fast time by his own admission.

“He has run two half marathons in the last two years, one in New York City and one in New Delhi. They are both massive races so to be featured in the same breath as those races is fantastic.”