I didn’t make it through day 25 last time, but my friends rallied around me on the 31st to get the missing miles in and I was able to end on a high note and raise enough money for a family to attend Camp Sunshine.

Now that I’m full time with Run to Win, I’m better able to get my running in during daylight hours when there is less traffic and safer conditions.

Seems like a good time to start it again, doesn’t it?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGX2jU8KhDQ

Beginning on March 1 and running through March 31, I will be running the challenge again and I’d like for you to join me. Here’s how you can help:

1. Run the Challenge (sign up below)
2. Donate to Campsunshine
3. Get Camp Sunshine Media Attention***
4. Promote Your Products with Prizes (contact me if you have something)
5. Come Run a Free Race with Us (details to be announced)

Learn about the original challenge and follow the progress of the new challenge at the website:
1MoreMileForSunshine.com

One of the most disturbing stats that I saw on a quick glance through the report is that 40% of the time, Americans are traveling less than 2 miles. However, 62% of the trips that were less than a mile were by car, and 87% of the trips between 1 and 2 miles! Sure, sometimes you need to carry a lot of groceries home, or the weather is bad you’re afraid that you’ll melt. I can understand that. But if it’s a nice day and you’re just going to visit a friend down the road, or if you live close to where you work, why not walk?

Economically, bicycling and pedestrian related projects will normally create between 11 and 14 jobs per $1 million spent, compared to 7 jobs created for highway projects. Despite cost/benefit analyses showing that every dollar spent can result in $11.80 in benefits, states are spending less than 2% of their federal transportation dollars on projects that will encourage people to commute under their own power. That’s just one of the reasons that biking and walking levels are down 66% since 1960 and is probably a contributing factor to a growth of 156% in obesity levels. In fact, between 1966 and 2009, the number of kids walking or biking to school went down by 75% and the percentage of fat and overweight kids has increased by 276%.

Did you know that 6 of the 10 states with the highest levels of biking and walking also have the lowest levels of bicycle or pedestrian fatality rates in traffic accidents? On top of that, in 7 of the 10 states where you are most likely to die in a traffic accident from getting hit by a car you’ll also find the fewest number of fellow bikers and walkers.

Maine is one of the better states to live in if you enjoy moving under your own power, which just gives me one more reason to be happy that I live in Vacationland all year. How does your state rank? You can find out by checking out the report at: People Powered Movement.org

Leave a comment below and let me know how you rank where you live.

Racing Ryan Hall

They created a display that shows Ryan Hall running for 60 feet down the hallway at his marathon pace of 4:45 per mile. Subway travelers were invited to race against him and then given some stats…for example, did you know that his stride length is 6 feet 10 inches? Wowzas…

Even Ryan and his wife Sara got to try racing him, here’s a video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDs4j8ZHzVg

Watch on YouTube

So what do you think…think you could beat him 60 feet down the hall?

Paula Radcliffe's Marathon Record

The IAAF has now just reversed that decision about removing existing world records:

Following a recommendation by the IAAF Competition Commission regarding Women’s World Records for Road Events, IAAF Council has approved the continued recognition of the currently existing World Records, regardless of the type of race in which they were achieved (mixed or women only) and new records will be officially recognised and ratified only if achieved in women-only races.

The 48th IAAF Congress in Daegu, Korea, approved that from now on, a Women’s World Record on the Road can no longer be set in a race in which the record setter is competing against men. At the same time, however, no announcement was made about existing World Records, some of which were achieved in mixed races.

To be consistent with previous decisions taken in relation to changes to other World Records recognition principles, the Commission felt that the current World Records are still valid, which prompted their recommendation to Council which has been approved.

I am very happy for Paula and for the other women that were going to be affected by this ruling that they get to keep their records, but it is too little and not soon enough.

Their sexist policy that women can’t run in the same races as men is still going to be in place for the future beginning with the new year, and there is no such policy against men running with women.

This policy will still set back the sport of running by 50 years, and it sets a bad precedent. I think that it’s time that the IAAF acknowledges that it is no longer the 1890s and they stop putting the interests of their federations first while treating their athletes as a commodity.

It’s easy for me to sit here and say that the IAAF should be boycotted as I don’t make my living as a professional runner. It would be especially difficult for track athletes, who don’t have many alternative places to race like marathoners and other road competitors do where they can earn a good paycheck. I don’t know that there is any other way to overhaul these and other antiquated policies of the IAAF that are holding the sport back.

So congratulations to Paula and to the other amazingly fast women who were being threatened with having their world records stripped from them for bad reasons, but the fight should not stop here and we should continue to let the IAAF, the IOC, USATF and whatever your local governing body is what your feelings are on the matter.

If you’d like to learn more information, there have been a few facebook fan pages created over the past couple of months that have been good hubs of information flow and organization that you might want to check out.

The first is “Restore Paula Radcliffe’s Record, put together by Gary Allen and Mary Ropp, and which has achieved it’s goal in being created.

The second is Nick Symmond’s group, “I’m Tired of USATF and IAAF Crippling Our Sport” – you may also want to look into the Track & Field Athlete’s Association which has just opened up membership to non-elite runners and reduced the membership fees to $20/year.

