Run, Karla, Run!

Melanie Jones in 'Endure.' Photo courtesy of 'Endure.'

Since the massive success of British theater troupe PunchDrunk’s “Sleep No More”—a meandering mash-up of “Macbeth” and ‘30s film-noir—immersive theater has taken New York City by storm. With audience members set loose in a space, free to roam and interact with the actors at will, it makes sense that someone would think to adapt this theater form to a show about running.

Melanie Jones, a Canadian playwright, actress and dancer, has done just that. Freed from the confines of a traditional theater, “Endure: A Run Woman Show” poses the question, “What if the race of your life is your life?” Well then, you better wear your running shoes. Read the rest of this entry →

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 →

• Fifth Avenue Mile Start

   

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• Down Fifth Avenue

   

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• Men 40-49

   

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• Professional Women

   

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• Sally Kipyego of Kenya

   

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• Jenny Simpson and Morgan Uceny chase Kipyego

   

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• Jenny Simpson makes a move

   

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• The 1500-Meter Mark

   

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• Jenny Simpson Wins

   

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• Hannah England and Sally Kipyego finish third and second after a photo finish

   

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• Simpson's Victory Lap

   

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• Simpson Dressed in Star and Stripes

   

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• Here come the pro men

   

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• The Lead Pack

   

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• Lagat kicks, chasing down Laalou and Torrence

   

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• David Torrence Finishes Third

   

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• Amine Laalou Finishes Second

   

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• Bernard Lagat Wins

   

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• Lagat's Victory Lap

   

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• Call Me Kip, Lagat's Nickname

   

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• The Fifth Ave Mile Finish

   

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Photos by Phil Hospod

Olympians, World Champions and thousands of regular runners alike barreled down New York City’s Fifth Avenue in the Fifth Avenue Mile on Saturday, Sept. 24. The professional field this year was a doozy, with eight Olympians and four 2011 World Championship medalists among them. But what is it about running a mile that keeps runners, including professionals like Bernard Lagat, so entranced? Read the rest of this entry →

Growing up in the Chicago suburbs, I was a YMCA kid. I spent countless afternoons as a child going to Mommy and Me swim classes, Swim and Gym, and then swim team when I was a bit older. I’d run on the Y’s indoor track, play Horse on the basketball court, and hang out with friends in the rec room.

Here in New York City, the YMCA wants all of our city’s kids to lead active, healthy lives. The West Side Y is sponsoring the Fit For All 5K to fund free programs for kids.

My mom was a single parent with a limited budget who couldn’t necessarily afford the swim team fees in addition to a family Y membership. But she knew the importance of getting your kids into activities, and specifically physical activities. So she took a part-time job at our local YMCA as a lifeguard in order to get free Y membership for our family. She did that on top of other jobs she held, like working as a secretary, waitress, and much else.

I have her to thank for being a fit adult now. Read the rest of this entry →

Schweddy Balls, Ben & Jerry's newest flavor.

It’s official. Someone at National Public Radio is obsessed with Schweddy Balls. And I suspect that person might be a runner.

Back in April 2010, I reported on the ACLI Capital Challenge, an annual road race in Washington, D.C., between members of the legislative, executive and judicial branches of government, as well as the D.C. media. The event has been lampooning partisan politics since 1981 for a good cause, raising money for Special Olympics District of Columbia. Runners compete in teams, captained by luminaries from their respective branches of government or news agency.

Among the best parts of the competition are the awards for Best Team Name and Worst Team Name. Enter NPR. In 2010, one of their 11 teams won the coveted James B. Kenin Worst Team Name award for Team Schweddy Balls, named for the classic Saturday Night Live skit starring Alec Baldwin, Ana Gasteyer and Molly Shannon that lampoons, appropriately, NPR. I thought it was pretty funny at the time; they showed their sense of humor by picking a name that both pokes fun at themselves and tangentially relates to running. After all, running does make you sweaty, or Schweddy, as the case may be. Read the rest of this entry →

The author before her first triathlon.

Firsts are special because you only get one of them: your first kiss, first car, first job, and of course, your first triathlon.

The Peterborough Sprint Triathlon in the Subaru Triathlon Series was my first triathlon, and after completing the race on Sunday, July 10, I’m guessing it won’t be my last. My training for the 750-meter swim, 20K bike and 5K run was less than ideal. So I didn’t wear a watch. I just wanted to go out there and have some fun, with one main goal in mind: just finish. Sure, I wanted to finish under two hours, or better yet, under 1:45. But with my namby-pamby training, I knew that might be a tall order. Read the rest of this entry →

The author prepares for her training swim. Photo by Phil Hospod.

