Run, Karla, Run!

Emmanuel Mutai won the 2011 London Marathon with a new course record. Photo by EStepnist/FLickr.

The ING New York City Marathon is the world’s biggest marathon. It’s no wonder the race attracts some of the world’s biggest names in running. Emmanuel Mutai, Martin Lel, and Jaouad Gharib will join defending champion Gebre Gebremariam and 2009 champion Meb Keflezighi in the race on November 6.

Kenya’s Lel, 33, won the ING New York City Marathon in 2003 and 2007, and will be returning to the race for the first time since that 2007 victory. He also won the Virgin London Marathon in 2003, 2007 and 2008, and placed fifth at the 2008 Olympics. After battling two years of injuries he came back with a second place finish in the 2011 Virgin London Marathon in April, losing to none other than Emmanuel Mutai. Read the rest of this entry →

Machu Picchu. Photo by Pedro Szekely,

Every now and then I hear about a race that is extraordinary. For those who really want to travel and run, the Inca Trail Marathon 26.2 Mile Race takes running travel to a whole new level—literally. Debuting in July 2012, the marathon is the first 26.2-mile race along the Inca Trail.

Traversing the footpath the ancient Incas used to travel between Cusco, Peru and the world famous citadel of Machu Picchu, the Inca Trail Marathon travels a measured 26.2-mile course that reaches an elevation of 13,800 feet and usually takes the typical hiker 3 days to complete. Runners will have just 11 hours. But the payoff is worth it: a photo finish in front of Machu Picchu. Read the rest of this entry →

Didn’t get into the ING New York City Marathon? Want to run another marathon in New York City in the fall? The inaugural Brooklyn Marathon hopes to fill the void.

The popularity of the ING New York City Marathon is staggering. More than 148,000 people applied for the 45,000 spots in the 2011 race. Clearly, there are more marathoners who want to run New York than there are races to satisfy them.

Enter Steve Lastoe and NYCRUNS.com. Lastoe founded NYCRUNS in 2009 as an online resource for New York area runners, which includes a comprehensive metro-area race calendar, tools for local clubs, and race registration. (I have been a contributor to NYCRUNS.com since 2010.)

Lastoe and fellow race director Michael Ring dreamed up the Brooklyn Marathon as a “love letter” to the borough, and to meet the demand of the many marathoners who want to race in New York City. Read the rest of this entry →

Wanjiru breaking the half-marathon world record at The Hague in 2007. Photo by FaceMePLS.

Like everyone else, I was shocked to hear that Sammy Wanjiru of Kenya, the reigning Olympic marathon and World Marathon Majors champion, died Sunday in a fall from a second-floor balcony in his home in Nyahururu, Kenya.

To call it sad is an understatement. He was the bright, shining young star of the sport. That his personal life often fell short of the dazzling man he was on the pavement, and of the hero-worship he inspired, is also sad. Reports of his death have involved more talk of his personal woes than of his running. That his life ended tragically, under questionable and preventable circumstances, and in a manner that only highlighted his humanity is, quite simply, heartbreaking.

But for those of us that did not know him, except as that brazen young kid who not only talked the talk, but walked the walk of a champion, I’d like to remember his legacy as a runner. Read the rest of this entry →

Sammy Wanjiru runs to gold at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Photo by 正在休渔期.

The reigning Olympic marathon and World Marathon Majors champion, Sammy Wanjiru, died Sunday in a fall from a second-floor balcony in his home in Nyahururu, Kenya in the Rift Valley.

Varying reports have circulated calling his death a suicide and an accident. All accounts center on a dispute between Wanjiru, his wife and another woman.

“The fact of the matter is that Wanjiru committed suicide,” national police spokesman Eric Kiraithe said to The Associated Press.

But local police chief Jasper Ombati gave the AP a different interpretation of the events. Read the rest of this entry →

Photo by Thomas R. Stegelmann/Flickr

With a record 140,000 applicants for 45,000 spots at the start, most runners who applied for the 2011 ING New York City Marathon lottery didn’t get in.

If you’re one of those runners, take heart. You can still nab one of those coveted spots by running for one of the race’s official charity partners.

Runners pledge to raise a required amount of money—usually $2,500 to $3,000—in exchange for a bib in the world’s largest marathon. Some charities also offer coaching, training programs and other perks for being one of their fundraisers. 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 →

With near perfect running conditions, the 2011 Boston Marathon on April 18 was one for the record books with a pair of spectacular finishes in the men’s and women’s races.

For the third year in a row, American Ryan Hall played rabbit for the elite men’s field, leading from the gun. While he ran a personal best time of 2:04:58–the fastest time ever run by an American–three men were faster. Read the rest of this entry →

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.

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 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’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!

The Marathon Show has included me in The Most Interesting People of 2010! Host Joe Taricani put together a spectacular group of runners from around the country–Illinois, Florida, Washington, Virginia, North Carolina, Mississippi, New York and more–who have run marathons for charity, for PR’s and for fun including some who ran just one marathon, like me, to a duo who are running 106 marathons by Dec. 31 to nab the Guinness World Record for most marathons in a year. Thank you to Joe for including me among such amazing runners. Be sure to check it out!

Photo by Christy Hourihan

The 2010 ING New York City Marathon is now another notch on my hydration belt. After months of agonizing, planning, plotting, scheming and dreaming, I ran the best race I could.

I sang. I ran. I conquered.

Sunday, Nov. 7 was that rare day of days when, Murphy’s law be darned, everything went right. Not only was it my fastest marathon to date, but it was also the most fun. I wasn’t just running; I was singing at the start of the wheelchair and professional women’s races. Read the rest of this entry →

Karla Bruning will sing "American the Beautiful" at the start of the 2010 ING New York City Marathon. Photos by Phil Hospod.

After four months of training, five races, four physical therapy appointments, one x-ray and one MRI, it’s finally here: the ING New York City Marathon. Tomorrow I’ll toe the starting line on the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge with 45,000 other runners.

But I’m not only running; I’m singing too. New York Road Runners has asked me to kick off the wheelchair and professional women’s races with “America the Beautiful.”

It’s an honor for a singer to be asked to perform at any major sporting event like the New York City Marathon, but as a singer who also happens to be a marathon runner, it’s like having your cake and eating it too. Singing for athletes who are able to accomplish what most of us only dream is humbling and a privilege. I’m already anticipating getting shivers, and not from the cold. Read the rest of this entry →