Run to Win

This morning, I wrote about some of the difficulties that marathons face when considering their environmental impact. It can cost thousands of dollars more to go green than to not worry about such things.

Another difficulty marathon directors face is finding the manpower to take care of all the tasks that need to be done on race day. A marathon such as the Maine Marathon relies on over 600 volunteers to support the runners, although many of those 600 also run the race themselves.

As of the last count, there are over 130 volunteer slots yet to be filled this weekend.

If you have a little spare time and want to give back to your local community, sign up to volunteer for one of the needed positions.

There are 3 areas that currently have the largest needs.
(Click here to continue reading…)

About a year ago, I discussed the environmental impact of running and offered some suggestions about how you can lessen the damage that you personally cause by running. This year, I’d like to revisit the topic by focusing specifically on the impact caused by marathons.

The Problems

Photo by Don FulanoThe vast majority of marathons are not very environmentally conscious. Even race directors that are environmentally aware have an uphill battle getting their hordes of volunteers to cooperate with their initiatives. Trash and recyclables do not get separated at the source, making it an impossible task to separate the trash later and leading to it all being thrown into a dumpster or two (or more.) It can be extremely time consuming to separate the white cups from the gatorade cups from the cardboard from the plastic jugs from the general trash left behind at an aid station.

Aid stations aren’t the only problem. Most runners will think nothing of tossing their trash off of the side of the road as they are running, rather than carrying their empty gel packets or water bottles until they reach an aid station with a trash can.

“Each year I drive my truck the entire length of the course at 10mph and stop a million times to pickup those **ing packets and stray cups,” said Erik Boucher, the water stop coordinator for the Maine Marathon.
(Click here to continue reading…)

A year ago, Haile Gebrselassie set the marathon world record in Berlin. This year, despite losing a week of training this month, he was able to break his own mark under near perfect weather conditions.

“Today, I’m so, so, so happy. Everything was perfect today,” Gebrselassie said. “I had a small calf muscle problem and I stopped for a week, and then I started again a week ago. Then today I had, you know, some doubts … but it was really very good.”

His final time of 2:03:59 is almost half a minute faster than last year’s world record pace. This was the 3^rd time he’s won Berlin.

That is not quite walking…

(More Info: ESPN)

The weather this morning for Eliot was much better than what the forecasts had called for. Rather than the torrential downpours and wind we were expecting, the runners were treated to a very humid but relatively cool and very calm morning with temperatures in the low 60s. Fog may have blanketed everything and all of the events for the Eliot Festival Days (except for the race) may have been canceled, but 412 runners still came out to run.

The men’s field was very competitive, with 13 runners going sub-16. Not quite the 25 sub-16s of 2005, but a good jump on the past few years where only 7 or 8 sub-16 runners competed. Louis Luchini was unchallenged at the finish line in 14:39, while Robert Edgerton only managed to edge out Patrick Moulton by 1 second with a time of 14:53.

Carry Buterbaugh also had a strong lead at the finish line, finishing 22 seconds ahead of Johanna Fickenscher in 18:11. Christine Reaser took 3^rd place in 19:13.

In team racing, Dirigo won the day no matter how you scored the race. It seems as though they went on finishing time at the awards ceremony, but the final results have the scores age graded (as they were supposed to.) All that meant was that 2 of our 3 scorers were different. PR Racing finished in 2^nd place, about 3 and a half minutes back.

The food at the end of the race was pretty good, with plenty of fruit, bagels, bread, pasta salad, cookies, and soup for all of the runners. There was even some left after people finished their cool downs.

I am not sure if there was a problem with the sponsorship, though, because the prize structure did not seem to pan out. The race announced that it would pay out 10 places, male and female, but they decided only to pay out 5 places and also reduced the money earned at that. This does not strike me as a good way to convince top talent to return to your race, especially with the constant turnover in race directorship. I think that Eliot’s best days may be past, which is shame because it used to be such a good showcase for New England talent.

My own race went well, but I still failed to meet my season goal. I finished in 16:30, going out a few seconds slower than I wanted and then falling apart near the end. One of my teammates kept himself motivated at the end by watching my form fall apart in the last half mile, although I still kept my lead on him as I struggled to the finish line.

(Full Results – Team Results – Official Photos – Photos & Videos)

It was a light week this week last year.

• I began the week by discussing how effective body weight exercises are when traveling. This was the final article of the month on training and travel in collaboration with Scott.
• I collected my best tips as well as what other people with the article about what to do when a dog wants to chase you. Once you use these tips and are safely away, I really recommend that you call animal services or your local warden. It may seem like a harsh thing to do and it will definitely upset the owner, but it is in the dog’s best interest for their owner to be aware of what they are doing and making sure that the animal stays safe and doesn’t put itself or anybody else in danger.
• This week last year, the marathon world record was broken by Haile Gebrselassie with a time of 2:04:26. That ain’t walkin’…
• In local racing news, Kay West finished the Eliot 5k in 1:28:53, which was below the USATF age group guidelines for the distance. She was 97 years old! I wonder if she’ll be running again later this morning?
• This week 2 years ago, I made the front page of the local newspaper. The story didn’t have a whole lot to do with me, but it involved a giant picture so I won’t complain! I pointed out how easy it is to make new friends while you are running, and discussed how important a flexible training schedule can be.
• This week 3 years ago, I discussed DNA tests that determine what sports you may have better success at than others. I also spoke about running through illnesses and a good swiss ball routine.

Frank McCourt just bought the operating rights to the Los Angelos Marathon from Divine Racing Management. He is already shaking things up, moving the date of the race up from Sunday, March 1^st to President’s Day on Monday, February 16^th for the 2009 running of the race.

As the owner of the Dodgers, McCourt plans on providing all of the financial backing for the race. I think that this makes 2010 a prime year to run the LA Marathon, after McCourt has had an opportunity to get his feet wet and figure out what makes marathons work and makes his sophomore debut into the marathon management scene.

The city council unanimously approved the transfer. Said Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa in a statement earlier today: “Frank McCourt has proven himself a great steward of one of our city’s crown jewels, the Dodgers, and I have great expectations for what he will do with the LA Marathon.”

Any of you readers planning on running next February? If so, let me know so I can look for your names in the results after the race.

(Associated Press)

Researchers at USC, Palo Alto, and the University of Delaware have come to the conclusion that online gamers are fitter than the average American.

Their research involved surveying 7000 players of the Everquest II online role playing game.

The results suggest that adult gamers have an average body mass index of 25.2, compared to the overall American average of 28. The average gamer also engages in vigorous exercise once or twice a week, which the researchers say is more than most Americans. The reasons for this are not obvious, although the team suggest it may be because more educated, wealthier people are attracted to computer games, and these people also tend to take better care of their health.

(Click here to continue reading…)

It has been a while since I’ve put up a recipe, and since I plan on making this again I’ll at least have a starting place by sharing what I did with tonight’s meal. It obviously tasted quite good. We served the swordfish along with some acorn squash, which worked out well.

• Time Required: ~20-25 minutes
• Cooking Time: ~15 minutes
• Ingredients:
  1. Swordfish Steak(s)
  2. Olive Oil
  3. Salt & Pepper
  4. Fresh Parsley
  5. Lemon (or Lemon Juice)

Preparation is simple. Just (Click here to continue reading…)