When my good friend Tania, who helped cheer and pace me to a personal best in the 2009 Chicago Marathon, suggested we do a triathlon together, I figured now was as good a time as any. I could swim, bike and run, right?

The Peterborough Sprint Triathlon, part of the Subaru Triathlon Series in Ontario, Canada, was the appointed race: 750-meter swim, 20K bike and 5K run. I put myself to the test on Sunday, not entirely sure what to expect. I’d set out with the best of intentions, but my training had been less than stellar largely because training for a triathlon takes a lot of time—a lot of time. Read the rest of this entry →

Photo by Phil Hospod

On June 3, 1972, 78 women entered the world’s first ladies-only road race. On June 9, 2007, I ran the race as my very first 10K, along with 3,521 other women. Only four years later, the race has reached capacity around 5,000 runners—all of them pavement-pounding women. Tomorrow is the 40th running of the NYRR New York Mini 10K. I’ll be there to sing the national anthem, run the race and celebrate how far women—myself included—have come in our sport.

The Mini

The original Mini, named after the mini-skirt, was staged at a time when women were just starting to break gender barriers in running and sports at large. 1972 was a landmark year for women’s running. 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 →

Most people who read my blog long enough know that I’m a runner and a rocker. So I’m really happy to announce that my band, The FADES, will be joining runner and rocker extraordinaire Lady Southpaw for a super special show on Sunday, March 20 at 4 pm: Running Rocks! NYCRUNS Presents Lady Southpaw and The Fades!

The FADES are largely comprised of New York Harriers, and those of you on the New York Road Runners race circuit may have seen us perform or sing a national anthem from time to time. We play ’80s covers. Why? Because the ’80s rocked, and if the popularity of the Rock ‘n’ Roll race series proves anything, it’s this: rocking and running just go together. The FADES play the sound track for a million long runs done right and as many nights out. Read the rest of this entry →

Tune into The Marathon Show to listen to a panel of runners, including Karla, discuss the ING New York City Marathon. The show is available for streaming or download on BlogTalkRadio and iTunes.

You know them instantly—those songs that always pump you up on a run, the songs you never skip when they pop up on your iPod, the songs that somehow get you to push just a little harder, even if for only three and a half minutes. I’m talking about power songs.

On Sunday, I subjected myself to almost four hours on an elliptical trainer in lieu of my last 20-mile long run before the ING New York City Marathon on Nov. 7. I’m flirting with a knee injury and my doctor told me to play it safe. If not for my iPod and tried and true power songs, I might have gone mad.

So I began to wonder: What are the awesome, amazing power songs other runners turn to when they need an extra boost? Read the rest of this entry →

Photo by Phil W. Shirley

12 weeks down, 4 to go.

The ancient Greeks gave us a lot: the Hippocratic oath, democracy, the Olympics, and, of course, marathons. Race organizers around the world are celebrating the 2500th anniversary of the battle of Marathon this year (never mind the fact that it should be 2011).

But the ancient Greeks also gave us something else: the journey to hell and back. Reading Greek mythology, it seems like people were always trekking to the underworld for one reason or another; Odysseus, Hercules and, most famously, Orpheus all made the trip.

The joke that the distance to hell and back is 26.2 miles is apt. And like Orpheus ascending from the underworld, there’s no looking back.

The road to the ING New York City Marathon on Nov. 7 hasn’t been much different, marked by highs, lows, good news and bad news. The agony and the ecstasy are part of the journey. And my last two weeks of training have been filled with agony and ecstasy. Read the rest of this entry →

The Bank of America Chicago Marathon on Oct. 10 is billing Sunday’s race as their strongest field in history. They’re not kidding. The race will decide who wins the 2009-2010 World Marathon Majors, a two-year competition with a $1 million prize purse. The three leading men and top two ranked women will face off in Grant Park.

Read the rest of this entry →

Photo by fotologic/Flikr

10 weeks down, six to go.

Believe. It’s a loaded word. One that is used and abused in popular culture, in religion, in politics, in all the areas of life where what we want to be true may not always be, and what is true is not always pretty. As humans, we have a unique ability to delude ourselves. And yet, we continue to believe any number of things for any number of reasons, some of which are worth believing.

Running isn’t any different. Every runner has a different set of beliefs: that stretching is good or bad, that running with headphones is helpful or a hindrance, that tackling an ultramarathon is sane or insane, that we’ll actually be able to achieve our running goals.

I began to question my beliefs during my last week of training for the ING New York City Marathon on Nov. 7. Read the rest of this entry →