Happy New Year!

Many happy runs in 2009!

Stretching: Gluteus Maximus a.k.a. butt

It has been somewhile ago that I addressed stretching in this blog. So today, to make it up, stretching the Gluteus Maximus or otherwise know as your butt!

One method is to lay on your back and pull your knee into your chest (see post stamp on the right). For me this method does not deliver the result I was looking for.
I prefer a bit more complicated method which works for me. The first couple of times I did this kind of stretching in noticed the next day that it worked every time I wanted to get up from my chair or was walking up the stairs. My buttocks were painful.

Here how you strethc your right butt, I expect you to figure out how you can do your left one....

• Sit down on the floor with both legs straight in front of you and a straigth back
• Place your right foot on the left (outside) of your left knee and grab with your left hand just below your left knee. With this take care of passing your right leg, with your left arm on the right hand side (still with me?). Your elbow of your left arm will push your right knee to the left
• turn your upper body to the right place, if need be, your right hand behind you
• push your right knee to the left with your left arm you will feel the tension build in your gluteus maximus a.k.a. butt

Maybe it is a puzzle the first time around but for me it works.


This picture comes close but lets say this is the easy way to do it. To make it more effective he should push his right knee to the left with his left elbow so he can place his left hand on the outside of his left knee. This will put more tension on your buttocks and also the outside of your leg. (see IT band).

Headache after running: exertion headache

Headaches after running or exertion headache: Aparantly an interesting topic as it is the most read post on my Dutch blog. I found out it is not one of the blog translated so let me set this strainght today.
I wrote my first post on this topic in May 2007 when I forwarded a request from a trainer who wantend to learn from others experience on this topic. This today is my most read posting. In response to its popularity I added a second post.

In general you can bring back the cause of headache after running to three categories of causes.

1. Muscle tension: When running you virtually use all muscles of your body including those in the neck and shoulders. Some people pull up their shoulders or are tensed when they run for other reasons (f.e. stress at work). This tension will lead to pain and strain on the muscles. This pain can radiate into the head leading to headache. This strain can also lead to the build up lactic acid in the neck muscles (just as will happen with the build up in you leg muscles while running). This acid will dehydrate the brain(cells) causing tension on the meninges which casues the headache just like with an hangover. Other casues of pain (for example problems with the cervical vertebrae) can also lead to this kind headache. If you think it might be the strain of your neck muscles: try to relax while running, let your shoulders hang or do some relaxing exercises before of during the training.
2. Dehydration: When you run you loose water through perspiration. Of course you can compensate this for the large part by drinking during your exercise. You also loose electrolytes which are harder to replace. Both causes a disbalance of fluids in your brain and just like above this will cause a headache. Secondary: the loss of water can also result in a heat stroke / hyperthermia when it is no longer able to produce enough sweat to cool the body with perspiration. Here you can find advice on staying hydrated during running. And here the symptons and again some prevention tips of which the most important is, of course, drink!
3. Bloodvessels expanding en narrowing: When starting and exercise the boody widens the bloodvessels to enhance the transport of oxygen and nutriants to the working muscles. After the exercise the vessels narrow again. A good cooling down will slow down this process reducing the risk of a headache.
   "......a headache occurring after running or other similar exercise is more likely to be caused by the increased speed at which the blood is circulating..." [http://www.brainandspine.org.uk/]
   And if you already have a headache during the exercise and not just afterwards the sudden widening of vessels and increase of bloodflow might cause it so do a relaxed warming up so your body slowly can get used to the increased pace it has to addept to.

So I hope this helps as a start if you are looking for some answers on this topic. Otherwise just google around a bit more on exertion headache. It is always a good idea to consult an expert (doctor) preferable someone with understanding of running.

Train the brain while running

I like to read books on running. It is less tiring and jet you are busy with your sport. Just joking, nothing beats a good workout with training kilometers.
But I do like to understand how the 'mechanics' of running work. Something to doe with my background as a aerospace engineer?

On Complete Running Network a review of the book "Brain Training For Runners". First I thought it had something to do with a Nintendo game for on the road but it is something else.

From the review I learn it has to do with training the mind, focussing on the mental aspect of running. Training is not meant to strengthen your body but to strengthen your mind so that te body will follow. The review is positive but some of the reviews on amazon are more critical.
The reviews made me curious enough to read a view paragraphs on Amazon (It's a 'look inside' title ) and I might decide to order it for further reading.

Sprint

Running in Business and in a vest

For those who make serious business of building their network I hardly have to mention the existence of LinkedIn. One of the groups on LinkedIn is Running in Business.
In one of the recent discussions someone poses the question how he can work on his strength during the winter season. Some reactions point him towards the gym or spinning. Some reactions (including mine) are along the line of enjoying running by being outside which is very well possible in North West Europe in winter. Besides during this season there are many crosses that also help building strength.
One reaction I find worth mentioning here in more detail. It is about a weight vest! I never heard of it but according to a link to an article in Runnersworld it has been around for 15 years.
The idea is that you train a certain period with a vest of around 10% of your own weight. During this period you won't experience any progress. Afterwards you still need a few weeks for the effect to kick in so its use takes some careful planning before a race. Click here for the article .

