Archive for the ‘Essays’Category

Why do you run? Why do any of us run?

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Runners in the New York City Marathon. Photo by Fergal Carr.

Runners in the New York City Marathon. Photo by Fergal Carr.

Runners, there are a lot of us out there. Almost 9.5 million Americans finished a road race in 2008 and almost 4.9 million ran on trails, according to Running USA. Millions more run without racing at all: 23.4 million Americans run 50 days per year, or roughly once a week; and about 15 million run 100 days per year, or roughly twice a week, Running USA reports.

As I set out training for my fourth marathon, I began to think about why I do it year after year. Why do I run? Why do we all run? There are probably as many reasons as there are runners.

So here goes. Here are the top 10 reasons I run, in no particular order.

I run because… Read the rest of this entry →

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26

Jul 2010

Finding Lost Motivation: A Runner’s Guide

Photo by Galyna Andrushko/© PhotoXpress.comMost of the time, I look forward to going for a run. I plot and scheme what time I’m going to head out, how long I’m going to run for, what kind of run I’m going to do. I anticipate the appointed time when I’m slipping on my shoes and stepping out the door.

But then, there are days when the motivation to run simply escapes me, when just the thought of running makes me feel drained like I need to take a long nap. What to do when your motivation runs away from you?

Losing that drive is like losing my wallet or cell phone—I feel naked and lost without it. Because I know—I know—that I will feel better if I exercise, that I always feel better after a run. I know that the run will leave me feeling invigorated and refreshed, even if a little spent. I know the run will make me feel good about myself, good about my health and will encourage me to have fish and salad for dinner instead of the burger and milkshake I might be daydreaming about. I know that going for a run will do the magical and wonderful things that going for a run always seems to do. Simply, it will make me happy.

And yet, and yet: I can’t find the motivation to put one foot in front of another. What to do? Read the rest of this entry →

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Getting Over A Bad Run

Photo by Michal Zacharzewski

Photo by Michal Zacharzewski

Bad runs, like bad things, happen to good people. More specifically, they happen to good runners; and, they happen to all of us. Bad runs can be insidious; they can infect your mind and your training, especially if you’re unable to shake them off.

After a particularly bad run, I learned that you must—to borrow a lyric from Dorothy Fields—pick yourself up, dust yourself off, start all over again.

Last Saturday, I had an especially bad run. It was the first 85-degree day, with clear skies and about 50 percent humidity. When I set out for a 10K, I knew it would be tough. The hotter it is, the slower we’re able to run—as much as 5 percent slower for every 10 degrees above 55, according to coach extraordinaire Jeff Galloway. Experts like the folks over at Endurance Science even have empirical data to prove it.

So I expected to take it easy and run a bit slower. But I didn’t expect it to be demoralizing. Read the rest of this entry →

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05

May 2010

Central Park: A Runner’s Love Affair

Central Park in spring. Phot by

Central Park in spring. Photo by Simona Dumitru.

If you’re like me, you probably have a favorite place to run. A place where you feel alive, refreshed and in love with the world. A place where you solve all your problems, feel free and unfettered, inspired and awed. A place where, dare I say it, running seems easy—no matter how hard the hills, hot the sun, or crowded the street. For me, that place is Central Park. It’s my olly olly oxen free. Read the rest of this entry →

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15

Apr 2010

Running With the Fast Crowd

Photo © Ivonne Wierink/PhotoXpressI stared down the track in front of me. I’d already run a 1600, two 800s and four 400s at an all-out pace. Now just one more 800 stood between me and the end of the workout.

“Group 4, you’re up!” my coach yelled.

“Why do we have to run another 800?” someone moaned.

“Because it mentally prepares you to run fast,” he said. “You speed up over the course of the intervals and then you try to hold that pace for one last 800.”

“It’s mental torture,” I said.

He laughed. “All right, this is all-out,” he said. “This should hurt. Group 4, go!”

I had a cramp in my left foot, a stitch in my right side, and I still hadn’t caught my breath from the last interval. To make matters worse, the parks department hadn’t turned on the water fountains and I forgot my water bottle. Everything in me wanted to say, “Meh, I’ve done enough.”

