Run, Karla, Run!

“Run, Karla, Run!” is giving one lucky winner a free entry to any Reebok Spartan Race in the continental U.S.

Reebok Spartan Race Entry Giveaway

Obstacle races are having a field day; it’s one of the fastest growing trends in the entire sports industry. Forget growth — it’s been more like an explosion. In 2010, approximately 41,000 people entered about 20 obstacle races in the U.S., according to Outside Magazine. By 2012, those 20 events had grown to 150 with 1.5 million people participating. Competitor magazine reports that 2 million people competed in obstacle races in 2012 and the number of obstacle racing events in 2013 will surpass 500.

On of the biggest obstacle race series in the industry is Reebok Spartan Race.  Spartan was voted “Best Obstacle Race in 2012” by Outside Magazine. They’ve got more than 60 events in 2013, including races in the U.S., Canada, U.K., Australia, Mexico, Slovakia and Czech Republic.

They offer four race distances to challenge anyone from beginners to the toughest Spartans out there: Read the rest of this entry →

The 2014 Disney Princess Half Marathon registration opens June 11. (Photo: runDisney)

Disney Princess Half Marathon Weekend Registration

Runners, mark your calendars! Online registration for the runDisney 2014 Disney Princess Half Marathon Weekend from February 20-23 opens Tuesday, June 11 at noon EST. That includes registration for:

• Disney Princess Half Marathon
• The new Disney Princess Enchanted 10K
• The new Disney Glass Slipper Challenge
• Cinderella Royal Family 5K

Plus, a lucky few runners will be able to register early for the 2014 Tinker Bell Half Marathon at Disneyland Resort in California with their Princess Half registration. Why would you want to do that? The new pink women’s focused Coast-to-Coast Race Challenge medal, of course. Online registration for the 2014 Tinker Bell Half Marathon officially opens on July 9.

Disney Princess Half Marathon Weekend Changes

Minnie Mouse high-fives runners at the Disney Princess Half Marathon finish. (Photo: runDisney)

What else is new for the 2014 Disney Princess Half Marathon Weekend? Well, runDisney just announced that in order to ease crowding on the course and improve the overall race experience for everyone, they will be making a few changes similar to their planned changes for the 2014 Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend. That includes: Read the rest of this entry →

Why do you run? (Photo: Sgt. Jimmy D. Shea/US Marine Corps)

Happy National Running Day, everyone! It’s the 5th anniversary of the event, and I’m proud to say I’ve been a runner for every one of them.

Part of the National Running Day campaign allows runners to make an “I Run…” badge. It can be any reason you run, a place you run anything. This year, my badge says, “I Run Because I Can!” There was a decade of my life where running was so painful that I avoided it by any means possible. You can read about that here.

Sadly, I won’t be running today. I fell off a horse on Sunday—more to come on that in another post—and landed on my hip. It’s pretty sore and I’m going to get an x-ray just to be sure everything is alright. I don’t want to run and potentially make it worse. Being injured reminds me to appreciate every day that I can run.

Yay!

So in honor of National Running Day, I thought I’d share the top 10 reasons why I run. I first came up with this list in 2010 and it’s still true. I’ve also updated it a bit for this year.

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

I run because… Read the rest of this entry →

Create your own National Running Day badge at runningday.org.

National Running Day 2013 is Wednesday, June 5! Currently 279 group runs have been planned in more than 130 cities across the U.S., Canada and Mexico. It’s a nation wide running party to celebrate running as one of the simplest and most inexpensive ways to stay active and fit.

More than 50 million people run in the U.S. Of those, 28 million Americans say they run at least once a week, according to the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association 2011 survey. It’s an increase of more than 7 percent over the last year and 48 percent over the last decade.

So why not get out there and celebrate that you’re one of them? To find a National Running Day 2013 event near you, visit RunningDay.org.

There are lots of other ways to celebrate National Running Day. Here are just a few: Read the rest of this entry →

It’s all about Brooklyn. NYRR On The Run at the Brooklyn Half, hosted by yours truly, looks at the race that has quickly become one of America’s largest half-marathons. More than 21,000 runners finished the 13.1-mile race from the Brooklyn Museum through Grand Army Plaza and Prospect Park to the spectacular water-front finish on the Coney Island boardwalk. Read the rest of this entry →

At the Brooklyn Half Pre-Party (Photo: NYRR_OnTheRun on Instagram)

We’re back! “On The Run,” New York Road Runners’ web show hosted by yours truly, is back for the Brooklyn Half Marathon. But this time we’re making the leap to the big time. We’re going to be on TV! WABC-7 in New York will air “NYRR On The Run at the Brooklyn Half” on Sunday, May 19 at 1 p.m.

