Run, Karla, Run!

Mo Farah at the 2010 European Championships. Photo by Erik van Leeuwen.

Debutantes and coach Alberto Salazar ruled the road at the NYC Half-Marathon this morning. Three of Salazar’s athletes topped the podium: Mo Farah of Great Britain won the men’s race in his half-marathon debut, Galen Rupp of the U.S. finished third in his debut as well, and Kara Goucher of the U.S. took third in the women’s competition. Salazar coaches all three athletes in Portland, Oregon.

NYC Half Men’s Race

Mo Farah of Great Britain, Salazar’s newest protégé, ran away with the title in his half-marathon debut. Farah has European Championship titles in the 3000, 5000 and 10,000 meters.

“It was nice to see that I’ve got speed and endurance,” Farah said about his win at the longer distance. “I’m in the best shape of my life right now.” Read the rest of this entry →

Photo by qivn/Flickr.

Ryan Hall is running. Meb Keflezighi is running. Abdi Abdirahman is running. Galen Rupp is running. Kara Goucher is running. The 2011 NYC Half marathon is about to get underway with the deepest American field ever.

But they’ll have to fend of Kenya’s Peter Kamais, the defending champion, and Ethiopia’s Gebre Gebremariam, the reigning ING New York City Marathon champion.

In the women’s field, Kara Goucher is in her final weeks of preparation for the Boston Marathon–her first after giving birth to a son last September. Goucher is one of just three women who have defeated Paula Radcliffe in a half-marathon.

Challenging Goucher will be Edna Kiplagat, the reigning ING New York City Marathon champion, and Madai Peres, the Mexican record holder who defeated Goucher at the Phoenix Half Marathon in January.

Stay tuned and refresh this page often for more… Read the rest of this entry →

I listen to a lot of music from the ‘80s—a lot—especially when I run.  Since I’m in an ‘80s cover band, The FADES, I’m often learning “new” tunes. Running gives me extra time to drill them into my head.  But more than that, I love the ‘80s as a musical genre (otherwise I wouldn’t be in an ‘80s cover band), and there are many, many, many songs from the ‘80s that are great for running. I even listen to ‘80s tunes that The FADES don’t cover.

So I thought I’d share my favorite ‘80s music running mix. You can download all the songs via the iTunes affiliate links provided. Enjoy! Read the rest of this entry →

Most people who read my blog long enough know that I’m a runner and a rocker. So I’m really happy to announce that my band, The FADES, will be joining runner and rocker extraordinaire Lady Southpaw for a super special show on Sunday, March 20 at 4 pm: Running Rocks! NYCRUNS Presents Lady Southpaw and The Fades!

The FADES are largely comprised of New York Harriers, and those of you on the New York Road Runners race circuit may have seen us perform or sing a national anthem from time to time. We play ’80s covers. Why? Because the ’80s rocked, and if the popularity of the Rock ‘n’ Roll race series proves anything, it’s this: rocking and running just go together. The FADES play the sound track for a million long runs done right and as many nights out. Read the rest of this entry →

Hola from Argentina! I’m down south hiding out the last dregs of winter and dreaming about spring in NYC.

But last night, I stumbled upon a local road race in Mendoza. Maybe 100 runners, largely clad in orange shirts, raced by me along a beautiful street shaded by stately poplar trees. Men outnumbered women four or five to one, and onlookers clapped for the leaders but no one else. Suddenly, I wished so badly that I was running with them.

Before I left for the trip, I’d looked for races in Buenos Aires and Mendoza that I could possibly run. But my limited Spanish only turned up road races that were happening before I arrived or after I was already gone.

Yet, there they were: my Argentinian compadres running down the street to confused onlookers. Read the rest of this entry →