Running or watching TV?

And again deaths with marathons hit the headlines. Both inAthens and New York (2).

To counter this kind of news Runnersworld America posted this fictional news item a while ago:

A Mississippi man died yesterday while not running in a local marathon.
Les Actiff, 43, of Jackson, Miss., collapsed while watching television in his Hattiesburg home. Attempts to revive him failed, and paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene.
He was still clutching a bucket of fried chicken.
Like 25% of the U.S. population, Actiff was obese. Federal statistics show that nearly a third of U.S. adults 20 years and older are obese; about two-thirds are overweight. Actiff had been a non-runner for more than 20 years, according to his family and friends.
Family members were stunned.
"I don't get it," said his wife, Bess. "He didn't run all his life. He was always so inactive. And now, this. You just never know, I guess."
"At least he died doing what he loved," she added. "Not running."
Spectators gathered outside Actiff's home were similarly shocked.
"I'll never not run," said one woman. "It's too dangerous."
A large man on a scooter, out walking his dog, was more fatalistic: "If you can avoid doing a single positive thing for your health your whole life, just sit around like a lump and eat poorly and then still drop dead... Well, I just don't know. I guess when it's your time, it's your time."
Actiff appears to have died from atherosclerotic heart disease, according to Lamar County Coroner Paul Caste.
A memorial service is planned for Saturday, at the Pizza Hut off of I-59.

And to add something to reflect upon for the Dutch readers / situation. Recent research has shown that 60% of the Dutch live rather unhealthy. So maybe we should take 30.000 people out of this 60% together a whole day long an give the moderate excercise. Lets see how they will do. I don't think you'll find regular runners among this 60%.
Further illustration: in the NL every year 45.000 people die of heartattacks or other cardiac related disseases. The totals a 125 each day! I wonder what these figures will be for the states. Now wonder the with well over 30.000 runners you have someone collapsing every now and then....
Combine this with research that has shown that fat around the belly (in Dutch) is very dangerous and the fact that running is one of the best fatburners and you wonder why not everybody turns off the telly and gets out at least 3 times a week for 45 minutes of running...

Added om 17/11: 21 year old in half marathon...

Track 'n Trace: iPhone and MapMyRun

If you consider to carry your iPhone with you will running, you might consider to download the MapMyRun applet. Besides carrying your iPhone to listen to music (or maybe even your have downloaded dedicated training podcasts) it will automatically add your route to your MapMyRun profile and training log...Now that is a nice combi! I can not speka from experience. As your migt recollect form previous posts I seldom carry an MP3 player while running and limit myself to the use of a simple Polar just registering my heartrate and speed. But for the tech addicts among the runners...it is worthwhile to check it out.

Running skirts

Apparantly popular in de US woth runners of the female kind: Skirts as running gear. I have never seen them myselves her in the Netherlands but maybe it is because I do not take part in Ladies Runs.
This video highlights the usefulness of this new running atire..

Running for Peace: Funny Commercial

In the Netherland there is an initiative called "the week of peace". As the programm does not reach enough young people the organizers came up with the idea of "the night of peace" with a programm that should appeal to younger people.

Below you see the commercial for this night featuring Jan Pronk. A Dutch politician who was always fighting for equal rights, peace, the under develloped countries. Etc. He is internationaly well known for his UN work and was recently the special UN representative for Darfur.

For those who do not speak dutch...the only lines spoken are at the end and are translated underneath the embedded clip. Read them afterwards otherwise it is to much of a give away:

The spoken lines are:
His Wife: "Did you have a nice run, Jan?"
He: "Yes but I feel I'm getting older."
The pay off, of the commercial is "Wanted; Next generation of Peacefighters"

How to run: lesson 1

As most people on the web are aware YouTube is a fine source of videos on lotst of different topices. Browsing trough them you'll get across some nice ones about running. This one gives a nice overview of thetechnique of running.

A few remarks before we start:

Maybe the running lady in the intro should have worn a (better) sportsbra. As the voiceover mentions that a wrong posture can lead to injuries so can wrong gear.

The voiceover mentions that the body should be slightly tilted forwards...I have watched closely but to me it is straight up with the runner.

No it is not a muppet popping up. The video was, I think German, and this fellow is the original commentator.

When they switch from addressing the boy to addressing the legs you might say that they manage to state THE BLOODY OBVIOUS with the voice-over "Your legts are the most important part of your body for running".

The text "Most runners are forefoot runners by nature"is not incorrect persee. But lets face it... Most runners only use this technique at high speed. OTherwise the land on their heel. Just take a look at an average sunday in the park neer you or at the next running event you watch in your town.

Well besides these remarks from a grumpy old man...enjoy the film:

Adidas Commercial

I just came across this funny add for Adidas Running Shoes...switch on sound for the swinging track

Runners bashing

On a Dutch blog on Fitness I found four arguments why you should not be running. I tried to find the original article on www.bccorefitness.com. However as the post on the Dutch blog is in English check it out on the Dutch fitnessblog.

