Run, Karla, Run!

Bernard Lagat at the 2010 Fifth Avenue Mile. (Photo: Phil Hospod)

Happy 4th of July! Celebrate your freedom to run! Read the rest of this entry →

Players from Newport Polo (red) and Far Reach (blue) race to the ball. (Photo: Phil Hospod)

Sometimes in life you have to get back on the horse.

Literally.

There’s a horse—an actual four-legged animal with a mane and a tail. You fell off of it, dirt and grass covering the shoulder of your white polo shirt. You’re breathless, having had the wind knocked out of you by a collision with the hard ground. You lie there a moment and catch your breath. You make sure nothing is broken, stand up, and walk over to the horse. You pet her and tell her it’s OK. Then you plant one foot in the stirrup and swing your leg over her back. You get back on the horse.

I’ve been taking polo lessons for two years now. Two weeks ago, I fell off my horse. Suddenly, an old cliché had real-world meaning. Read the rest of this entry →

Karla gives snowshoeing a try in Colorado. (Photo: RunKarlaRun.com)

Greetings again from Colorado! My first day in the Rockies, my husband and I enjoyed a muddy run with literally breathtaking scenery near 9,000 feet above sea level in Tabernash, Colorado.

But for two mornings in a row, we have woken up to complete white-out conditions. The early hours of Sunday morning brought us 7 inches of fresh powdery snow with up to 10 inches on the mountain.

Too deep to run, there was only one thing left to do: snowshoe! Read the rest of this entry →

My girl, Cinderella (Photo: RunKarlaRun.com)

My favorite four-legged running pal turned 4-years-old today. Or at least, that’s what we think.

Cinderella was a stray living in the woods of Tennessee when a kind man spotted her and earned her trust over time by feeding her. Soon, she was living in his yard as a yard dog named Maggie. But after a few bad-weather nights, he decided his yard was no place for a dog and he couldn’t keep her, so he brought her to local rescue group Shelly’s Angels that works to save strays and find them homes.

Meanwhile in New York City, my husband and I were on the hunt for a dog. Read the rest of this entry →

Our family on our wedding day (Photo: Lev Kuperman)

I’m a newlywed. My husband, Phil, and I have been married for six months and we’ve been together for five years. Running played a large part in our courtship, our engagement, and has been a mainstay of our relationship. We love to run, and whenever we can, we run together. They say that couples who sweat together stay together. I hope it’s true. Here’s to running love.

He’s much faster than me with his 3:03 marathon personal best; mine is 4:28. But that doesn’t stop us. Here’s how we keep on running side-by-side.

Workouts

For workouts, we often do one of four things: Read the rest of this entry →

Cinderella in rags running costume (Photo: Karla Bruning)

I’m a Disney running costume junkie. I’ve run four Disney races and three of them in costume: 2012 Tinker Bell Half Marathon, 2012 Disney’s Princess Half Marathon and 2013 Walt Disney World Marathon.

So I’ve decided to spread the running costume love.

Running Costume Skirt Giveaway

I’m giving away a brand new skirt identical to the one I wore at the Walt Disney World Marathon on Jan. 13 when I dressed as Cinderella in Rags.

If Cinderella in Rags isn’t your style, the skirt could also double as a running costume piece for Pocahontas, Sleeping Beauty’s Briar Rose, Hercules, or something more creative like Bambi.

Here are the details: Read the rest of this entry →

Karla celebrates race #41, Disney’s Wine & Dine Half Marathon

It was five years ago that I pinned on my very first racing bib, lined up in my first corral, and ran my first race.

On Sunday, Oct. 7 when I toe the line at the Staten Island Half Marathon, I’ll be starting my 50^th race. It’s a milestone I never could have imagined in my previous life as a person who hated running. Read the rest of this entry →

The Fifth Avenue Mile is my favorite race of the year. More than 5,000 runners barrel down Fifth Avenue along Central Park in 18 different heats from kids to pros and everyone in between.

