It’s funny, but until 2004 I never thought of myself as a real runner — just a cyclist who was “faking it.” Nowadays, however, it seems like I run even more than bicycling. It is ultra-convenient as it can be done almost anywhere, in any weather — just bring a pair of running shoes.
By 8:00 am the morning was already brightly lit, but it seemed like several of us at the Warren Park 5k had dim hopes for running a good race today.
“I have no confidence about running on this winter day,” proclaimed Alex, who is often the Male Hare (fastest guy) in the Fort Collins Running Club’s Tortoise & Hare Series, of which this race was a part of. Continue reading »
&title=Marathons Are Hard Even For Professionals "Kayoko Fukushi had to stop and put her shoe back on in a 10,000m race in August 2007. While this didn't happen in the Osaka Marathon, she had other mishaps. (Photo: AP)")
Last weekend, the 5000m and half-marathon record holder of Japan, Kayoko Fukushi, gave the marathon distance a go in the Osaka International Women’s Marathon. While she still would have beat me, it didn’t go quite as smoothly as she had hoped or plan. She was running superbly until about Mile 19, when the proverbial wall hit. See the video below! At least Fukushi had a good sense of humor about it — after each mishap, she wore a smile and laughed. So I guess you can too! Continue reading »
Fellow Fort Collins Running Club member Alene Nitzky will be running in a 48-hour race around a 500-meter track in Arizona starting today. She ran in the Boulder 100 a couple of months ago, and not only was ahead of me the entire time and ended up running farther, but was doing so with a smile on her face every time I saw her! I will be cheering for her from afar (about 1,000 miles away) over the internet, and so can you. The message below tells how. She also describes a little bit the spiritual aspects of running for so long. Good luck, Alene! Continue reading »
“At least it is not as cold as last year,” a Fort Collins Running Club member remarked as a bunch of us were bouncing up and down as we waited for our turn to cross the start line of the race.
She had a point. It was -1 degree then, and Doug had icicles growing on his beard. Today was actually set to be a nice day, with the sun glowing strongly and the ambient temperatures being comfortable by the late morning. But that did little to mollify the fact that we were out here racing at 8:00am, when temperatures were still cold enough to freeze a pig. Continue reading »
The Boston Marathon is the world’s oldest annual marathon, and one of the most prestigious. Its storied history makes it a must-do for most running enthusiasts and is considered the Mecca for Marathoners.
Unfortunately, a basic problem is one needs to qualify for Boston by running a fast-enough marathon, which less than 10% of all marathon lovers are currently capable of doing. So how to do so? Continue reading »