But now, more elite runners might sit up and take notice. Michael Wardian, the World 100K Silver Medalist and Team USA Gold Medalist will be coming to town, and I expect that the course record will fall.

Wardian is one of those rare types that will not only run (and win) multiple marathons per year (a dozen plus isn’t uncommon) but will also run longer distances. He’s also held numerous records and boasts a 2:17:49 PR which is good enough to let him race in his third Olympic Marathon Trials.

I’m looking forward to racing him next month!

The MDI Marathon is sold out, but you can raise money for some of the charitable partners if you’d still like to run the race and have not yet registered. Click here for more information.

More Info: Bio – MDI Marathon Home Page – MDI Marathon Charity Page – Photo Credit: dbking

They currently have a motion in place to invalidate all world records for women who ran in “mixed” races that included men.

For a very high profile example of what this means, it will raise the women’s marathon world record by over 2 minutes from 2:15:25 to 2:17:42. Paula Radcliffe will still hold the record because she’s the best marathoner in the world, but she’ll still be penalized 8 years after the fact.

For some reason, though, they don’t think that they should invalidate records for men that involved women. Sure, in smaller races where the men and women start at the same time and that would involve a world record there are rarely any women running up front with the men, but at other races the women get enough of a head start that they’ll finish separately than the men which gives the finish more excitement for the fans. In those races, however, the men have to catch up to and pass the women in the race that aren’t the front runners, which I don’t see as much different than a woman who has to pass a man during a race.

I’m not alone in my thinking; the race directors from the World Marathon Majors and the Association of International Marathons also think it’s a little ridiculous and have warned the IAAF that they won’t recognize the new rule if it is passed.

If passed, this ruling is a step back in time. What will they propose next? That women shouldn’t be running marathons because their uterus will fall out?

What do you think? Is this new ruling sexist, or do you think that women being allowed to run with men is an unfair situation and records shouldn’t be recognized from those races?

Leave a comment below with your thoughts.

More Info: World Marathon Majors – The Sun – The Sports Review

Tonight, she’s helping to raise money for the Children’s Tumor Foundation through the Red Carpet for Research: Dancing with Our Stars event. Leah will be paired with a professional dancer from Arthur Murray’s Dance Studio and will compete in a dance competition against 5 other dancers.

Part of the competition is through fund raising and if you want to help Leah win, you can go directly to the donation page where she’ll get 1 vote for every $10 that she raises. Just be sure to choose Leah’s name from the list of dancers!

Alternatively, I will donate $20 for every sale of the Marathon Mastermind today through 11:30 a.m. Eastern Time.

I think that voting ends at noon and while that’s probably noon central I’ll be making my donation between 11:30 and 11:45 Eastern to make sure it’s in on time.

So, if you’d like to listen to Leah and the other 10 guest coaches in the Marathon Mastermind, you can pick it up by filling in your information below and I will donate $20 on your behalf from the purchase price to the Children’s Tumor Fund to vote for Leah:

I will donate $20 from any purchases made on Thursday, September 15, 2011 before 11:30 a.m. EDT towards the Children’s Tumor Foundation to vote for Leah in the dance competition. For purchases that are made for the rest of the day after that, I will donate the $20 towards Leah’s next month fund-raiser for Race for the Cure, as this is short notice and some of you may not see this post in time. So…any purchases made today (Thursday) will result in most of the purchase price going towards a good cause.

More Info: Leah’s Website – Children’s Tumor Foundation: Dancing With our Stars – Donation Page – Marathon Mastermind

The fastest known time for this stretch of the trail is about 39.5 hours, so a bunch of the Trail Monsters and their friends decided it was time to organize a run and see how much we could lower that mark.

This won’t be a race; in fact, it won’t be much different than an organized group going for a hike on the trail. Each runner will be responsible for their own supplies and getting themselves safely to the finish. In fact, the invitation starts with the standard warning for this stretch of the A.T.:

CAUTION
IT IS 100 MILES SOUTH TO THE NEAREST TOWN AT MONSON.
THERE ARE NO PLACES TO OBTAIN SUPPLIES OR HELP UNTIL MONSON.
DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS SECTION UNLESS YOU HAVE A MINIMUM OF 10 DAYS
SUPPLIES AND ARE FULLY EQUIPPED. THIS IS THE LONGEST WILDERNESS
SECTION OF THE ENTIRE A.T. AND ITS DIFFICULTY SHOULD NOT BE UNDERESTIMATED.
GOOD HIKING!
M.A.T.C.

Bill Green recently did a story about the run for News Center 6:

This seems like an exciting opportunity, and if I can find a crew I hope to be able to join in on it.

I was hoping that the news spot would talk a little more about the Bradbury Mountain Trail Running Series, which is actually open for anybody to join and is where the video above was filmed. The series consists of 3 races, a 6 mile Scuffle, a 9 mile Breaker, and a 12 mile Bruiser.

