2012 New Study on How Marathons Affect the Brain

AND THEY'RE OFF · The men's Olympic marathon gets underway in London on Sunday, August 12, 2012. It was a warm day for the race–70 degrees and 77 percent humidity at the start.

Photo by Max Rossi / Reuters
Text by Meghan Loftus

LEADING THE WAY · Eventual winner, Stephen Kiprotich of Uganda, runs with Kenya's Wilson Kipsang Kiprotich and Abel Kirui. The three took the lead around mile 17 and stayed ahead of the pack through the finish.

Photo by Mark Blinch / Reuters
Text by Meghan Loftus

GOING FOR GOLD · Uganda's Stephen Kiprotich grins and carries his country's flag as he breaks the tape in 2:08:01. His gold is the first Ugandan medal in running since 1972.

Photo by Mark Blinch / Reuters
Text by Meghan Loftus

MAKE WAY FOR MEB · Meb Keflezighi, 2004 Olympic silver medalist and the only U.S. runner to complete the race in London, finished fourth in 2:11:06. "I'm 99.9 percent sure that's my last Olympics," the 37-year-old said afterwards.

Photo by Mark Blinch / Reuters
Text by Meghan Loftus

FINALLY FINISHED · Brazil's Marilson Dos Santos, two-time New York City Marathon winner, got passed by Keflezighi very late in the race and finished fifth. Japan's Kentaro Nakamoto was sixth.

Photo by Stefan Wermuth / Reuters
Text by Meghan Loftus

COOLING OFF · Carles Castillejo of Spain, who finished 24th, gets rinsed down on the ground after the finish. Twenty runners–including the entire Ethiopian and French teams–did not complete the race, and warm weather may have factored into some of those DNFs.

Photo by Stefan Wermuth / Reuters
Text by Meghan Loftus

SPRINT START · In the women's 800m on Saturday, American Alyssa Johnson Montano, right, started strong and led the race for the first 400. South African Caster Semenya, who was holding up the rear, turned up the heat to pass her.

Photo by Dylan Martinez / Reuters
Text by Dana Blinder

SOUTH AFRICAN SPEED · Caster Semenya of South Africa picked up the pace to pass Kenya's Janeth Busienei, getting the silver medal for her efforts.

Photo by Lucy Nicholson / Reuters
Text by Dana Blinder

THE FINAL BURST · Russian Mariya Savinova suddenly breaks away from the pack and runs away with the gold.

Photo by Max Rossi / Reuters
Text by Dana Blinder

MO IN MOTION · In the men's 5000m on Saturday, Brit Mo Farah ran steady and strong at the start of the race, then moved to the front for the last 800m or so. He kicked strong at the end to hold off a pack of runners to take the gold.

Photo by Max Rossi / Reuters
Text by Dana Blinder

HOMETOWN HERO · The crowd in the Olympic Stadium erupted as Mo Farah crossed the line first. It was Farah's second gold of the Games, the first coming in the 10,000.

Photo by Lucy Nicholson / Reuters
Text by Dana Blinder

GOOFIN' OFF WITH GOLD · Mo Farah and Usain Bolt mimic each other's signature move on the podium after receiving their gold medals.

Photo by Eddie Keogh / Reuters
Text by Dana Blinder

DOWN AND OUT · The women's 1500m on Friday provided only heartbreak for American Morgan Uceny. In a scene similar to one at the 2011 World Championships, Uceny tripped and fell with about 400 meters to go.

Photo by Lucy Nicholson / Reuters
Text by Dana Blinder

A FAST FINISH · Despite taking the race out slowly, the final few meters were exciting as four women finished at 4:10 and change.

Photo by Lucy Nicholson / Reuters
Text by Dana Blinder

THE TWO VICTORS · Asil Cakir Alptekin and Gamze Bulut from Turkey finish one-two in the women's 1500m final.

Photo by Dylan Martinez / Reuters
Text by Dana Blinder

AN AMERICAN BLUR · In the women's 5000, Americans Molly Huddle and Julie Culley stick in the middle of the pack at the start of the race; in front of them in the green and red is bronze medalist Tirunesha Dibaba. Huddle finished 11th and Culley 14th.

Photo by Kai Pfaffenbach, Reuters
Text by Dana Blinder

GOLD AND SILVER · Ethiopia's Meseret Defar celebrates as she crosses first in the women's 5000m final as Kenyan Vivian Cheruiyot follows for the silver.

Photo by Dylan Martinez / Reuters
Text by Dana Blinder

AN ETHIOPIAN UPSET · In the last few meters, Meseret Defar pulls ahead of favorite Tirunesh Dibaba for a first-place finish.

Photo by Lucy Nicholson / Reuters
Text by Dana Blinder