The four arguments are:

1. Every landing is a strain on you body: Yeah sure, and lifting weights or loosing fat to show of muscles is very natural and healthy? If I am not mistaken we originate from the early humans that ran on the plains of africa to hunt for food. SO you could compare humans with running animals like a cheetah. Never saw them doing fitness!
2. Marathon Runners do not have a great body: Hmmm for toprunners that run for the prizemoney they might be right but honestly I prefer an well trained body of runner over some of the bodies shown on the site of bc core fitness. O yes, the argue that running a marathon will consume precious muscle tissue. They are kind of right on that point but that is why the average runner does not run more than two marathons a year. A well trained runner will recover in no time.
3. Runners should not have strength and power due to the mediocre pace of training. This is an argument that shows a complete lack of understanding of the way we runners train. I challenge a fitnesser anytime to run op a hill, do an interval at 90% HRmax, etc....
4. Last but not least they argue: Running is no, I repeat, NO good cardio exercise. Excuse me, there is no other sport that enables you to burn calories so effectively, train your heart muscle, lower your rest heartbeat, reduce your percentage of body fat 'und so weiter, und so weiter'. They also argue that, as the heart is an muscle, you will loose heartmuscle tissue when running a marathon, like with argument #2 for the legmuscles. There they might be wrong as well. Running a marathon you use your legs at the maximum of their capabilities on endurence because your legs are not programmed to go on and on with moving. Your heart muscle however is programmed for endurance and for somepeople this endurance might last for over an century. During the marathon you only boost it to, lets say, 60% of your HRmax...Okay if you are not well trained or have a defect there is a risk.

Well why bother; It is a matter of taste which sport you like and I like running. It makes me feel good, going out in sun, rain, wind, heath or cold. Experience the outdoor building my resistance, feeling nature and exploring places. These experiences are hard to gain in a gym. I just keep on running.

Nike running shoe puts on weight!!

In contrast to the trend that shoes get lighter and lighter here is a Nike model that puts on weight....

I think this is a running shoe that will not help with losing weight. Maybe you should consider weight watchers if you think of using this kind of shoe.

Bolt and Shoelaces

From time to time it happens that I have to redo my shoelaces while running. Sometimes it is becouase they became undone. Sometimes is it because that get to tight later on in the run. It is good to know it happens even to the best of the world. I expect that everyone has seen the images of Usain Bolt winning in Beijing and setting an new world record with his shoelaces undone!

As this picture from the Reebok Grand Prix Saturday, June 2, 2007, in New York shows this is not an incident. Bolt ran the 200meter. Check out his laces of the left shoe (again):

Tis blijkbaar toch moeilijk, vetersstrikken....

What a race!

6.69 over 100meters from stand still. It's amazing. And you could easily tell Usain Bolt just went for the gold because in his last 10 meters he was already slowing down and leaning back. It is obvious that he wants to keep some margin so he can improve his world record again in one of the well paid grand prix races were running a world record comes with a nice bonus.

No we can look forward to a interesting 200meters.

Countdown...

A few more hours and the real fire works will start in the Birdsnest stadium of Beijing: The 100m final for men where Bolt, Powell and Gay will fight over the medalls. On the BBC News site a nice report from Jamaica.
Mind you both Powell and Bolt made it to the semi final as well as a third Jamaican: Micheal Frater...

The Making of Me: Colin Jackson

Last night on BBC you could have seen the documentry "The Making of Me: Colin Jackson". The serie challenges scientists to explain what makes certain people stand out of the crowd. In this episode: What makes Colin Jackson so special making him the top athlete that he was. Unfortunately the series is not available on BBC i player.
Therefore I try to summarize it for you. First of all for those who do not know Colin Jackson. He was, on the 110meters hurdles, two time worldchampion, twice second, once third, four times european champion and once second in the Olympics (Seoul). Barcelona should have brought his Olympic triumph but in the final he hit the third, fourth and final hurdle and stumbled on almost falling over the finish line in sixth place. One year later however he set a new world record that lasted voor 13 years (the race on youtube).
This video is his world record race:

More recent achievements are on the dance floor in BBC's Strictly Come Dancing.

Now about "The Making of Me": The documentry looks at the various aspects that might explain why Colin was succesfull:

• His genetics and partly Jamaican origin: It appears the top 20 sprinters come from either the North America's or the Carabean and mainly Jamaica
• His upbringing and environment that enabled him to explore and exploit his talents to the full
• His ability to focus and concentrated under pressure before a start shutting out the public (There is a nice quote from his dancing partner telling he showed the same attitude before going on the floor in Strictly come Dancing
• His ability to deal with setbacks. A test showed negative images stimulated his part of the brains that are generally linked to pleasant images. It appears that with every negative experience he turn is into something positive.
• His muscular structure: as might be expected he has more fast fibres (I think white muscle tissue?) than slow fibres (red?) but also an unussual amount of super fast fibres (something I never heard of before) 25% in contrast to the average 2% in other athletes....

Keep an eye out if the series comes your way or will be repeated on the BBC. It is worthwile to watch.

Start with a bang

It is hard to believe but in Beijing they will use an ordinary starting gun. One that just makes al lot of noise and nothing else. No signal to electronics and loudspeakers behind the runners according to this article on the of New Scientist.