You can find out more on the race website at: http://www.trailmonsterrunning.com/bradburydirt

If you ever have an opportunity to get to one of these conventions, then I recommend you make the effort. I learned a lot and had a great time networking with everybody throughout the week, and it also gave me an opportunity to get another state out of the way on my quest to run a marathon in all 50 states.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cKSkFHS6w0

Download This Video: MP4 – MP3 – Watch on YouTube – Download Notes

Video Transcription

Click Here to Read the Transcript

If you would like to keep up with what’s going on in the state of Maine, make sure that you Like the Maine State Rep RRCA Page on Facebook. If you would like some more details about the convention, then be sure to take a look at the May Newsletter that I just sent out to our member clubs that includes the notes that I took during the convention. You can view the newsletter online at Scribd.

Grete was an amazing runner who still holds the 1500 and 3k national records in Norway. She really drew the notice of the American running scene when Fred Lebow invited her to run the New York City Marathon in 1978.

She won, and set a world record, but she was in so much pain from mile 18 on that she said she’d never do that again. She then went on to win a silver Olympic medal and set the world record 3 more times.

She has downplayed her cancer since being diagnosed in 2005, confident that she could beat it. She’ll be missed, and remembered for the impact that she’s had on the sport of running, on the marathon, and on women’s running.

More Info: The History of the New York City Marathon – Wikipedia

The first 600 slots opened up yesterday for Cape Elizabeth residents, with another 4,000 slots opening up this morning at 7:00 for general registration. All 4,000 slots sold out in 8 minutes, with 3,000 of them filling up in the first 4 minutes alone. In fact, over a quarter of the registrations (1,010) came in at 7:03 alone.

The registration process was much smoother this year without the annual grumbling about how unresponsive the website was. There were also far fewer duplicate registrations, which means that there will be far fewer frustrated runners this year.

There are still 1,750 slots open for the lottery, which will accept entrants until March 22, and those selected in the lottery will be announced on March 23. There will be a limited number of slots available for fund raisers and through local clubs and organizations, and similar to last year there will be a transfer period that opens up for a month a little closer to the race.

Did you get in this morning? Or are you entering the lottery? If you registered, how was your experience? Did everything run smoothly?

Unfortunately, another forecast for snow tonight and through the race tomorrow morning has led to another cancellation, and this time it will not be postponed. A Mid-Spring Classic is not going to happen.

This is sad, but there’s not much that can be done when roads and shoulders are already clogged with snow. Runners who are registered this year will be able to defer their entry to next year (you’ll receive an email when registration opens for the 2012 race) and you’ll also be able to get a discount on the new Race the Runways Half Marathon (or 5k or 1 Mile) on April 2, 2011 at the former Brunswick Naval Air Station. All 3 races take place completely on the air station property, and the 5k and 1 mile races never leave the landing strips and taxiways. All of the races finish inside of Hanger 5.

More Info: Mid-Winter Classic (Cancellation Details) – Photo Credit: D. Sharon Pruitt

In addition, they are moving to a rolling registration starting in 2012, so that faster qualifiers can register first. The registration period will take place over (potentially) 2 or more weeks, as those that have beat their age group standard by a minimum of 20 minutes will be allowed to register first on September 12, 2011, followed by those that have run a minimum of 10 minutes faster than the necessary qualifying time for their age and gender on September 14, followed by those than can run a minimum of 5 minutes faster on September 16, and then if there are any registrations left anybody that has a BQ can begin registering starting on September 19.

Since the Boston Athletic Association’s website is getting slammed right now, here’s the full announcement about the rolling registration for the 2012 Boston Marathon as well as the new qualification standards for the 2013 Boston Marathon:

BOSTON – The Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.) announced today a change in its registration process for the Boston Marathon, allowing the fastest qualifiers to enter the earliest and with a rolling admission system while also offering all eligible runners an increased registration period. The changes in registration are a response by the B.A.A. to greater than ever demand by runners to gain entry into the Boston Marathon and culminate more than three months of analysis, including input from the running industry. Rather than accepting runners who have met the qualifying standards on a first come, first served approach, a more systematic, performance-based process will be employed.

2012 Boston Marathon

For the 2012 Boston Marathon, registration will extend for two weeks, beginning on Monday, September 12, 2011 and continuing until Friday, September 23, 2011. The qualifying times for the 2012 Boston Marathon will not change from recent past years since the standards had been previously announced and have been in effect since last September. However, the new registration process addresses the increased demand among qualified runners to participate in the Boston Marathon and will accommodate those who are the fastest qualifiers first.

Registration will occur on a “rolling admission” schedule until the maximum field size is reached, beginning with the fastest qualifiers. On the first day of registration for the 2012 Boston Marathon, those who are eligible for entry by having met the qualifying standards for their age and gender group by 20 minutes or more will be able to enter on the first day of registration (September 12). On the third day (September 14), registration will open for those who have met their qualifying standards by 10 minutes or more. On the fifth day (September 16), registration will open for those who have met their qualifying standards by five minutes or more. During this first week of registration, applicants will be notified as they are accepted and their qualifying performance verified.

If the field size is not reached after the first week and additional space remains, then registration will open to all qualifiers at the beginning of Week Two (September 19) and those who have met the qualifying standards by any amount of time will be able to apply for entry. The application process will remain open for the entire week, closing on September 23. At the conclusion of Week Two, those who are the fastest among the pool of applicants in their age and gender will be accepted. Accepted athletes will be notified on September 28.