Then the episode will hit the web so anyone, anywhere can catch all the action from the means streets of Brooklyn.

It’s the biggest Brooklyn Half in the race’s 33 year history. More than 25,000 people have registered for the 13.1-mile race that takes runners from Grand Army Plaza and Prospect Park to the boardwalk in Coney Island, making it the second largest half-marathon in the U.S. and top five in the world. The half-hour episode of “On The Run” will bring race highlights, but also a bit of local Brooklyn flavor.

Chatting with a New Balance shoe designer at the Brooklyn Pre-Party. (Photo: NYRR_OnTheRun Instagram)

The race kicked off on Wednesday with a three-day pre-party in Brooklyn’s DUMBO neighborhood, sandwiched between the Manhattan Bridge and the iconic Brooklyn Bridge.

This isn’t your average race expo. Presented by race sponsor New Balance, runners pick up bib and race shirts at the Old Tobacco Warehouse to the beats of a DJ, live bands play on an outdoor stage, food trucks line the walls of the warehouse, and a beer garden serves up Brooklyn brews along with treats from a slew of local eateries. It’s a whole new take on a race expo, and having spent the last two night there I can honestly say this: it’s spectacular. Without contest, it’s the most fun and most creative race expo or pre-party I’ve ever seen. Read the rest of this entry →

Phil and me after the race. (Photo: RunKarlaRun.com)

It was a rainy weekend for the Cox Providence Rhode Races in Rhode Island on Sunday, May 12, 2013.

But the rain didn’t stop me and over 3,100 other runners from tackling the UnitedHealthcare Providence Half Marathon and Cox Providence Marathon. A race where “HOPE” is the state motto couldn’t be anything but uplifting.

I certainly looked happy on race day, as this video my husband took attests. He’s newly obsessed with Vine, the 6-second video version of Twitter. I’m saying “Rhode Races” at the end, but it gets cut off a bit.

Read the rest of this entry →

Cox Rhode Races Guide

I opened my inbox yesterday to find my 2013 Cox Providence Rhode Races
Athlete Guide with official pre-race instructions for the UnitedHealthcare Providence Half Marathon on Sunday, May 12.

I have to say, I’m really excited for this race. It’s only the second race I’ve done in Rhode Island, a place I’ve fallen in love with in the last few years. And there are so many great running puns to be had with Rhode Island, as the “Rhode Races” series attests to.

I’m doing the Providence Half Marathon as a training run. No racing this one for me. My training has been patchy the last few weeks for various reasons—travel, work, all the usual suspects. I’ve been doing more cross training than running in the last month—snowshoeing, aqua jogging, swimming, biking. I have been running too, but not enough to have delusions of running a personal best. Read the rest of this entry →

Disney’s Princess Half Marathon is getting a new 10K and a Glass Slipper Challenge. (Photo: runDisney)

Big news from runDisney! Disney’s Princess Half Marathon Weekend from February 20-23, 2014 at Walt Disney World in Florida is getting the royal treatment with a new Disney Princess Enchanted 10K and a new two-race challenge in the Disney Glass Slipper Challenge. Based on the name alone, I like it already.

Princess Half Glass Slipper Challenge

The Glass Slipper Challenge follows in the footsteps of the Dumbo Double Dare at Disneyland: runners complete both the new Disney Princess Enchanted 10K on Saturday and the half marathon on Sunday for a total of 19.3 miles. Best of all for Disney bling lovers, runners earn the inaugural Disney Glass Slipper Challenge Medal in addition to the medals from each event, including a new yet-to-be-announced medal for the 10K. Read the rest of this entry →

Desiree Davila (in black) poses with runners at the 2013 Walt Disney World Marathon Meet-Up. (Photo: runDisney)

Olympian and 2011 Boston Marathon runner-up Desiree Davila is no stranger to running Disney. I had a chance to catch up with the American running star at the 2013 Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend in January. We chatted about her recovery from injury, goals for the future and, of course, running at Walt Disney World.

“This is the only place in the world where people go, ‘I’m just doing the marathon,’” Davila said with a laugh.

Indeed, runDisney unveiled for the 2014 Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend the Dopey Challenge, an event that dares runners to complete four races on four consecutive days for a total of 48.6 miles: the Family Fun Run 5K on Thursday, a new Walt Disney World 10K on Friday, the Walt Disney World Half Marathon on Saturday, and the Walt Disney World Marathon on Sunday. The Dopey Challenge is already sold-out for 2014. But runners can still register for the Walt Disney World Marathon, Walt Disney World Half Marathon, and Goofy’s Race and a Half Challenge, where runners complete both the marathon and half marathon.

