Run, Karla, Run!

Photo by Phil Hospod

You’ve got questions. I’ll find the answers. Welcome to “Ask the Running Nerd.”

Question:

I’ve been running off and on for about 10 years, and I recently became more serious about my running – I joined a team, set some goals and am becoming more consistent with my workouts. As a result, I’ve been increasing my mileage, and I’ve met some really great like-minded runners. Unfortunately, I’ve also encountered 5 women in the last 2 months who have suffered some type of foot fracture. These women range in age from 23 to 38; some have been running competitively since high school and others are relatively new to the sport. I’m hoping to avoid this seemingly common injury myself. What causes these types of injuries in women and how can I avoid them?

–Cindy, New York City Read the rest of this entry →

Karla running the cliff walk toward Sydney's Bondi Beach. Photo by Phil Hospod.

My feet splashed unfettered as my breath heaved in rhythm to the sound of the rolling surf. Children played cricket using boogie boards in place of wickets buried in the sand. A dog trailed its owner, tail wagging. A few swimmers splashed and screamed.

And I ran. No iPod, no shoes, no watch. Just me and the beach. The seemingly endless Australian beach.

Whether I’m on vacation, a business trip, attending a wedding or any of the other occasions I’ve had to travel, I always look forward to going for a run. Out-of-town runs promise new vistas and a break from your regular routine. Instead of sightseeing, it’s sightrunning, and it’s one of the best ways to take in a new locale. Read the rest of this entry →

The eight-year-old in me is bouncing off the walls. When I read not once, not twice, but three times in Runner’s World that multiple studies have concluded chocolate milk is the perfect recovery drink, I wanted to break out in song, kiss the stranger next to me on the subway and click my heels in the air. And it’s not just Runner’s World covering the evidence stacked in chocolate milk’s favor; Fitness magazine, CBS News and AskMen.com among others have reported chocolate milk’s benefits.  Read the rest of this entry →

It’s a New Year. And that can only mean one thing: time to make some New Year’s resolutions.

I’m a goal-oriented person. So along with my general resolutions—which usually include things like “run a marathon”—I’m making a list of running resolutions. Here goes.

1. Get faster

2. Fast enough to race a sub 2-hour half-marathon

3. Even faster to race a sub 4-hour marathon

Sounds simple enough, right? Well… Read the rest of this entry →

Call them the best. Call them memorable. Or just call them. Whatever they are, these moments defined running in the first decade of the 21^st century. What makes them so great? These 10 performances got people buzzing. My opinion is completely subjective and emotional. I have a thing for runners who fall to the ground in tears (see Nos. 4 and 5), and admire the hubris of runners who not only walk the walk but talk the talk (see Nos. 1 and 9). But I also polled some die-hard runners in the know. Like me they follow the sport—and by follow the sport I mean DVR-ing things like the Rotterdam Marathon. And these moments made short list after short list.

So who made the cut? Drum roll please.

11). Honorable Mention: You ran a race and raised money for charity in the process

The last decade has been a collective best moment in the history of running. The U.S. is in the midst of a second running boom with year over year records in road race participation. In the marathon alone, the total number of finishers has gone from 299,000 in 2000 to 463,000 in 2009 according to MarathonGuide.com. Finisher totals for all road races in the U.S. were 6,482,500 in 1997. Ten years later in 2007? The number of finishers rose by almost 2.5 million to 8,875,000 according Running USA. And more racers have meant more money for all those associated charities. According to the USATF, the amount runners have raised for charity has increased from $520 million in 2002 to $714 million in 2006. Between entrance fees for benefit races and charity partnerships for major races, the running boom is making an impact on more than just the participants. So here’s to all of you runners out there who helped make this collective moment truly one of the high spots in running this decade. Read the rest of this entry →

Along with the best of the decade, the “naughty aughties” have been notable for many a moment we’d rather forget. But as the old adage goes, forgive but never forget. So here’s a look back at the scandals and heartbreaks that shook the running world in the past decade.

5). Antonio Pettigrew admits to doping

Though he never failed a drug test, like so many other track stars caught up in the doping imbroglio that plagued the last decade, Pettigrew (pictured left) confessed in 2008 to using performance-enhancing drugs. As a result, he and his 4×400 relay teammates were stripped of their gold medals from the 2000 Olympics. But it wasn’t just Pettigrew. His relay-mates Alvin and Calvin Harrison (pictured second left and second right) had already been slapped with four- and two-year suspensions respectively for their own doping offenses. And relay alternate Jerome Young was banned for life in 2004 after testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs. Only Michael Johnson (pictured right) escaped the scandals unscathed. The U.S. men have won the 4×400 relay every Olympics since 1984. But this put a blight on that record. It certainly wasn’t the first we’d heard of doping in track and I’m sure it won’t be the last.

Read the rest of this entry →

Usain Bolt celebrates his Olympic victory. Photo by friskytuna/Flikr.

The end of the “aughts” is upon us, and it’s been quite a decade for running. Here are the 10 runners who thoroughly dominated their fields in the past 10 years—The Best Runners of the Decade. My picks are completely unscientific and subjective, and I’m sure they will incite at least a little grumbling. But these 10 runners have dazzled the world with feats of strength worthy of Festivus, and racked up the hardware to prove it. Drum roll please… Read the rest of this entry →

It was bracingly cold as the temperature dipped below freezing, but the giggles of two hundred grade school girls filled the courtyard outside of Asphalt Green in Manhattan on Saturday morning. Some of the girls were getting their hair spray-painted at a “Happy Hair” stand, others were sipping hot chocolate and many more were socializing with friends and family. But nearly all of them were excited to run—and no short distance at that—3.1 miles.

Back in grade school, I loved to run. Mostly because it was the best way to get from point A to point B. But also because it was part of so many games I liked to play—Freeze Tag, Flashlight Tag, Ghost in the Graveyard and all the other neighborhood romps. But also because I was on swim team and “dry land” practices often involved loops around the indoor track at my local YMCA; jogging the track gave my teammates and me a chance to socialize that we didn’t get with our faces in the water.

But I never had a chance to be part of a formal running program back in elementary school. So when I heard about Girls on the Run, I was excited to help out. Read the rest of this entry →

Hanukkah is here and Christmas is just around the corner. With eight nights of lights and stockings to fill, I’m sure we all have lots of gifts to buy. Thankfully, runners are pretty easy people to shop for. Our sport offers all sorts of gizmos and gadgets for every type of budget. And if you’re not sure if the runner on your list already has a GPS device/heart rate monitor/hydration belt/running gloves, here are 10 more general gift ideas any runner would love.

• The Stick. Lots of runners have tight muscles. I try to balance yoga with training, but even then my calves sometimes feel like they might snap. I’ve seen these things at marathon expos and I’ve always been intrigued. The Stick compresses and stretches muscles to ease pain. Models vary by length and firmness—the website even has a cool calculator that tells you which one is best for your body type. The Marathon Stick is ideal for distance runners. $32. Read the rest of this entry →