Everybody knows the loudspeakers are meant to get the starting signal to all runners at the same time. Without them the runner on the inside track will hear the gun before the runner on the outside track. This difference might be as much as 150 millisecond on a 4x100m relay race where the runners are a long way apart.

Except that the sound needs time to travel to the runnner on the outside track there are two more effects that come into play:
1) the runner on the ouside track is faced with a 'bad start' which will not help in running a relaxed race. A tensed up runner is usualy not the best runner;-)
2) the extra decibels from the bang of the gun will help to get out of the starting blocks faster as research has shown...(I doubt if the kids in the picture get anywhere;-) frightened as they are by the bang of teh gun)

One of the researchers dealing with this topic is Jesus Dapena. If you browse to his research topics you find he also developped a model that takes into account the wind and the airdensity (high level tracks should give faster times that sealevel tracks due to the difference in air density and the lower amount of oxygen has no effect on a 100 meter run)....where was this kind of research when I went to university and the only models I worked on were wingstructures...

over hundred or not?

Remember I mentioned a 101 year old taking part in London marathon? As it now appears there is some dispute about his age....The Guinness Book of Records gives the men only 94 years due to his date of birth on his NHS papers. His passport states 101!
To me it is still a major achievement finishing a marathon at this age even though it takes him close to 10 hours. Read the story of his life and the dispute in the Guardian.

Running as Art

You might think the title contains a typo and that it should be 'Running is (an) Art'. Which is true as well but to be honest..the title is correct: "Running as Art"
In the London museum Tate Britain you can see a sprinter running by every 30 seconds as a celebration of life. It is an art installation by the artist Martin Creed who once before had an installation of a light bulb swithing on and off in an otherwise empty room. The installation, called "Work No. 850", is on show in the 86-metre neoclassical sculpture galleries of Tate Britain. Imagine the amount of interval training the runners have to do to keep up the schedule for the next four months. The installation is on show untill the 16th of november.
The idea behind the installation is being still represents death so running (sprinting) is the opposite of death and represents life. Nothing new for the runners among us;-)

Creed in the Mirror: "Running is the opposite of being still. If you think about death as being completely still and movement as a sign of life, then the fastest movement possible is the biggest sign of life. So then running fast is like the exact opposite of death: it's an example of aliveness."
In the Telegraph Creed explains the origine of his idea: "In Palermo we went to see the catacombs of the Capuchin monks. We were very late and only had five minutes to see it all before closing time. To do it we had to run. I remember running at top speed with my friends through the catacombs looking desperately left and right at all
of the dead people hanging on the walls in their best clothes, trying our best to see it all... it was a good way to see it. It was that kind of delirious running which makes you laugh uncontrollably when you're doing it. I think it's good to see museums at high speed. It leaves time for other things."

Director Stephen Deuchar of Tate Britain called the work "compelling, simple and lyrical" and "It upsets any preconceived ideas of how to move appropriately through an art space," On its Web site, Tate Britain warns visitors: "For reasons of safety, we ask the public not to run or obstruct the runner."
Wanna know more? Here is a video from youtube with an interview with the artist and clips of the runners, running through the museum:

Marathon Bible

In one of the Google Adds Sections on the side of this blog is an add for the Marathon Bible. Once you hit the link you are forwarded to a page promising you a free marathon training schedule (see image below).

You'll get free access to the next page by leaving your e-mailaddress. However I have to warn you. The next page DOES NOT offer you a free training schedule. It is simple an addpage for the book Marathon Bible. And the promsie of a free training schedule is to lure you into leaving your mailaddress. But hey, if you want to check out the offer for the book click here for direct access to the page without leaving your mailaddress behind...so you will not be spammed

Charity: please contribute with a click a day

This time a post that is not realy related to running. As I had to update the layout of my blog I added a link to Polska Akcja Humanitarna. I promote them where possible since I got to know them 15 years ago travelling trough Poland. By know they are actively involved in humanitarian aid to children all over the world including for example Birma.

Everyone can contribute to their work with very little effort by going to their Pajacyk site. Press the green button on the belly of the wooden puppet and PAH will receive a small contribution from one of their sponsors. You can only click once a day.

TIP: You can of course make the pajacyk page your homepage so you are reminded to click every time you open your browser.
BETTER TIP: I can imagine you want to hold on to your current homepage. Than you might consider using a scheduled task. Open control panel > scheduled tasks and use the wizzard to make a task. This will enable you the have your browser open automatically at, for example, a fixed time.
After using the wizard you have to don one thing manually. Open teh task and you will see the following text in the run field: "C:\PROGRA~1\INTERN~1\iexplore.exe". (or something similar if you have a different browser).
Add a blank space and the link to the so you end up with: "C:\PROGRA~1\INTERN~1\iexplore.exe http://www.pajacyk.pl" (see screendump below). Otherwise you browser will open with you usual homepage.
My tasks opens the site every day around noon, a fitting and useful reminder for my lunch.

If you want to test if the string is correct. Go to start > run and past the string in the text field and click OK.
Good luck and thanks for helping with a click a day....

