A day before the April 21st 112th Boston Marathon, the women will get their turn to qualify for the Beijing Olympics. No less compelling than the men's race, the women could potentially be running fast times thanks to the flat course. Note that the course they will be running is not the actual Boston course. I was surfing the RW website and collected some very interesting videos incidentally of my favourite woman marathoner, Deena Kastor, to share with you. Our favourite running podcaster, Steve Runner will also be running Boston this year. Check out his series of Boston related podcasts at his website http://www.steverunner.com. Also check out the stories of the other running moms - wow, what inspiration!
Lance Armstrong will seek to add a Boston Marathon medal to his 2 NYC Marathon's this April 21st. Being a strong on the hills, Boston should suit him as well. Whether he can beat his PR of 2:46:43 is another question. The pounding over the rolling hills will certainly test your quads and hams. Of course my favourite podcaster Steve Runner will also be racing that historical route.
Running Politicians
Besides Armstrong, US Republican Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee will also be toeing the line for his 5th marathon. His 2006 4:26.05 PR is a tad faster than mine achieved in the same year. Read a fellow runner's take on the US Presidential candidates here. By the way Bush's PR is 3:44.52 ('93 Houston Marathon) and Jonathan Edwards' (just dropped out of the Presidential race) PR is a 3:30.18 in the '83 Marine Corps Marathon! Our own politicians here? Ask them about Senamrobics and Golf la! Other than that, they're busy making fools of themselves in the eyes of the world - check the video out below:
No Headphones
More and more races in the US are beginning to enforce the No Headphones ruling. That's the official logo below. This controversial move, in compliance with the USATF ruling, didn't go down well with a few runners there. Although I understand that running with headphones on on training runs are certainly dangerous, totally banning from races are quite unnecessary. Afterall, the course is closed. The only "dangers" I see are from fellow runners especially when approaching aid/water stations or the listener couldn't hear instructions or orders to move aside either for passing runners or ambulances. According to the NYC Marathon 's website, the NYRR are also discouraging the use of headphones as well. Let me tell you this. If I'm running a race, especially in a place like NYC or any other overseas races, you won't find me with an MP3 player. I'd rather enjoy all the experiences I can soak in - the sight, smell and sound. Give me all of it! You can read about public opinions about this by just Googling "usatf no headphones ruling".
Running Fella's Update
Ummm... that would be me. There are just 6 weeks, 4 if you exclude the 2-week taper, to go to race day. Time really flies. With 3 wasted weeks, my confidence level isn't too high. I'm disappointed with the spikes and dips in the mileage. But there's now a sense of urgency to get the weekly mileage up and really long runs in. The series of long runs began last Sunday with a 25K and will be extended this weekend, so it'll be timely to try out gear and fueling strategies. Since 90% of these long runs will be at an easy pace, I'll be out there for close to 3.5 hours. Have a good week of running!
I won't write much here except to let you enjoy the following videos. You can see for yourself how developed the sporting industry is in the US. For people like us here in Malaysia, we can only wonder how long it'll take for us to reach the halfway mark of that development. It's imperative for us to encourage more to take up the sport. Besides the obvious health benefits we consumers are the catalysts to change in the industry. Without us, there will be less new products, little innovation, complacency by the local industry players, etc...you get my drift. Enough ramblings, you can now drool on these shoes! Video grab of the chat with the Saucony representative
Join Special Projects Editor Warren Greene as he travels to the top gear tradeshows to see the latest trends.
World Shoes Accessories Convention, Day 1 See the latest shoes from Ryka (MC2), Teva (Raptor), Saucony (Trigon 5) and New Balance (882) with Brand Editor Warren Greene This is the women's model. Looks good, with fewer overlays
World Shoes Accessories Convention, Day 2 After a morning run in the Red Rock Canyon Recreation Area (check out the scenery!), Brand Editor Warren Greene sits down with Asics (Kinsei 2) and Avia to see their latest products.
The never-before released image of the Kinsei 2. Addressed the heel-to-toe transition issues of Kinsei 1