If space remains available after this two week process, registration will remain open to any qualifier on a first come, first served basis until the maximum field size is reached.

The field size for the 2012 Boston Marathon will not represent a significant increase from the most recent years.

Registration Process for the 2012 Boston Marathon

Date registration opens for runners with times…
September 12, 2011 20 min., 00sec. or more below their qualifying time (based on age/gender)
September 14, 2011 10 min., 00 sec. or more below their qualifying time (based on age/gender)
September 16, 2011 5 min., 00 sec. or more below their qualifying time (based on age/gender)
Second Week
September 19, 2011 All Qualified Runners
September 23, 2011 Registration closes for qualified applicants
September 28, 2011 (appx) Qualifiers from entry during second week of registration are notified of their acceptance.

If the field is not filled at the conclusion of the two weeks, then registration will remain open and qualifiers will be accepted on a first come, first served basis until the maximum field size is reached.

2013 Boston Marathon

For the 2013 Boston Marathon, in addition to the new “rolling admission” process for registration which will be in effect for the 2012 Boston Marathon, the B.A.A. will adjust the qualifying times by lowering them by five minutes from the times which have been in effect in recent past years. The adjusted qualifying times will go into effect on September 24, 2011, and are as follows:

2013 Qualifying Times* (effective September 24, 2011)

Age Group	MEN	WOMEN
18-34	3hrs 05min	3hrs 35min
35-39	3hrs 10min	3hrs 40min
40-44	3hrs 15min	3hrs 45min
45-49	3hrs 25min	3hrs 55min
50-54	3hrs 30min	4hrs 00min
55-59	3hrs 40min	4hrs 10min
60-64	3hrs 55min	4hrs 25min
65-69	4hrs 10min	4hrs 40min
70-74	4hrs 25min	4hrs 55min
75-79	4hrs 40min	5hrs 10min
80 & over	4hrs 55min	5hrs 25min
*Unlike previous years, an additional 59 seconds will NOT be accepted for each age group time standard.

Registration for the 2013 Boston Marathon will begin on Monday, September 10, 2012.

“As the number of qualified runners has increased combined with greater demand to run the Boston Marathon, our new registration process enables those who qualify by the greatest amount of time to have the longest period to enter,” said Tom Grilk, B.A.A. Executive Director. “Our new registration process takes into consideration the many comments we received from runners this past fall and winter, most of whom urged the B.A.A. to institute a system which recognizes athletic performance above all else.”

Additionally, to recognize and to encourage longtime Boston Marathon entrants, the B.A.A. will allow those who have met the qualifying times and who have finished the last ten consecutive Boston Marathons to enter anytime during the registration period. Currently, there are approximately 500 runners who have run 10 or more consecutive Boston Marathons.

The B.A.A. last adjusted the qualifying times for the 2003 Boston Marathon, relaxing times for runners who were 55 years old and older. The last time the qualifying times were made more stringent was for the 1980 Boston Marathon.

The 2011 Boston Marathon reached its maximum field size of qualifiers faster than any previous year when qualifiers rushed to fill the race and the qualified field closed in eight hours, three minutes.

You can get the full details on the Mid-Winter Classic website.

If you can’t run, you can transfer your registration to another runner. If you don’t have anybody to transfer your number to, then post in the forums here and see if there’s anybody willing to take your number off of you.

The race won’t handle any cash for transfers and there are no refunds, so if you want to sell your bib number then you’ll have to handle that on your own.

More Info: Postponement Details – Registration Transfer Thread – Photo By: Jodi C

Similar to last year, there will be a multi-tiered registration process to help accommodate more people.

First, on March 14th, 2011 at 7:00 a.m. registration will open for Cape Elizabeth residents (only) where they will be able to register on a first come, first serve basis. There will be 600 slots available, which sold out last year in about 21 minutes.

Then, on March 15th, 2011 at 7:00 a.m. registration will open for the general public to register for the race. Registration for these slots will be capped at 4,000, and will probably fill even faster than last year’s 32 minutes as long as the website doesn’t crash again.

Finally, once general registration closes, runners who did not get in can register for the lottery for the remaining 1,750 slots, which is up 250 from last year. You will have from March 15 through March 22 to get your name put into the hat. Participants will be chosen on March 23rd, and notified by email by March 25th if you got into the race or not.

The final group of registrations will get passcodes to register for the race between March 11 and the week of March 28th, which includes active streakers, sponsor and charity runners, and elite runners invited to run by the race committee.

Similar to last year, there will be an opportunity to transfer your race registration to another runner, and this year will be available from May 1st through June 30th. Once the transfer period opens I’ll post a reminder here at Run to Win and those that can’t run can try to find somebody that wasn’t able to get in.

Race registration this year will cost $40, up $5 from the $35 price tag that has been in place. The extra money will go towards a $25,000 fee that the town is charging the race in order to help provide funds to the park where the race finishes. While this is relatively expensive for a 10k race, it’s still a pretty good bargain given the size and popularity of the Beach to Beacon.