Being fast on (the) track

Being fast on the track does not ae fastest runnner as this video shows of this alternative 100 meters run with obstacles....

Running with 1.000.000 runners worldwide??

August 31st 2008 should be the first time ever that 1.000.000 runners take part in the same event. Take part in the 10k run in one of the 25 host cities or simply use your Nike+ and upload your run at the end of the day!


Labeled 'The Human Race' this will have to be a record run in the number of participants. It will require an app. 40.000 runners per host city unless the mayority will be made up by individual runners. According to the statistics on Nike+ over 50.000 run were logged in the last 24 hours. This adds one additional virtual city to the list of 25. And maybe for the event these numbers can be boosted.

If you do not own Nike+ gear but like to take part in Europe: European Cities were you can run are: Istanbul, London, Madrid, Munich, Paris, Rome and Warszaw. I wonder if they are going to make up the numbers and reach the 1.000.000 mark. Keep it in mind when picking your holiday destination;-)

World Record on the 100 metres

From a post on the longest running distance: the marathon (ultra runs excluded), to a post on the shortest outdoor distance. The 100 meters!
Last weekend Usian Bolt ran his fifth 100 meter race ever and lowered the world record to a stunning 9:72. Just think of it that he is only running the 100 meters to increase his speed for the 200 meters as you can read in this times article.

Tenzing Hillary Evertest marathon

Some people (actually most people) think running a marathon is extreme. Of course there is ultra running who have just finished their warming up after 42k.

But how about running in extreme locations? For example Death Valley, the Sahara or on the world highest mountain: Mount Everst.

Every year on May the 29th the Tenzing Hillary Evertest marathon commemorates the first ascent of the mount in 1953. The start is at 5400 close to the khumbu icefall, on of the first hurdles above base camp (when climbing the mountain). The finishline is of course 42195 further and about 2000 meter lower on the mountain in Namche bazar.

A local farmer won for the third year in a row in a time of 3:53:14. The course record was set in 1999 and is a awesome 3:16:03.

And then to think that I was considering Snowdonia Marathon and decided agianst it because I found it a bit to extreme...city boy.... (to be honest: As long as I make progress on the marathon and manage to lower my PB I stick to city marathons. Once the decline is setting I go looking for other challenges)

Runnerscookbook

Not written by runners but with recipes from runners: The Runners Cookbook With for example a recipee from Sebastian Coe. The subtitle "Winning Recipes from Some of the World's Best Athletes" makes you hope to find THE wonderrecipee that makes you run well but as everybody knows; it doesn't exist.

Nevertheless a nice idea for a good cause. The proceeds go to:

1. Ryan Shay Memorial Fund: Ryan Shay died last year NOvember app. 5 miles into the Olympic Team Trial.


2. Jenny Crain "Make It Happen" Fund: Jenny was hit by a car while training and is currently working on her recovery.

Will disabled runner start in Being?

In January I posted an item on the South African amputee Pistorius. His ambition to run in Being was blocked by an IAAF ruling. However, thanks to a ruling of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) his dream is back again. They ruled that, based on the evidence by the experts, there is no ground for the IAAF ruling that stated that his blades will give him an advantage.
Now he has the posibility to get him self on the South African team if he manages to bring down his PB from 46.46 to at least 45.95.

Google Alert - marathon

Google News Alert for: marathon

Marathon adds group competition to next year's race
Houston Chronicle - United States
Completing a marathon is an individual triumph. But participants in the Chevron Houston Marathon will be able to make it a group effort when officials debut ...
See all stories on this topic

An Oldies Marathon Runs a Few Extra Miles
New York Times - United States
The Ponderosa Stomp is an oldies marathon as dreamed up by record collectors: the kind of music fans who prize soul veterans' rare B-sides and ...
See all stories on this topic

Parents in death free on bond
Wausau Daily Herald - Wausau,WI,USA
Part of that plan includes having two people close to the family serve as caretakers, Marathon County District Attorney Jill Falstad said. ...
See all stories on this topic

It'sa marathon of a promotion
Cay Compass - Grand Cayman,Cayman Islands
The Cayman Islands Marathon may be at the end of the year but its organizers are busy promoting it abroad at every opportunity. Organisers of the Cayman ...
See all stories on this topic

Scenes from a marathon
Monterey County Herald - Monterey,CA,USA
To the two of us, this was the season to miss racing the Big Sur International Marathon (BSIM) in favor of other pursuits. It's the first time since 1990 ...
See all stories on this topic

Sarah's success in marathon effort
Suffolk Free Press - UK
Sarah completed the rowing in 37 minutes and the marathon in 91 minutes. The Eye Fund charity was set up in October and has the backing of Sir Paul, ...
See all stories on this topic

Marathon to reach 10000
In-Forum - Fargo,ND,USA
The Fargo Marathon will reach 10000 entries by the end of the week. It was only three years ago when race organizers wondered if they would get 1000 people. ...
See all stories on this topic

Marathon runner takes down a thief
Minneapolis Star Tribune - Minneapolis,MN,USA
But that didn't stop the 30-year-old medical researcher and marathon runner from tearing off his suit jacket Tuesday afternoon to chase a thief through ...
See all stories on this topic

