The Week in Good News: Berlin Marathon, Doctor Who, Pizza for the Troops

© Birgit Krippner for The New York Times “This is the new New Zealand,” said Ella Henry, a Maori studies lecturer at Auckland University of...

© Birgit Krippner for The New York Times “This is the new New Zealand,” said Ella Henry, a Maori studies lecturer at Auckland University of Technology.

By DES SHOE, The New York Times

Sometimes it seems as if we’re living under a constant barrage of heavy news. But it isn’t all bad out there. This feature is meant to send you into the weekend with a smile, or at least a lighter heart. Want to get The Week in Good News by email? Sign up here.

Here are seven great things we wrote about this week:

Eliud Kipchoge broke the marathon world record.

The 33-year-old Kenyan ran the Berlin Marathon on Sunday in 2 hours 1 minute 39 seconds, cementing his place as the most decorated marathon runner in the world. He was so fast that two of his three pacesetters had to drop out after the first 10 kilometers, which he covered in a jaw-dropping 29:21.

Kipchoge began young, jogging to and from school. He lives in Eldoret, Kenya, with his wife and three children, and splits his time between home and a training camp in the hills, 8,000 feet above sea level.

This is his ninth straight marathon win. “I lack words to describe this day,” he said after the race.

So do we. Read more »

The Maori language is experiencing a revival.

A thrash metal band released an album in Maori this year, and in September, a Maori version of the Disney film “Moana” was screened to sellout crowds. New Zealand’s prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, said last month that her newborn daughter would learn both English and Maori.

Indigenous people are increasingly embracing their language, rejecting years of stigma associated with its use. And white New Zealanders are looking to Maori as the country continues to wrestle with its colonial past.

New Zealand’s government wants more than 20 percent of the country to speak basic Maori by 2040, and has pledged to provide language lessons in all schools by 2025. Read more »