Run to Win

Gary Allen was 10^th out of 579 finishers on Saturday at the Snicker’s Marathon in Albany, Georgia. He ran the race in 6:32 pace for a 2:51:03 finishing time, which is doubly impressive because Gary is in his early 50s and has run sub-3 hour marathons every decade since the 1970s.

Here’s a news clip prior to his run from last week: (Click here to continue reading…)

Both Boston and New York both bid for hosting the Olympic Marathon Trials as they did in 2007/2008, but fans will not have to travel to two separate races for the 2012 Trials as Houston has been chosen the location for both the men’s and women’s races.

The city of Houston will be investing $1.7 million dollars to manage the event logistics, athlete support, travel and prize money. The Marathon Trials will be held a day before the Houston Marathon on January 14, 2012, with the top 3 runners of both races getting a slot on the London Olympic Team.

The timing for Houston provides enough time to recover from the race before the Olympics, but is close enough to the early August start of the London Games for the race to still be relevant.
(Click here to continue reading…)

I knew that the Boston Marathon was going to close early this year. In fact, I expected it to close between Christmas and the New Year and no longer allow entrants in the same year as the race for the first time in race history.

I was only partially right, however. Registration for the marathon closed yesterday, November 13^th. It is the first time I have ever seen it close earlier than late January.

So, if you are registered for the race, congratulations! If you delayed registering, then what race are you going to run?

(More Info: Press Release)

I don’t understand the position that some people are taking that Meb Keflezighi is not American enough to be considered the first American to win the marathon since 1982 when Alberto Salazar won.

Which is silly, because even if he had become an American citizen the week before the race he would still be an American. Our country is founded on immigrants and very few of us can trace our roots back more than a few hundred years to this soil.

It’s even sillier because Meb was not a runner when he was 12 years old and moved to the United States. His entire development and running career through high school, college and as a professional has been here in the United States.

What’s even sillier is that these racist morons all mention that an American hasn’t won since 1982 but we shouldn’t rejoice as much because Meb was born in Eritrea. If the criteria for winning as an American is that you were born here, then why not point out that Alberto Salazar was born in Cuba and has only been in the United States since he was 2 years old?

Oh, wait, Alberto Salazar is Hispanic and doesn’t have black skin. Give me a break.

I celebrate Meb’s win in New York City this past weekend the same way that I’d celebrate any other American winning a major competition. He ran a great race and I’m glad to see him win not only because he shares my nationality, but also because the couple of times that I’ve met him he’s been a very nice and humble person that is easy to like.

Want to read more than just my opinion? More information:

• New York Times (discussion)
• CNBC (racist article)
• CNBC (empty and insulting apology for said racist article)
• Sports Illustrated (no racism, just a nice article about Meb & NYC to end on)

Last night I sat down and recorded a video explaining all of the questions you need to ask yourself before choosing your next (or first!) marathon. It wound up being a bit too long, though, so I’m going to separate it out into multiple videos that I’ll release throughout the week.

The first video in a series is now available, and here’s the link:
http://www.runtowin.com/coaching/choosing-a-marathon-1.html

The video details the first few questions you need to ask yourself before choosing a marathon.

Let me know what you think, and I’ll explain the other questions you need to ask yourself and discuss more details about the coaching program as I put each video out this week. Be sure to sign up for the early bird notification list if you want to know as soon as each video is available.

Here’s that link again:
http://www.runtowin.com/coaching/choosing-a-marathon-1.html

The Maine Marathon is next Sunday on October 4^th, and volunteers are still needed! It’s a big undertaking for one of Maine’s showcase events, so if you have some extra time and can help out you should head into Portland.

Volunteers will be given a T-Shirt and a coupon to attend a 2010 Portland Sea Dog’s baseball game, and all volunteers will be entered into a drawing for 1 of 25 Peak Performance gift certificates that will be raffled off.

If you’d like to volunteer, you can see what volunteer positions are still required and can sign up by visiting this page:
http://www.doitsports.com/volunteer/jobs-by-date.tcl?event_id=159487

(Don’t forget, Atayne will be doing a trash run as well if that is more your style.)

Last year, Atayne cleaned up after the Maine Marathon by organizing a trash run. This Summer, they did the same thing for the Beach to Beacon. I wasn’t able to participate in either one, as I was out of town at a wedding for the marathon last year, and had a broken foot this year. (My sister and my nephew had fun, though!)

This year, Atayne is stepping up and doing another trash run in conjunction with the Maine Marathon. Here’s an email I got from Jeremy:

Hello All,

Summer is almost over and that means it is time for the fall marathon season. But even more important it is time for the fall Trash Running season.

Last year the Atayne Trash Runners took the Maine Marathon by storm helping to divert about 75% of the event’s waste from going into a landfill.

We are once again working with the Maine Marathon and hope to make an even bigger impact this year.

I know many of you are experienced trash runners, but for all you rookies, it is a pretty simple concept. Run behind the participants and pick-up trash. It also includes some non-runners who separate recyclables from landfill waste at the start/finish and aid stations. Our goal is to recycle as much waste as possible and leave the race course cleaner than the event found it. As unglamorous as it may sound, it actually is a really good time.

I am reaching out to see if any of you would be interested in joining the Atayne Trash Running Team at the 2009 Maine Marathon. The event is Sunday, October 4. We are looking for a team of 30 to 35 people to run the course and help sort landfill and recyclable waste at the aid stations and the start/finish area. If we get enough people, we are even going to try to add composting this year.

As always, all volunteers will receive an Atayne top to wear while getting trashy and to sport proudly afterwards.

If you are available and interested in volunteering, please email me and include your preferred role: runner or sorter. If you are a runner please indicate how many miles you are willing to cover (minimum of 3 and maximum of 14). If you are interested in running but are unsure about the pace, we typically run a 12 to 15 minute mile while trash running. Feel free to spread the word and invite others you think might be interested.

Keep it clean,

Jeremy

You can contact Jeremy at Atayne’s website here:
http://atayne.com/connect/contact/

Just mention you are interested in taking part in the Maine Marathon Trash Run and he will get you the specific details.

Eddie Izzard is a British comedian that is better known for his lifestyle choices (as a transvestite) and for his acting and stand up routines than he is for his sporting activities.

This Summer, though, he decided to raise money for “Sport Relief” by going for a few runs. In the course of 7 weeks, he ran 43 marathons throughout the UK. “I might as well say that I’ve just eaten a car,” he said in response to how people have taken the news.

Saying he ran 43 marathons is actually a bit of an estimate; most of his runs were at least 27 miles in length and some were as long as 31 miles. Before this promotion, Eddie had never run further than 5 miles at a time.

“I feel really good. My legs hurt, my body hurts, I’m very tired. I lost my toenails, had blisters and stuff, but to finish – it’s kind of like science fiction in a way.”

He managed to raise over £200,000 (about $330,000.) It’s an amazing feat, and Eddie is to be commended for it.

He says that plans to keep running, but not quite as much. Which is understandable, since he’s about to start a 44-date tour for his stand up comedy routine. No rest for the weary…

(More Info: Sport Relief – EddieIzzard.com – Mirror.co.uk – Guardian)