Marathon Intersects 3.16 g/t PGM and Au and 0.40% Cu over 14 m at ...
CNW Telbec (Communiqués de presse) - Montréal,Québec,Canada
Benton's BCF Property adjoins Marathon's Copper and PGM Project near Marathon, Ontario and is currently being explored by Marathon under an option and joint ...
See all stories on this topic

Marathon effort well worth it
Pocono Record - Stroudsburg,PA,USA
When hundreds of obsessed marathon runners fill local roads on Sunday, think of the dedication they are showing to a wonderful cause. ...
See all stories on this topic

Google Blogs Alert for: marathon

Marathon Oil first quarter profit edges higher on strong revenue ...
HOUSTON _ Oil and gas company Marathon Oil Corp. said Thursday that its first-quarter profit rose two per cent as record oil prices overcame weak results at its refining business.The Houston-based company said it earned US$731 million, ...
Oilweek Online - http://www.oilweek.com

BMO Bank of Montreal Vancouver marathon goes this weekend
Over 13000 people are expected to run in the BMO Bank of Montreal Vancouver marathon this weekend. The race starts at 6:30 Sunday morning, with elite athletes from Kenya, Ethiopia and the US starting ...
News1130 - News - Health - Business... - http://www.news1130.com

Marathon Haikus
By Immer treu
Would putting Mentos. In a tapering runner. Help to reach new heights?
Active : All Content - All Communities - http://community.active.com/index.jspa

Healthy For a Day (or Two): Marathon Dining at Ziggy's and Field ...
Everyone in Ziggy's Healthy Grill on Monday morning seems to have just come from marathon training. All around me are people stretching and hiking up their gym shorts to reveal perfectly tanned and toned thighs. ...
Eating Our Words - http://blogs.houstonpress.com/eating/

Four Former Champions to Race In Belfast Marathon
By Der
The former Dublin marathon and Great North Run champion is the model of consistency. A year ago he used the gruelling Antrim Road hill to destroy the opposition and eventually record a winning margin gap of some 6 minutes. ...
AAI - http://www.athleticsireland.ie/

Trail running on trail shoes

Yesterday I posted some tips on trail running. Depening on the surface of your trail run it might be advisable to wear trail shoes! I have posted a very short review on the Inov8 Flyroc 310, and the Inov8 Terroc 330 but for more reviews I am so free as to copy a review from Map My Run. The website Map My Run now offers the possibility to add your own story in various categories. The categories are Check this Out!, Favorite Route, Feature Story, How-To, Interviews, My Gear!, Photo Essay and Race & Event Report or you can simply select the Top 10.
In the categorie My Gear! you can find this review thanks to Kevin:

	The North Face Fire Road Traction: This is a great shoe for light/smooth trail running combined with road running. Stability: Testers said they felt very supported in these shoes while running on smooth trails or roads. Toe Protection: Good Presentation: This shoe did well with our testers in the looks department. One of the favorites for looking good on the trails and around town. Fit: Normal Durability: 8 Breathability: This shoe is extremely breathable. Cushioning: The Fire Road faired well with our testers with its cushioning system. Price: $109.95 buy now
	Brooks Cascaida Traction: The lugs on the bottom of the Brooks Casadia give you traction in almost any senario you will run into. Stability: These shoes performed very well in this category. It is hard to find yourself off balance in these shoes! Toe Protection: Good Presentation: These shoes have a good running shoe look with the added ruggedness for those looking for more of a hardcore look. Fit: Normal Durability: 9 Breathability: Extremely breathable mesh throughout the shoe. Cushioning: The Cascadia performed very well with its cushioning system without sacrificing it stability. Price: $104.45 buy now
	Pearl Izumi SyncoSeek 2 Traction: The traction of the Synco is much like a road running shoe. Stability: With it’s low profile, these shoes will keep you well grounded for shorter trail races. For the ultra trail racers, we suggest a shoe with more of a cushion system. Toe Protection: Fair Presentation: This shoe had an average look according to testers. Fit: Normal Durability: 8 Breathability: The shoes provide great overall breathability. Cushioning: These shoes are a lightweight trainer/racer, but in that category, they performed well with its cushioning system. Price: $84.50 buy now
	TevaPro Wraptor Stability Event Traction: This shoe has a good traction system for the trails of all levels, best for rocky trails. Stability: These shoes performed best on extreme uneven surfaces. Toe Protection: Great Presentation: These shoes felt boxy for most testers and was lower in scores for looks. Fit: Wide Durability: 7 Breathability: The breathability in these shoes are better in colder conditions. The inner liner keeps a lot of heat in. Cushioning: The Wraptor had a pretty stiff ride for most of our runners. Price: $110.00 buy now
	Adidas Adizero XT W Traction: This shoe provided good traction with most trails surfaces. The low profile allows the foot to grip most rocks and odd shaped surfaces. Stability: These are a great lightweight trail race shoe that will keep you on your feet for those shorter distance trail races. Toe Protection: Fair Presentation: These shoes have a snug fit and testers said they liked the look of these shoes. Fit: Narrow Durability: 7 Breathability: These shoes felt great -- lightweight and very breathable. Cushioning: These shoes are a lightweight trainer/racer, but in that category, they performed well with its cushioning system. Price: $84.00 buy now
	Asics GT - 2130 Traction: This shoe has a beefy road shoe traction feel to it, allowing good traction for most trail runners. Stability: These shoes performed well in this category. There weren»t many surfaces that could throw our testers off balance. Toe Protection: Fair Presentation: These shoes have the look of many road shoes with a few darker colors as many trail shoes have. Fit: Normal to Wide Durability: 9 Breathability: The GT provides average breathability. Cushioning: The shoe provided great cushioning without sacrificing stability. Price: $84.99 buy now
	GoLite Storm Dragon Traction: This shoe performed extremely well in a wide variety of trails, such as mud, snow, and rocks. Stability: The lug system in these shoes was a question mark for our runners at first, but after testing these shoes, They performed great in the stability category. Toe Protection: Great Presentation: These shoes tend to have the look of a hardcore trail shoe. They can could also be considered as a lightweight hiking shoe. Fit: Normal Durability: 9 Breathability: These shoes do better in colder conditions, but will also do well in mild climates Cushioning: The Storm Dragon provides ample cushioning for all types of runners. Price: $142.95 buy now
	Salomon XT Wings Traction: Great for the rugged trails and they also did well on the roads. Stability: These shoes were designed for those who are looking for a mix between road and trail, and they performed great on the trails and have the road shoe feel to them. Toe Protection: Great Presentation: Great mix between a street shoe look and the rugged trail shoe look. Fit: Narrow to Normal Durability: 9 Breathability: The XT Wings performed great for those who run in humid or hot climates. Very airy. Cushioning: Many testers felt these shoes performed extremely well in this category for its cushioning system. Price: $119.95 buy now
	Vasque Velocity VST Traction: This is a great shoe for serious trail running. The soles provide great grip and traction against rocks and uneven ground. Stability: One of the more stable trail running shoes tested. For real backcountry runs, these shoes provide a lot of structure without sacrificing the comfort. Toe Protection: Good Presentation: A good cross running/light hiking shoe that will please the outdoor types who are looking for a more rugged running shoe. Fit: Narrow to Normal Durability: 9 Breathability: The lightweight mesh on this shoe provides for a highly breathable running experience. Cushioning: These shoes had an average cushioning system, with more of a focus on the stability of the shoe. Price: $99.95 buy now

Picture of a runner

Googling for an image of a runner I came accros this image from the blog of a photographer:

The blur is intentional. The soft light of the later afternnoon sun gives the runner a nice colour in contrast with the bleu sky.

Trail running

Spring is there on the northern hemisphere. A good time to leave the beaten tracks or pavement of the city parks behind en hit some trails outside the city limits. As it differs from your regular running you should be aware of the tips given on About Running.

• Choose Trails Wisely: Run on trails that are appropriate for fitness level. Flat trails are recommended if you're a beginner, while more experienced runners can choose hilly, challenging trails.
• Get the Right Gear: Wear trail-running shoes, and dress in synthetic fabric running clothes that are appropriate for the weather conditions.
• Buddy Up: If possible, get a friend to run with you. If you're running alone, always make sure you tell someone which trail you'll be running on.
• Slow It Down: Trail running is usually harder on the body than road running, so plan to run fewer miles at a slower pace on trails than you do on the roads.
• Pay Attention: Keep your head up and your eyes on the trail ahead. Try not to look down at your feet, so you can watch ahead for obstacles such as rocks, roots, logs and branches.
• Careful on the Downhills: Don't get out of control on steep downhills. Control your speed and keep your head up, so you can avoid obstacles.

In the Netherlands large stretches of unspoiled nature are far en few between. Advantage is that most 'nature' has plenty of footpaths with walking trails, cyclepaths with routes of various lengths etc. This enbales you as a runner to pick your own route as you go. If you run without a buddy it is wise to take along your cellphone for safety. As the country has full coverage you are always able to give some one a ring in case of emergency.

When going for a run on a trail as refered to in the article on About Running it might even be a good idea to take your cell phone. As trails won't be to far away from inhabited areas it is very likely that there is some coverage. Better be safe than sorry. It is no fun to be on your own without any means of communication if you sprain your foot on a tree stub or take a tumble on a downhill (in spite of the last tip).

Second life for old shoes

In january I posted over the Nike programm in which they collect old shoes to reuse the material for surfacing playcourts. On About Running there are two more possible destinations for your old runningshoes. These are the Shoebank and Sole Responsebility.

Multi Cultural The Hague

This posting has little to do with running. But I want to illustratie how a multi cultural society enriches your environment. For example a muslim in traditional clothing in contrast with this busstop advertisement of swimming wear....

