Run to Win

Last night I had the pleasure of running with Bart Yasso as he accompanied us to Baxter Woods, where the group I coach did some hill repeats. Temperatures were up in the mid-90s so getting into the shade was a welcome change from the warmup to get there.

Upon returning to Maine Running Company, Bart signed copies of his book, My Life on the Run and gave away training logs, Runner’s World magazines, Powerade, and pizza. One lucky runner even got a free pair of Saucony running shoes. (They had their tour bus there and were performing gait analysis and shoe fittings.)

Bart told a few jokes and described some of his varied experiences in different races and cultures before settling down to chat with folks individually (video after the jump): (Click here to continue reading…)

Just got this note from Mark Grandonico and the Maine Track Club, so if you are going to be in Southern Maine next Thursday you should try to come out:

MTC Brings Bart Yasso To Portland – Thursday – 21 May – Maine Running Company in Portland.
Bart

Its Official.

Bart will be here next Thursday at the Maine Running Company in Portland – Forest Ave.

Starting at 4:00, try new Saucony products, PowerAid and pick up a copy of Barts Book – My Life On The Run – then get it autographed by Bart.

At 6:00 – join the group for an easy run from the store down to the Back Cove trail for a loop then back to the store (4 miles). Afterwards there will be a meet and greet.

This is a FREE event and open to the public as well MTC Members – Bring A Friend.

Some of Bart’s accomplishments:

CRO – Runners World (Chief Running Officer)

• Completed in over 150 marathons around the world from Boston marathon, New York City marathon, Antarctica marathon to Mount Kilimanjaro marathon.
• Won the 1998 Smoky Mountain Marathon.
• Completed the Badwater 146 miler through Death Valley. Badwater is considered the toughest run in the country. The run is held in July starts at the lowest point in the U.S. and finishes on the top of Mt. Whitney, the highest point (14,496) in the 48 states. The race is run in temperatures of 125 degrees.
• Completed in over 1,000 running and multisport events over the past 25 years, triathlons, biathlons, eco challenges.
• In 1987 won the U.S. National Biathlon Long Course Championship in New York City.
• Completed the Ironman five times.
• Completed two solo unsupported bicycle rides across the U.S. in 20 days averaging 155 miles per day.
• Inventor of the Yasso 800s.

Bart’s appearance will be incorporated into the normal Thursday night training run for the Reach the Beacon 10k Program, so if you’d like to come out and run with us for an evening and see what it’s all about then next Thursday would be an ideal day to show up!

See you then.

Greg Meyer will be speaking at the Maine Running Company this Thursday, April 16^th, 2009. Greg Meyer is the last American man to win the Boston Marathon with his 2:09:00 in 1983. He has formerly held 2 world records (15K and 10 miles) and 10 American records (8K, 10K, 15K, 25K, and 10 miles.)

He will share his experiences with Boston, and along with the Maine Running Company coaches (Mike Gaige, John Rogers, and myself) he will be discussing how you can get ready for your first marathon or half marathon.

If you have some spare time and are in the Portland, Maine area this Thursday evening, I recommend stopping by. The normal training group run will begin at 6:00 and the 1^st Time Marathoner clinic will begin at 7:00 p.m. All are welcome.

The event is free, but if you are planning on attending, please register in advance at the Maine Running Company.

Is there a better way to celebrate the New Year than by heading out for a run? Whether you motivate yourself with resolutions or not, getting out and pounding the pavement or trails or ice is a great way to start the year; I find it difficult to think of anything better.

Last year, I took part in the Resolution Run from the Maine Running Company. I’ll be in the wrong part of the country this year, but if you are going to be in the Southern Maine area than this is an ideal place to get your workout in.

The Resolution Run starts at Maine Running Company and ends at the Great Lost Bear, which is a few hundred feet across the street. There will be people there that are doing 5 kilometers, and people running 10 kilometers. There may even be a few people running further than that, and there will definitely be people that limit their running to the couple of hundred feet to get from the store to the bar! Note that this is not a race; it is a group run so there is no pressure.

The run starts at 11:30, and the first 30 or so people to arrive will get a free technical shirt. There is no cost to take part in the run, although any donations will be part of the Extremities Drive to help underprivileged Maine children get hats and gloves to keep them warm this Winter. If you have any old hats or gloves that you don’t need anymore, feel free to drop them off at the store or bring them along with you to the Resolution Run.

After the run, more shirts and other prizes will be raffled off at the Great Lost Bear. I remember winning a pair of gloves or something like that last year, but I traded them for somebody’s rice that they weren’t going to eat!

If you do take part in the Resolution Run and want to write about it, shoot me an email and I’ll put a post together about it next week. It was a lot of fun last year.

For more information: mainerunning.com

(Don’t worry about me finding somewhere to run for the New Year – I’ll be in Vegas, and will be taking part in a Las Vegas Hash with my wife and some friends!)

Once a Runner will officially be released in the 2^nd quarter of next year, and runners have been waiting for years for the book to be printed again. For a (very) limited time you can get an early copy of the book at the Maine Running Company, as a case of the books has arrived in stock.

If you want to pick up a copy, I recommend that you don’t wait to get over there and buy one. I don’t expect them to last very long.

Patrick Mouser created a series of trailers for the film version of Once a Runner as a design project, but unfortunately they aren’t based on a real film. As John Parker said when he spoke at the Maine Running Company last year, the easiest money he ever made was selling the film rights to the movie every time they expired because nobody ever got around to making it:

Next Thursday, Jeff Galloway will be visiting Maine Running Company and will be speaking about training for specific goals, the marathon and how to improve your overall fitness and well being.

Jeff is a former Olympian and the author of Galloway’s Book on Running and Marathon » You Can Do It!.

He has worked with over 150,000 people in training for specific goals and popularized the run-walk-run method that is often referred to as gallowalking.

The clinic is on Thursday, September 11^th at 6:00 at the Maine Running Company. The event is free of charge.

Maine Running Company will once again bring in a marathon legend during the week of the Boston Marathon. This year, Dick Beardsley will return once again to relive the 1982 “Duel In The Sun” between himself and Alberto Salazar. The Maine Running Company will have copies of “Duel In the Sun” for sale and Dick will do a meet and greet on April 15^th at 6 p.m., followed by a presentation at 6:30 p.m.

Last year, 75 came to hear him speak despite the Patriot’s Day Nor’easter that tore up the area. Dick will once again recount his story of overcoming almost losing his leg, his addiction to prescription drugs and his ability to survive after his historic race with Salazar.

The Maine Running Company has started a running shoe recycle program, which is great news for Southern Maine. Before the program began at Maine Running, the closest shoe recycling center was in New Hampshire and they only accepted a few pairs of shoes at a time.
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