This was the first time in four years that I haven’t run the race. My 6:46 personal best from 2011 will have to stand for now. But I was doing something just as exciting as shattering a PR—covering the Fifth Avenue Mile for New York Road Runners as host of their new web show “On The Run.” Read the rest of this entry →

By now anyone who follows running and/or political news knows that Republican Vice Presidential nominee Paul Ryan lied about his marathon time. But did you know that you too can run as “fast” as Paul Ryan? The Paul Ryan Time Calculator and its creator Erik Westlund are here to help. Read the rest of this entry →

New York City's Statue of Liberty. (Photo: Phil Hospod)

A bib in the ING New York City Marathon is one of the toughest gets in the world of running. Roughly 140,000 runners apply to earn one of the coveted 47,500 entries. Year after year, runners all over the world are turned away.

Well, here’s one more chance. Nissan is giving away one more “golden” entry into the 2012 race, along with a free trip to the Big Apple, through its Innovation for Endurance program, which highlights elite athletes like Olympic and New York City Marathoner Ryan Hall.

From July 22 through July 28, enter for your chance to win entry into the 2012 ING New York City Marathon along with roundtrip airfare to New York City, hotel accommodations, an official training program, airport transportation, weekend transportation in a Nissan vehicle including transportation to the starting line in Staten Island, a Saturday shake-out run with a Nissan athlete and VIP tickets to the pre-race pasta party and post-race celebration.

Enter the Nissan Innovation for Endurance Golden Entry Sweepstakes at facebook.com/InnovationForEndurance through 11:59 p.m. ET on July 28.

Karla Bruning is a veteran journalist and running nerd. She has completed four marathons, two triathlons, trains with the New York Harriers and is a member of New York Road Runners. Follow Karla’s “Notes From a Running Nerd” at RunKarlaRun.com, Facebook and Twitter@KBruning.

My K-Swiss Kwicky-Blade Light shoes with Laura's name.

Two weeks ago, I announced that I’d be racing in K-Swiss/Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) gear at the Long Island Gold Coast Triathlon and the Philadelphia Marathon on behalf of my cousin Laura who was fighting clear cell sarcoma, a rare form of cancer.

My K-Swiss/SU2C gear finally arrived today—the day after cancer took Laura’s life.

The poignancy is not lost on me. I promptly grabbed my black permanent marker and began etching Laura’s name onto the tongues of my new shoes. This way she’ll be with me every step that I take. I stand up to cancer. I stand up for Laura.

Laura fought for her life, for her husband and for her kids, with everything she had. We raised money to help her. But it wasn’t enough.

We all have to stand up to cancer together. Laura was just one of the 11,100 Americans who will die of cancer this week, one of the 577,190 who will die this year, according to the American Cancer Society. That means one person every minute of every day will succumb to this disease in the U.S. alone. Globally, the World Heath Organization says cancer kills nearly 8 million people per year—and those numbers only continue to rise. Read the rest of this entry →

Laura and I riding horses when we were kids.

My cousin Laura, who has been fighting clear cell sarcoma for over a year now, passed away late last night.

She was in the hospital in California where she was receiving cancer treatments. She had experienced loss of vision due to brain swelling and bleeding last week. Her vision was gradually improving, but the swelling and bleeding returned yesterday. She slipped into a coma last night, and died a few hours later.