Funny Toyota Add

EVery now and then you see a car add that is funny and not just boosting horsepowers. When it has a link with running it is worth a post on the blog:


Another add for the same car with the same sense of humor:

Special events: VUmc run

In my mailbox I received an e-mail with the notification for a very nice event. The 'VUmc gebouwenloop', best translated as the Free University Medical Center indoorrun. A run taking you trough the buildings of the hospital of the university, over stairs, trough hallways and corridors. For kids there is a run of 1,2 km but as an adult you can choose: either 5 or 10k! A nice fartlek training.
One euro of the six euro subscription fee is for the Alzheimer research centre of the university. A very good cause.
For more information and images I refer tot the site of the VUmc which is, of course in Dutch but you can translate it using babelfish (see underneath) or other translators

Translate this the VU mc site

Dutch to English Dutch to French

Thanks to Babelfish

Relive your race!!

On the site of the Rotterdam Marathon is a new functionMijn Marathon Analyse (My Marathon Analysis). It is an player that enables your to relive the race. Enter the runners you want to follow (for example yourself and one or more of the toprunners) and press play and you can see how the race develops for these runners. When I turned onto the Blaak on Sunday I thought I saw Luc Krotwaar heading towards the cCoolsingel and the finish while I still had to run the strethc around the 'Kralingsebos'. Si if have myself running againt the winner Kipsang and the dutch toprunner Krotwaar it is obvious that you loose sight of me afhter just a few K. The only time I am in the picture is when Kipsnag is finishing (I am just corssing the bridge) and when Krotwaar is indeed on de Blaak with just 700 meters to go while I myself still have 14K ahead of me.
A nice way to relive the race.

London marathon is special

While I was improving my personal beste with over an minute in the Rotterdam marathon a lot of people were running theri race in London. London is one of a kind. Some remarkeble feats:

Three finishers within 2:06

Women running their own race starting seperate from the men

A blind runner from West Bromwich has run seven marathons, on seven continents, in seven days, crossing his final finishing line in London.
(see BBC report)

A man from 101 (!) running his first marathon. I saw the interview with him for the start. I could not find if he was among one of the ...

....over 34000 finishers!

Once I know improving my PR is no longer possible I will start among the crouwd in London.

Rotterdam Marathon changes the course

Tomorrow is D-Day for a lot of marathon runners. In the UK thousands of runners (over 35.000 finishers last year) will start in the London marathon and on the other side of the North Sea a smaller amount will start in Rotterdam. Including yours dearly, the author of this blog.
The weather forecast promises to be less extreme than last year (~25degrees centigrade). Only downside is the possibility of Rain

On the website of the marathon of Rotterdam you can see that they changed the course. The loop on the south side of the Maas river is clockwise where in previous years it was counter clockwise. I think this is a good change as one of the narrow stretches of the course is not around the 5K point but around de 22K point when the runners are more spread out.

For the official course Click here for a map in PDF

If you want to compare this years course with the one from last year: look below with the screen dumps from both courses on the Map My Run website:

Seen on TV: The Truth about Food

Yesterday the Belgian television showed a BBC documentry: 'The Truth About Food' (see BBC site). Yesterdays episode had the subtitle 'How to be the Best' (site from this episode). This episode had some nice topics for runners.
The diea from the programm is to anwser questions about food by doing some experiments. The next questions were interesting for runners:
Grazing Vs Bingeing? (see clip)
Is there a way to eat your food so you can perform better? Could eating little and often be better than having three square meals?
Eating little and often makes you more productive because a square meal drwas your blood towards your stomic and bowels leaving you with less energy for your work. Everybody know the famous lunchdip;-)
Carb Power? (see clip)
Two genetically identical teams battle it out to see what’s better for long endurance activities – a diet high in carbohydrates or a diet packed full of protein and fat. Runners knwo the answer: a diet high in carbohydrates.
Is just tasting carbohydrates enough?
A strange question but the answer is yes. Apparently you have receptors on you tongue that makes you releasing energy by just tasing carbohydrates. This part of the documentry is not available online:-(
Meat to Beat? (see clip)
The filmmakers convinced six staunch vegetarians to embrace the carnivore way for eight weeks to test whether they would become stronger athletes by eating meat. Did it work? Fortunate for the vegatarians amonst us: No there was statsically relevant improvement in their strength. SO you can keep combining your healthy running with the healthy vegetarian way of life.

Other episodes in the series are a.. 'how to be healthy' and 'how to be sexy'. The first one can be relavant for runners. The second....well with our athletic bodies we don't need advice on that front;-)

Shoe laces

On the My Asics forum (dutch part) a runner is complaining about bad circulation in her feet during running. One of the responses suggests the use of an extra loop in the laces near the top holes. I think most runners are familiar with 'the loop' but as it is difficult to descripe I use an image to explain what to do.

In the left image you see the right shoe which has its laces in the normal fasion. The left shoe uses the loop. So instead of crossing over with the lace to the other side of the shoe for the last hole stay on the same side and loop back trough the top hole (outside in) and than cross back to the other side where you pull the lace trough the loop.
The right image shows the loop 'in action' with tied shoelaces.

In this way you can vary the tention of the laces on the top of your foot and you bring the knot a little bit lower. Most shoes, these Brooks as well, have an additional hole that you can use. This gives you plenty of possibilities to vary the way you tie your laces. So experiment a little to find out which configuration is the most comfortable for you.