Run, Karla, Run!

Every athlete has probably dreamed of saying those five little words we’ve seen in Super Bowl and other sports commercials since 1987. My turn has finally come.

I’m going to Disney World!

Come 10 p.m. on Saturday night, I’ll be at the start of the Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon with 12,000 other runners. As I work my way from the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex through Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, Disney’s Yacht and Beach Club Resorts and finally to Epcot, I’ll be wearing a new pair of shoes. Naturally, a certain Disney character comes to mind.

Like Cinderella, runners are all about the shoes—running shoes, gym shoes, racing flats, sneakers, kicks, trainers, five-fingers, um, glass slippers. It doesn’t matter what you call them. A runner’s shoe (or lack thereof) is their calling card, their single most important piece of equipment. Like Cinderella, we’re often identified by what type of shoe we wear—Nike vs. Adidas, stability vs. neutral, minimalist vs. barefoot. Read the rest of this entry →

For all of us who run in New York City, the public green spaces like Central Park, Prospect Park, and the Greenway that rings Manhattan are lifesavers. But on the East Side, from 38th Street to 60th Street, the Greenway still hasn’t become a reality. As an East Sider, I have long lamented this gap and envied the West Side for their continuous esplanades and rec lanes as I’ve literally run rings around the city.

On Tuesday, September 20, we the people have a chance to make our voices heard and help finish the Greenway. New York Road Runners’ President and CEO Mary Wittenberg has written an open letter to New York’s runners to help get the job done. Let’s make our voices heard and finish the Greenway! As runners who log countless miles around the island, we’ll all benefit from this–not just the residents of the East Side.

Dear East Side Runners, You have the opportunity to affect change on the East Side of Manhattan. This Tuesday, September 20, is the final public forum for the East Side Open Space project, which could help runners, especially East Side residents, so I have to tell you about it. Read the rest of this entry →

Runners feast at the 2010 Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon. Photo courtesy of runDisney.

Ask Miles of Runner’s World recently posed an age old question: Is it better to run a lot but eat poorly, or eat healthy and not exercise at all? Dr. Bill Roberts, RW’s “Ask the Sports Doc” blogger, answered: “I would think that heavy exercise will compensate better for a poor diet than a perfect diet will compensate for no exercise.” Phew!

I run because I love to eat. Sure there are other nobler reasons why I run—because I can, because it keeps me fit, blah blah blah—but I’m not going to lie: eating is probably top three. And eating healthy while training for a race is important. But what if the race has “Wine & Dine” in the title? While training for the Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon on Oct. 1, I’m finding that eating healthy is easier said than done. Read the rest of this entry →

Karla (center), her mother and sister ride Dumbo, circa 1980.

I’m a Disney girl; always have been. I wore my Cinderella and Snow White books ragged as a little girl. The first words I remember being able to recognize when reading were “fairy godmother,” and my rubber seven dwarf dolls were among my favorite toys. I saw the movies in the theater as a child (I came of age before the dawning of the VCR, DVD and on-demand), and I eagerly anticipated our annual family vacation to Walt Disney World in Florida.

So I was delighted when runDisney invited me to be their guest for the Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon at Disney World. On Saturday, October 1, I’ll be lining up in the dark for the 10 p.m. start of my first Disney race. I couldn’t be more excited. 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 →

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 →

Runners braved cold rain at the NYRR 4 Mile race. Photo by Charles Smith/smith_cl9/Flickr

As a runner, it’s perfectly normal for your athletic self-esteem to fluctuate. My compass bounces between, “I’m a pathetic, sorry excuse for a runner” (insert wah-wah sound) and “I am runner. Hear me roar!”

Most often, I hover near the realm of “Eh, not bad for a 30-something with arthritis in one knee and remnants of a bone tumor in the other.”

But let’s be honest here. There’s nothing like capturing that “I am runner. Hear me roar!” feeling, even if just for a few fleeting moments.

As much as it pains me to say this, one guaranteed way to make me to feel hard-core is a brutal run in the rain. Read the rest of this entry →

“Wake up!” My lungs huffed with a familiar pinch twisting in my side.

“Wake up!” My calves tightened as I trudged up the hill.

“Wake up!” I pushed just a little harder to pick up the pace.

This was my self-imposed rude awakening. With just one week to go until my first race of the year, it was time to remind my body what real running feels like—and why I love it. 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 →

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 →

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 →

The High Line in New York City on Oct. 29. The elevated park is on the city's West Side. Photo by Rob Thurman/Flikr.

Okay, it’s been a full month since I ran the Chicago Marathon and I suppose it’s time—time to run again.

I’m a real stickler when it comes to the rules of training. And perhaps my favorite rule of training is actually the rule of recovery. A common adage says it takes one day per mile of any distanced raced for your body to fully recover. So that means I get 26.2 days off from hard training. I take that seriously. Maybe too seriously. As much as I love to run, I love to take it easy when I feel I’ve earned it.

But after about two and a half weeks of recovery, I started to get antsy. The yoga, stretching and sit-ups I was passing off for workouts just weren’t cutting it. So I finally laced up my shoes and hit the pavement. Read the rest of this entry →