But I took one look at the rest of the runners in my group, and I thought, “I can do this.”

There are so many reasons to train with a friend or a team. Camaraderie, accountability and encouragement are some of them. But my favorite reason to show up to team speed workouts is that I like to run with the fast crowd. It’s inspirational, motivational and encourages me to push myself harder than I ever would on my own. Read the rest of this entry →

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01

Apr 2010

On Vacation, Forget Sightseeing—Try Sightrunning

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

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 →

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26

Jan 2010

New Year’s Running Resolutions

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 →

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22

Jan 2010

Girls on the Run

Girls on the RunIt 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 →

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18

Dec 2009

Keflezighi’s Win: An American Marathon Renaissance?

Meb Keflezighi chases down Kenya’s Robert Cheruiyot at the ING New York City Marathon on Nov. 1. Keflezighi was the first American to win the race in 27 years.  Photo by Randy Lemoine.

Meb Keflezighi chases down Kenya’s Robert Cheruiyot at the ING New York City Marathon on Nov. 1. Photo by Randy Lemoine.

It only took 27 years. For the first time since Alberto Salazar ran away with the title in 1982, an American won the ING New York City Marathon. On Sunday, Nov. 1, Meb Keflezighi cruised to victory in 2:09:15 wearing a “U.S.A.” singlet. Does his win signal the return of the great American marathoner?

Back in the 1970s and early 1980s, marathon legends Frank Shorter, Bill Rodgers, Joan Benoit Samuelson and Salazar enjoyed an era when Americans actually won races, and inspired a generation of runners to hit the pavement in the process—running boom, anyone? Indeed, Rodgers has the most major marathon wins—8 of them—of any runner in history according to the World Marathon Majors, a two-year race series with a $1 million prize. (New York, Boston, Chicago, London and Berlin comprise the Majors, along with the Olympics and World Championships as qualifying races.) But African runners have largely dominated the sport since. Sure, an American star like Deena Kastor—who won Chicago in 2005 and London in 2006—has challenged the status quo every now and then. But on the world’s streets at large, the U.S. hasn’t been a factor. Certainly not like Kenya or Ethiopia. But this year on the mean streets of New York, a total of six American men finished in the top 10—the most since 1979—with Keflezighi taking the crown. All signs point to a potential renaissance. Read the rest of this entry →

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15

Nov 2009

The Chicago Marathon: A Run Down Memory Lane

Chicago at dawn on marathon morning. Photo by Phil Hospod.

Chicago at dawn on marathon morning. Photo by Phil Hospod.

It was dark. It was brisk. It was electric. I shivered in the 29-degree air, my teeth chattering as the sun rose over Chicago’s Grant Park. This was it. My stomach rolled over, nervous and uncertain. I stood in the starting corral, packed in with nearly 35,000 other runners huddling like penguins bracing for winter. We moved forward en masse, and then, there we were facing the starting line of the 2009 Bank of America Chicago Marathon.

It was the 6th anniversary of my father’s death, and I was about to literally run down memory lane. The day before at the marathon expo, I watched a video of the course neighborhood by neighborhood—The Loop, Lincoln Park, Old Town, Greektown and on and on. My emotions swelled and I swallowed hard. I had come back to Chicago a prodigal daughter of sorts. This was my homecoming, my triumphant return to the city of my youth. Read the rest of this entry →

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19

Oct 2009

The Chicago Marathon: Homecoming

The Merchandise Mart in Chicago. Photo by Phil Hospod.

The Merchandise Mart in Chicago. Photo by Phil Hospod.

Chicago, I’m coming home. On October 11th, I’m running the Bank of America Chicago Marathon. It’s my third marathon, but it might be my most significant. October 11th will mark the 6th anniversary of my father’s death.

I was born and raised in the Chicago suburbs. My family lives in the city proper now, and I visit a few times a year. But when I left for college in Massachusetts 13 years ago, it was the last time I ever called Chicago home. After graduation I moved to New York, where I still live. Now when I line up for the start in Grant Park, it’ll be a homecoming of a different kind. Read the rest of this entry →

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18

Oct 2009


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