I want to thank everyone who supported Laura’s fight against cancer by donating, sharing her story, or sending thoughts and prayers her way. She fought with every ounce of her being, and with the help of Laura’s Warriors, friends, and family, we know that she submitted herself to every treatment possible. Read the rest of this entry →

2012 Disney Princess Start

Cinderella and Prince Charming are ready to run

The castle before dawn

Cinderella's Fairy Godmother

Runners leap at Cinderella Castle

Pausing for a castle pic

The real Cinderella and Prince Charming

Princess Minnie strikes a pose

Running through the castle

The cast of Sleeping Beauty

Inspiration from a gospel choir

Running Leap

To Epcot

Through Epcot

Charging past Spaceship Earth

Princess Minnie and Mickey

Rachel Booth wins

Daisy Duck waves runners in

Minnie high-fives runners

The finish is in sight

Last stop before the finish

Mickey waves me in

Victory

Earning a medal

Disney's Princess Half Marathon Medals

Runners show off their medals

Coast to Coast Race Challenge medals

We model our bling

My hero

And they lived happily ever after

Tangled Royal Family 5K Start

Rapunzel and Flynn

Disney girls

Runners pose with Belle and the Beast

We say hi to Pocahontas

Runners charge through Epcot

With Jasmine and Aladdin in Morocco

Tangled Royal Family 5K finish

Dressed to impress

Disney 5K's are stroller friendly

Tangled Royal Family 5K medals

Royal Family Kids' Races Medals

Royal Family Kids' Races Start

Kids love to run

My nephew admires his sister's medal

Royal Family Kids' Races Runners

Crossing the finish line

My nephew runs his heart out

And he won!

The pride of accomplishment

Disney’s Princess Half Marathon Weekend was a fairy tale tour of Walt Disney World in Florida. Runners tackled the Tangled Royal Family 5K, Disney’s Royal Family Kids’ Races and Disney’s Princess Half Marathon. Races took runners through Epcot and Magic Kingdom, where Disney characters cheered them on to victory.

I ran the half-marathon with my fiance dressed as Cinderella and Prince Charming. My sister and I ran the 5K, and my niece and nephew ran the kids’ races. Photos courtesy of runDisney.

Disclosure: As a member of the running media, runDisney provided me with complimentary race entry, hotel, park tickets, and some meals (like the Pasta in the Park Party) for Disney’s Princess Half Marathon. But as always, all opinions are purely my own. I really do believe in being honest about my experiences and Disney is no exception. For more information read my Disclosure Policy.

Runners cross the starting line of the Tinker Bell Half Marathon. Photo courtesy of runDisney.

With a little bit of faith, trust and pixie dust, the inaugural Tinker Bell Half Marathon got off to a flying start on Sunday, Jan. 29 at Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif. More than 10,200 runners finished the debut event aimed at celebrating women and fitness.

Tinker Bell Half Marathon

The race marked my first trip to Disneyland, unless you count the time my mother says I went as a 4-month-old. So I decided to do it right. I willed my 5-foot-8-inch frame into a child’s XL Tinker Bell costume, wings and all, and lined up in the all-women’s corral A for the 5:45 a.m. start.

As I shivered in the 50-degree air waiting for the race to begin, I noticed I wasn’t the only one doing as the Romans do. A sea of fairies, princesses and tutus surrounded me. I saw runners dressed as Cinderella, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Jasmine, Alice, Tiger Lily, Peter Pan, and, of course, Tinker Bell. It’s safe to say that half the runners wore something other than regular running gear, be it fairy wings, a sparkle skirt, or a full-fledged costume. Read the rest of this entry →

From “A is for Against traffic” to “Z is for Zzzz,” Mark Remy captures the agony and ecstasy of being a runner. C is for Chafing is a whimsical children’s book for grownups complete with the “This Book Belongs to: _________________” page in the front.

Following in the footsteps of bestsellers like Adam Mansbach’s Go the F— to Sleep, C is for Chafing uses a similar tongue-in-cheek tone—minus the expletives—aimed at your inner runner. The accompanying illustrations by Eric Cash are spot on. A blend of ‘50s kitsch and dark wit, the illustrations finish the joke for many of the entries, like “O is for ‘Oh, no…’ This means you ran too hard,” where the art depicts a marathoner losing his, uh, lunch.

At a mere 66 pages, most of which feature just one sentence or fragment, C is for Chafing is a quick read to say the least. But it’s full of humor and wisdom: Read the rest of this entry →