I do have one word of warning for you if you aren’t a resident of Cape Elizabeth…don’t try to register before general registration opens on March 15th. Anybody that gets in as a Cape Elizabeth resident that doesn’t actually live in town will forfeit their entry fee and will be removed from the starting list, so it isn’t worth trying to be sneaky.

So, if you want to run the Beach to Beacon in 2011, be sure to mark you calendars if you want guaranteed entry into the race, or else be ready to try your luck in the lottery.

More Info: Registration Procedures – Transfer Policy

He’s also done some pretty amazing physical feats, such as swimming to shore from Alcatraz while handcuffed (which he repeated a second time a few years later while also shackled and towing a 1000 pound boat), doing 1033 pushups in 23 minutes, and doing 1000 star jumps and 1000 chin ups in 82 minutes when his show went live on national television.

He died this past Sunday of pneumonia at the age of 96. There are a lot of clips on YouTube from his show and it’s worth taking a look through them if you have some spare time.

Here’s one about how to be happier:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEboAJf9UVc

Watch on YouTube – Photo By: Nathan Cremisino

If you enter the lottery, then you will have probably about a 1 in 3 chance of actually getting accepted into the race (although those numbers will vary based on how many people actually enter the lottery this year.)

However, it is possible to bypass the lottery through a guaranteed entry, and having a guaranteed entry application you will in most cases have a few extra days (or months, in the case of charity runners) to get in.

There are 7 ways to secure guaranteed entry:

1. Run a fast enough marathon or half-marathon to meet the qualification standards of the race. Unlike the Boston Marathon, you need to run the listed time or faster in order to qualify for guaranteed entry and the age group standard you need to meet is your age on the day of your qualifying race, not on the day of the New York City Marathon. Your race has to have been run between January 1, 2010 and January 31, 2011 and the results must be verifiable online.
2. Raise money for one of the charities listed on the home page for the marathon. Once you commit to raising a certain amount of money, you will be held to that; if you don’t raise enough money then the balance will be charged to your credit card.
3. Sign on with one of their International Travel Partners if you live outside of the United States. It will cost more than an individual bib would, but will also provide transportation and lodging. This option isn’t available to Americans or to hand-cyclists, though.
4. Belong to one of these 4 special groups that can guarantee their entry into the marathon:
   • People who got into the 2010 New York City Marathon but cancelled before the race. If you fall in this group, you will need to pay for the race again, but you can be guaranteed that you’ll get to run.
   • People who have failed to be chosen in the lottery for the past 3 years and did not find an alternative way into the race. You have to have applied (and been denied) for the 2008, 2009 and 2010 races; other years aren’t considered.
   • People that have run the New York City Marathon at least 15 times. If you want to run again, they’ll let you in.
   • People that have belong to the New York City Road Runners Club. You have to have been a member since at least January 31, 2010, you have to have run at least 9 New York Road Runners qualifying races in 2010, and you have to have either volunteered at at least one of their races or have donated at least $1000 to the NYRR youth, community and volunteer programs in 2010.

I was recently asked this question:

Anyone have any experience with this process? At the end my “Marathon Registration Status” was “In Lottery” and the auto reply email spoke of notification in mid-March yet they gathered my qualification info. I’m not on pins and needles about this but would like to run there in the fall, if possible. Does “guaranteed” really mean “guaranteed” here and do they really take two months to confirm “guaranteed” entries?

When I ran the marathon, I applied with a guaranteed time, and they also put me through the lottery.

Technically, you do go through the lottery…you just have a guarantee that your application is going to be picked so that you can run.

Technically, you won’t “find out” that you are in the race until everybody else does, but as long as you register as a guaranteed runner and apply with a verifiable qualification race listed then you do not have anything to worry about.

If for some reason they do make a mistake with your guaranteed entry and you don’t get in, there is a dedicated email address at the New York Road Runners Club that you can address any concerns to. If you are worried or have any questions, just email your confirmation number and your qualification credentials to marathonmailer@nyrr.org and they will take care of you.

If you actually registered properly, though, you should be all set and will find out after the lottery process that you got “picked” to run the 2011 New York City Marathon. The only year that I have run the race was in 2006, and I had no difficulties whatsoever.

More Info: NYC Marathon Application Page

I did manage 3 interviews, however. Jamie Anderson is a good friend and fellow Trail Monster, and I’ve gotten to know the race director, Gary Allen, over this past Summer since I ran his ultramarathon back in July. The third interview was with Patrick Finney, who was just a random person that I struck up a conversation with and who had an interesting story, some of which I didn’t learn about until we actually began talking.

So, here are all 3 interviews back to back to back:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hl6rYK-PA9o

Download This Video: MP4 – MP3 – Watch on YouTube

Video Transcription

Click Here to Read the Transcript

If you’d like to learn a bit more about the race, check out my previous article on it here: http://news.runtowin.com/2010/10/27/2010-mount-desert-island-marathon.html

That’s all right, though, because there’s a lot of top talent racing and it is still going to be very exciting to watch, and the race also marks the halfway point for the 2010-2011 WMM season.

Going from the heart, I’d like to see Meb or Ritz win the race, although it’s going to be tough with many former NYC champions, Olympians, and world record holders also toeing the line.

