Run, Karla, Run!

Photo courtesy of New York Road Runners

National Running Day is tomorrow, June 1! Get out there and celebrate as runners do—with a run. Here are just a few free National Running Day events in New York City:

Manhattan

What: Team In Training and NYCRUNS 5K Fun Run

NYCRUNS, JackRabbit Sports and Team In Training will run as one for National Running Day. Join them for a fun run in Central Park, followed by post run refreshments (including beer) and more at JackRabbit Sports.

When: Wednesday, June 1 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Where: Meet at JackRabbit Sports Upper West Side, 140 West 72nd Street in Manhattan before the run in Central Park, Manhattan Read the rest of this entry →

Wednesday is the third annual National Running Day. Join America’s 43 million runners, lace up your kicks, hit the road, trail or track, and celebrate life as a runner.

Looking for something to do? Check out runningday.org, where you can find or set up a group run, support a charity through running, get tips for beginners and other ways to celebrate. You can also make an “I RUN…” badge with your favorite reason for running, shared on Facebook and Twitter.

According to Running USA, most people run to stay in shape, stay healthy, relieve stress and have fun. Me? I run because I can. For nearly a decade of my life, I lived with a bone tumor that inhibited the movement of my knee. Running was far too painful and something I never dreamed of doing. Now that I can, I run. And I love it. Read the rest of this entry →

Photo by Billy Alexander/SXC

You’ve got questions. The Running Nerd will find the answers.

Question:

I have a few friends who are not sure about whether or not they want to get involved in the races, but were wondering if they could just come out for some of the walk/runs and do it with the crowd without registering? Is that a possibility to potentially get them interested in signing up for the next one?

~Anonymous

Answer:

Well, running a race without registering for it is called running as a “bandit,” and the Running Nerd, along with race directors all over America, strongly discourages it. Why? Read the rest of this entry →

Want to learn more about the diversity of events, races and clubs offered for runners in the New York metropolitan area? Come on down to the JackRabbit NYC Running Show on Saturday, April 23 for a special NYC Running Scene panel presented by NYCRUNS.com and moderated by yours truly.

I’ll be leading a discussion with a collection truly knowledgeable local runners who will talk about the bounty of options New Yorkers have at their feet from Westchester down to Staten Island, including trail running, cross-country races and track events in addition to the many road races NYC offers. They’ll talk about the plethora of choices when it comes to running clubs, and they’ll field all of your burning questions. 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 in honor of Running Rocks: NYCRUNS Presents Lady Southpaw and The FADES, an awesome running party this Sunday, March 20 that my band is playing, I thought I’d share my favorite ‘80s running mix. Enjoy! Read the rest of this entry →

So you didn’t get into the NYC Half-Marathon through the lottery. The More Magazine/Fitness Magazine Women’s Half-Marathon and Brooklyn Half-Marathon are already full. Don’t sweat it. There are plenty of other great half-marathons in the New York metro area this spring.

And since Staten Island Chuck and Punxsutawney Phil—everyone’s favorite groundhogs—predicted an early spring, it’s just about time to get cracking.

February

Valentine’s Day Marathon and Half Marathon

Sunday, Feb. 13
10:00 a.m. start (earlier starts allowed)
Bronx, NY Read the rest of this entry →

It’s Social Media week all across the world, but here in New York I’m moderating a panel called The Social Runner featuring Sean Haubert, Social Media Manager for New York Road Runners, Steve Lastoe, Founder of NYCRUNS and Kai MacMahon, the man behind Idiotrunner.com. They’ll be in the hotseat answering questions about all things social media and running.

If you’ve ever Tweeted a PR, shared race photos on Facebook or checked into Central Park on Foursquare, this is the panel for you.

Come on down and join us.

When: Thursday, Feb. 10 at 4 pm

Where: Jack Rabbit Sports

42 West 14th Street, New York, NY

(212) 727-2980

How: Register here

Know where to go in Central Park. Photo by simon_music/flickr.

You’ve got questions. The Running Nerd will find the answers.

Question:

I want to know where the toilets are in Central Park. I’m not going to be looking for a bath in the middle of a run.

~Ewen, Canberra, Australia via The New York Running Show

Answer:

We hear you, Ewen. Central Park is one of America’s most iconic parks to run. But if you’re not a local or familiar with the park, finding a restroom mid-run can be stressful. There are few things that will leave a runner more panicked than a sudden urge with no place to go; the Running Nerd knows. Luckily, Central Park has 16 public bathrooms, so relief is never far away. Read the rest of this entry →

It’s what Nike+ users have been waiting for—a Nike+ watch with GPS. Powered by TomTom, the new Nike+ SportWatch GPS is sure to give Garmin and the other wrist bots an, ahem, run for their money.