Desiree Davila, 29, didn’t run this year’s Walt Disney World Marathon. She’d been in long-term recovery from a femoral stress fracture, the same injury that forced her to drop out of the 2012 Olympic Marathon in London before the 5K mark.

After taking 12 weeks of from running, Davila slowly built up mileage and time on her feet.

“I took an extended amount of time off, let that all heal up, and I’m heading in the right direction now, making sure I’m 100 percent and slowly building mileage,” Davila said. Read the rest of this entry →

Many runners wore Boston sports gear at the Run For the Parks race in Central Park. (Photo: RunKarlaRun.com)

Over 6,000 runners took to the roads of New York City’s Central Park on Sunday to run for Boston at the City Parks Foundation Run for the Parks 4-Miler.

The annual event was New York Road Runners’ first race after the bombings at the Boston Marathon on April 15, so the organization, which puts on the ING New York City Marathon, transformed the event into a run for Boston.

Thousands of the runners donned blue “I Run For Boston” shirts, which NYRR provided to participants who gave a $20 donation to The One Fund Boston for families most affected by the attack.

Others wore black ribbons, “I Run For Boston” bibs, Boston Marathon shirts and jackets, and an assortment of Boston fan gear including Red Sox baseball caps, Celtics jerseys and Bruins shirts.

My husband and I were among them, dressed in our “I Run For Boston” shirts, “I Run For Boston” bibs and black ribbons. Read the rest of this entry →

The outpouring of support for everyone affected by the Boston Marathon attack has been overwhelming. I wrote about a virtual 5K that anyone in the world can take part in to run for Boston. Here’s one more way you can show your support.

Brian Kelley of PavementRunner.com has launched #BostonStrong, a grassroots global campaign that encourages runners to put together “A Run for Boston in Your City.”

#BostonStrong is:

A run for us to unite and show our strength.
A run for those that were unable to finish.
A run for those that may never run again.
A run for us to try and make sense of the tragedy that has forever changed something we love.

So far runners in 88 cities worldwide are joining the #BostonStrong run for Boston from Paris to Seattle. Runs will take place on Monday, April 22^nd at 6 p.m., and will be between 3-4 miles.

For more information, to find out where you can run, or list a #BostonStrong in your city, visit pavementrunner.com.

Karla Bruning is host of On The Run, New York Road Runners’ web show about running. She has finished six marathons, two triathlons and trains with the New York Harriers. Follow Karla at RunKarlaRun.com, The Washington Times Communities, Facebook and Twitter@KBruning.

Runners have taken to the streets and to the internet to show their support for everyone affected by the Boston Marathon bombings.

So I wanted to share two ways to run for Boston that I’ll be taking part in—one live event in New York City and one virtual event that anyone, anywhere can join. Both runs will benefit The One Fund Boston, a coalition of corporations and individuals that aims to help the families most affected by the attack.

Run For Boston Anywhere In The World

On Monday, April 22, I’m joining NYCRUNS for Runners For Relief: A Virtual 5K Supporting Boston Marathon Bombing Victims. Read the rest of this entry →

The 2008 Boston Marathon finish line. (Photo: Dave Winer/Flickr: scriptingnews via Creative Commons)

My editor at The Washington Times Communities page asked me to write about yesterday’s bomb attack on the Boston Marathon from the perspective of a runner and reporter who has both run and covered events like it.

I wrote this:

The attack was meant to deafen our resolve, demoralize us, to terrorize us. For what purpose? We don’t know. Who knows why hate marauds the collective streets of the world perpetrating unspeakable evils.

That’s what the streets of Boston symbolized yesterday: the streets of the world. It’s what the streets of every major marathon come to mean on race day. The marathon is a globally unifying event, a universal symbol of perseverance in the face of adversity. It couldn’t be truer now.

You can read the entire column here. As I usually do, I tried to focus on the positive, even in the face of so much desolation.

It was hard to do. The attack on the Boston Marathon yesterday affected me in a profound way.

As news of the attack flooded in, I was instantly reminded of another dark day in America’s history. As a New Yorker, I was in the city on 9/11. Read the rest of this entry →

The 2014 Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend featuresmany changes to improve runners’ experience. (Photo: runDisney)

Registration opens today at noon EST for the Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend presented by Cigna from January 8-12, 2014.

Last month, runDisney announced the addition of the Dopey Challenge and the Walt Disney World 10K.

Now, Disney’s running branch has announced another slate of changes for the 2014 edition of the race, and a video to explain it all. Read the rest of this entry →