In the same vein, I’d love to see Shalane Flanagan have a spectacular debut. I don’t really expect her to win, but it would be awesome to see her in the hunt.

If I was a betting man, I’d expect to see Lillya Shobukhova win the women’s race and Abel Kirui to win the men’s race.

Here’s the full breakdown of who to expect near the front of the race:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3KwzaOnDNM

Download This Video: MP4 – MP3 – Watch on YouTube

Video Transcription

Click Here to Read the Transcript

The final World Marathon Majors race of the year is right around the corner, bringing a close to the 2009-2010 season and marking the mid-point for the 2010-2011 season.

The New York City Marathon is a very flat course with the largest hills coming from the bridges as you cross through the different buroughs.

Antonio Vega and Blake Russell have both dropped out due to injury, but there’s still a great field that will be toeing the line by the Verrazzano Narrows Bridge.

Meb Keflezighi rarely gets any love from the media but is the reigning champion and is coming into the race in good shape. Injuries kept him from racing over the Summer but he posted a 61:45 San Jose Rock’N'Roll Half Marathon a few weeks ago and is feeling about as fit as he was last year.

He won’t have an easy win, though, as he’ll be facing off against some very talented competition.

Haile Gebreselassie of Ethiopia is the current marathon world record holder, having run Berlin in under 2 hours and 4 minutes.

Kenya is well represented by Robert Cheruiyot (The Elder), who is a 4 time Boston Marathon champion, and Martin Lel who has won London 3 times and New York City twice. James Kwambai is the 3rd fastest marathoner of all time and Abel Kirui has run right around 2:05 before.

Other former New York City champions that have are running this year include Hendrick Ramaala of South Africa and Marilson Gomes dos Santos of Brazil.

On the American front, look for strong performances from Dathan Ritzenhein and Tim Nelson.

Since it is an off year with no Olympic Marathon and no World Championships, both Kara Goucher and Paula Radcliffe are taking a bye as they start training again after having recently had children.

Shalane Flanagan is hoping to give us a good show, however, as she moves up from a strong 10,000 meter and cross country career to run her debut marathon.

Former New York City champion Ludmila Petrova of Russia and last year’s winner Derartu Tulu should give Shalane a good pack to work off of early in the race, along with the reigning World Half-Marathon champion Mary Keitany of Kenya and Mara Yamauchi of Great Britain.

Also keep an eye on Christelle Daunay, who was 3rd last year in New York City and holds the national marathon record in France.

None of these women have a chance of catching Lillya Shobukhova in the World Marathon Majors this year, and the only way that Samuel Wanjiru could lose would be if Tsegaye Kebede finished in the top 2. Tsegaye did briefly consider running but decided that he wouldn’t be able to recover in time and is going to concentrate on next year instead.

If you are going to be one of the roughly 40,000 runners in New York City this year, good luck to you and remember to have fun! Once you get through the Bronx and find yourself in the last few miles through Central Park the crowd will give you plenty of energy to get to the finish line.

If you aren’t running, but are just specating, well, you should be in for a real treat.

Photos: 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7 – 8 – 9 – 10 – 11 – 12 – 13 – 14 – 15

While it’s great that the sport is going so strongly, races selling out 6 months before they are even run leads to a really poor customer experience for the runners.

It’s stressful and seems odd that the people with the best chance of getting into a race are those with the best internet connections or who happen to live somewhere where the time differential is convenient to when the race opens.

In Boston’s case, they could always tighten up the qualifying standards so that fewer people can get in, but the B.A.A. has previously said that they didn’t want to do that and it will lead to a lot of upset runners that are near the bubble who could then not be allowed to run.

I discount my own approval of tightening the qualifying standards as it is unlikely that they would make them more difficult than I could run to get in.

There is at least one other option that I can think of, however, that wouldn’t solve the mad rush to register problem but would still significantly improve the end user experience:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1Fly0vdMv8

Download This Video: MP4 – MP3 – Watch on YouTube

I’m just glad I decided ahead of time not to register, so that I didn’t take somebody’s spot in the race when I’m not sure that I’d actually want to run the race in 2011. My theory is that if I feel recovered enough to run a marathon that weekend, I can register for the Gansett Marathon instead which I thought was more fun anyway.

Transcription

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What was your registration experience like? Was it a good experience? Or as a user, were you frustrated by the site being down or by having to enter your information multiple times?

Or were you blocked out and even being able to get into the race?

What suggestions would you give to them that we haven’t covered here? Can you think of anything that they could do to make it a better user experience for the runners? Or is the system okay the way it is?

Let me know what you think in the comments below!

Last year there were 185 runners that completed the fast and mostly flat course for a race that celebrates all of the 30 different nationalities that attend Reiche Elementary School.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EE9Ce0LD5QA

New this year is the Centipede Division, where teams of 3 or more runners will be tied together with their own rope about a stride length apart, and they have to complete the entire course tied together as they are. This is a great opportunity to just go out and have some fun, find some friends that are faster than you and let them pull you into a 5K PR!

The race takes place at Reiche Elementary School, in Portland, Maine. It starts right there on Brackett Street.