Nike is rolling out the red carpet for their newest Nike+ product. The watch uses both the familiar Nike+ shoe sensor and TomTom’s GPS technology to track runs. Users can then upload their runs to Nikeplus.com via a built-in USB connector in the watch’s strap. New features on Nikeplus.com will map and track runs, including time, pace, distance, calories burned, heart rate and elevation.

The watch will even serve as your Jiminy Cricket if you need one; automatic reminders magically appear when you haven’t logged a run for five days. Read the rest of this entry →

I’m not usually one to plug products or programs unless I’ve tried them myself, but my good friend and coach, Kevin Horty, is running a spring marathon and half-marathon training program with Terrier Tri in New York City. And while I can’t endorse Terrier Tri, I heartily endorse Coach Kevin. He’s the man with the plan who has seen me through over two dozen PR’s, including three consecutive marathon PR’s. As coach of the New York Harriers, he’s helped hundreds of other runners get faster too. And his marathon best of 2:41 ain’t too shabby.

The 14-week program begins on January 10, and includes three weekly group coached sessions in Central Park on Tuesday/Friday at 6 a.m. and Sunday at 8:30 a.m. Sessions include speed work, fartlek runs, hill workouts, tempo runs and fast finish long runs. The program also includes a weekly training schedule with five days per week of running and strength and core workouts, as well as online email support from Coach Horty and Coach Spencer Casey, head coach of the New York Athletic Club elite running team. Between them, these guys have 45 years of competitive running and coaching experience. The cost is $350 for Terrier Tri members and $395 for non-members. Check out the website for more information on the Bostonplus program.

And to everyone training for a spring marathon or half-marathon, start your engines!

Hey New Yorkers! Can’t get enough of the New York running scene? Want a podcast to listen to while you’re running laps around the reservoir? Check out The New York Running Show, a weekly chat about New York running. Run by Joe Garland of Run Westchester fame, the show features a rotating panel of New York runners and bloggers, including yours truly.

Past topics have included a New York City Marathon postmortem, winter running, what a Brooklyn Marathon might look like, the club racing scene, suggestions for NYRR and lots more. Tune in Sundays at 8 p.m. and join the chat room. Or you can listen online anytime or download the show from iTunes.

Photo by Chris Chidsey

I asked and you answered—power songs.  You know them instantly—those songs that always pump you up on a run, the songs you never skip when they pop up on your iPod, the songs that somehow get you to push just a little harder, even if for only three and a half minutes.

“I don’t pick the songs,” Tony Garcia of Fullerton, Calif., wrote about his power songs. “The songs pick me and my body responds.”

So if you need some extra inspiration for your winter runs, look up these songs as you cash in those iTunes gift cards that will inevitably find their way into your Christmas stockings and Hanukkah loot. These are the power songs that you the readers picked, or rather, picked you. Read the rest of this entry →

Tune into The Marathon Show to listen to a panel of runners, including Karla, discuss the ING New York City Marathon. The show is available for streaming or download on BlogTalkRadio and iTunes.

You know them instantly—those songs that always pump you up on a run, the songs you never skip when they pop up on your iPod, the songs that somehow get you to push just a little harder, even if for only three and a half minutes. I’m talking about power songs.

On Sunday, I subjected myself to almost four hours on an elliptical trainer in lieu of my last 20-mile long run before the ING New York City Marathon on Nov. 7. I’m flirting with a knee injury and my doctor told me to play it safe. If not for my iPod and tried and true power songs, I might have gone mad.

So I began to wonder: What are the awesome, amazing power songs other runners turn to when they need an extra boost? Read the rest of this entry →

I’ll be a guest on “The Marathon Show” on Tuesday Oct. 19 at 12 p.m. EST talking about the ING New York City Marathon:

“The NYC Marathon is a monster. We have three NYC 2010 marathoners on the show who have also run it in the past. They’ll talk about the excitement of the start, a personal story about NYC and the spectacular finish, plus the 5K, plus much more. Join Karla Bruning, Magda Cardoso and Kevin Horty as they talk about America’s biggest marathon.”

You can listen live or on demand at BlogTalkRadio or download it free on iTunes. Check it out!