You’ll get a great tour of the west end of Portland, and the only hill is going up into the cemetery. Everything else is pretty flat and pretty fast. There was under a 16 and a half minute finishing time, I think it was 16:26, last year. So if you’re looking for a quick race then this is a good one to take a look at.

If you want more information about the race, you can get it at ReicheInternational.com.

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If so, visit r2w.us/Advertise for more information.

Download This Video: MP4 – MP3

The Americans should be able to put in a strong showing on the women’s side, but I expect that for the men it will remain a race within a race with Ryan Hall having dropped out a few weeks ago.

Times may not be as quick as they’ve been in years past with some high temperatures expected, but hopefully there will be enough water and the race won’t be shut down early like it was a few years ago.

Watch this video for a preview of who to watch for during the race:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGoC1bwUgfc

Transcription

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If you aren’t running, the race will be broadcast live by NBC 5 Chicago if you live in the area or you can be watch it online at nbcchicago.com or at Universal Sports.

I’m planning on watching the coverage at NBC Chicago just because Deena Kastor will be riding the media truck providing coverage of the women’s race and it will be interesting to hear what somebody that actually knows the sport of running has to say.

Download This Video: MP4 – MP3
More Info: Chicago Marathon – World Marathon Majors
Photos: 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7 – 8 – 9 – 10 – 11 – 12

A $1 million prize purse is on the line for the top marathoners in the world on a 2 year rolling basis.

Most of the action, especially for the men’s standings, is going to take place in Chicago in two weeks, but Berlin has 7 guys capable of running a sub 2 hour 7 minute marathon. Here’s a sneak peek at the major players to keep an eye out for tomorrow morning at the Berlin Marathon:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1Ssv_6NLCo

Click Here to Read the Transcript

The race will be streamed live around the world on German News Channel n-TV’s live video feed.

(Download This Video: MP4 – MP3 – Photos: 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6)

We cover topics ranging from how I got started in the sport to what it means to me to “Run to Win” and who influenced my running early on to advice I’d give to runners of any experience level.

All in all we covered over a dozen topics, and due to the subject matter I think that it makes for an interesting read (heheh!)

You can read the interview here:

http://seecoreyrun.blogspot.com/2010/09/interview-with-blaine-moore-of-run-to.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vYCqmdTops

It only costs $25 to run. All of the money raised will go to a good cause, The Cancer Community Center. And included in your entry is the barbeque and an Atayne T-shirt.

Atayne shirts are just great. They’re made out of recycled materials. They don’t stink and they’re really comfortable. Since they generally retail for about $40 and even on sale cost more than the $25 entry fee it’s worth heading out to the race just get the shirt!

So if you’re going to be around the weekend of September 26, I highly recommend coming out to Pineland Farms. The trails there are just beautiful. There’s a lot of great cross-country trails and lots of hills. It’s gonna be a great time.

(Download this Video: MP4 – More Info: Combat Cancer 10k – Atayne)

This seems to me to be an easy way to scam people, just poorly executed given the hundreds of people fighting for the available race entries (which filled in about 6 minutes or so.)

Watch the video for my thoughts on how the process was handled:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1XJgYA_Jx4

I decided against registering for Umstead even though I had the form filled out and ready to submit in plenty of time (around 12:04) because I wasn’t sold on running it for my first 100 miler.

Instead, I decided that I would rather run the NJ 100 instead, which is a few weeks earlier and fits my schedule a little better. Logistically, it will also be easier for me to get to.

Transcription of Today’s Video

Click Here to Read the Transcript

Did you get into Umstead, and if not, are you running a marathon or ultramarathon this Spring? If so, which one?

The first year of the Beach to Beacon saw 2,408 finishers, which jumped the race straight to being the largest road race in Maine. Right from that first race there has always been a very strong field of national, international and Maine runners, both male and female.

It is now 13 years later, and the race has grown so popular that for the past 3 years it has sold out almost immediately upon opening for registration months in advance, forcing a 3-tier registration system to be implemented that allowed local residents a head start on registering and a lottery for the final 1000 bibs that were reserved for those who couldn’t get in with the first come/first serve bibs. Even Joan’s husband, Scott Samuelson, was shut out of the race because he couldn’t register in time. This year there will be around 6,000 finishers total.

The race remains competitive for a variety of reasons. The race is directed by Dave McGillivray, the director of the Boston Marathon, so between him and Joan’s contacts they are able to invite a lot of big names and get them to show. It’s also conveniently scheduled a week before another big New England Race that brings in a strong elite field, the Falmouth Road Race in Massachusetts, which allows elite runners to schedule two races in one trip fairly easily. A $60,000 prize purse for the best runners also doesn’t hurt.

For 2010, the race up front is going to be very exciting.

Here are just a few of the top names in the men’s race, along with a subtle prediction on my part for how they are going to do:

• Khalid Khannouchi – USA – former world and current American marathon record holder
• Gebre Gebremariam – Ethiopia – ranked 14th in the world and just won the Peachtree Road Race
• Martin Lel – Kenya – Olympian and one of the world’s top marathoners with multiple London and New York City wins
• Ed Muge – Kenya – the defending Beach to Beacon champion
• Boaz Cheboiywo – Kenya – last year’s runner up

The women’s race is probably going to be even more competitive than the men’s race, but I’m still willing to make predictions:

• Catherine Ndereba – Kenya – also known as Catherine the Great, she has won the Beach to Beacon 5 times already
• Lineth Chepkurui – Kenya – ranked 9th in the world and just won the Peachtree Road Race and has the world leading 10k time of 30:45 this year
• Edna Kipligat – Kenya – just set a course record at the Boilermaker 15k
• Irene Limika – Kenya – the defending Beach to Beacon champion
• Ayalew Yimer Wude – Ethiopia – finished 4th in the 2007 Beach to Beacon after taking a bad fall during the race

• Sometimes a track workout leaves you sweaty. And sometimes, that sweat gets left on the track in your own image. (See More)
• It took the San Francisco Marathon 4 days to figure out that the woman that won their race was a man, mostly because the female winners were pretty much ignored by the media. It wasn’t the man’s fault…he registered as a male and didn’t even know they’d changed his gender on him. (Read More)
• Folks shouldn’t complain too much about San Francisco, though…after all, it took the folks at the London Marathon 2 months to figure out that one of the age group winners was a man and not a woman. Good news for Brenda Kinch! (Read More)
• Elvan Abeylegesse had a busy start to the European Championships, winning the 10,000m and getting ready for the 5000m. Of course, she’s just happy to be there, as she almost died while travelling to the race. Her taxi got caught in a rock slide during a storm and the cab started to flood before Elvan was pulled to safety by construction workers. Thankfully, her passport wasn’t damaged so she was still able to get to the race on time. (Read More)
• On Prince Edward Island, you could have won 50 pounds of lobster if you were able to cross a marina on a bridge of lobster traps in less than 5.7 seconds, which was the winning time of 14 year old Logan Martindale. (Read More)

http://www.wmtw.com/video/24161892/index.html

After putting on the largest barefoot/minimalist race in the country a few months ago, Maine is getting some attention as an area friendly to barefoot running. Which is rather humorous given how long our winters are…

Travis did some quick interviews after our run and then shot a bit of footage of us running barefoot (although I kept my huaraches on) and then edited in some of Jamie Anderson’s excellent footage from barefoot race at Pineland Farms. You can watch the story here:

http://www.wmtw.com/video/24161892/index.html

Unfortunately, the Beach to Beacon can be difficult to get into.

Race registration closed in record time again this year, and more people entered the lottery for the remaining registrations than could be accommodated. Unlike in previous years, there was an opportunity to transfer race registrations from people who couldn’t race to those who could, but that has now ended as well.

So, if you want to run, but weren’t able to get a bib, what are your options?

Your best option is to raise money for Junior Achievement of Maine, this year’s official race beneficiary.

They still have guaranteed entries into the race if you raise $500, as well as entries into next year’s race if you race at least $1000.

Don’t think that you can raise $500? Well, 10 year old Parker already has:

For more information, you can visit the Junior Achievement of Maine website at:
http://jamaine.org/events/?event_id=10

Bob Teschek from Granite State Race Services has been directing the race since 1982, but he is stepping down as the race director although he will continue to provide the timing and results for the finish line.

The Mount Washington Road Race starts at the base of Mount Washington and follows the Auto Road up to the top, a total climb of about 4,650 feet. There’s only 1 hill, and it doesn’t end until you’ve finished the 7.6 mile course. The course has an average grade of 11.5%, but stretches at 18% are common and the finish is on a 22% grade.

(More Information: Wolfe News – Mount Washington Road Race – DMSE Sports)

Here is the full segment, which is about 5 minutes long:

If you haven’t entered yet, there is still time to win a $4500 custom bike from Atayne and DornBox, the contest ends on the Fourth of July:

http://r2w.us/FreeBike

As of right now, there are only 44 entries (one of which is Jeremy’s, which won’t count) so if you enter the contest you have pretty good odds of winning such an awesome prize.

(Source: My Fox 23)

Toomer is the first NFL player to run in 17 years, and he wants to raise money for New York Road Runners youth programs. To that end, he’s got the support of Timex, who will donate $1 for every person that Toomer beats to the finish line.

His goal is to run in less than 4 hours, but since he’ll be starting dead last that’s going to be a tall order as he’ll have to make his way through all of the crowds. I wouldn’t be surprised if it took a 3 hour pace effort to run a 4 hour marathon if you are going to start behind 40,000 other runners and walkers.

On the topic of raising money for worthy charities, my friend John Tomac is finally making his return to the marathon. You may recall that I paced John in his first marathon, but what you may not realize is that before he could run it again he was diagnosed with Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia.

His goal is to raise at least $3800 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma society, so if you’d like to support a worthy cause and help him get to the marathon’s starting line you can do so here:

http://beatcancer.johnwtomac.com

John is a very talented illustrator (and is the creator of my logo!) so another way to help support him is to purchase a print of some of his work, all profits of which he will donate to his fund-raising efforts.

(More Info: NY Times – John Tomac – Photo Credit: Philip Nelson)