In preparation for my return to the JFK 50-mile run this weekend, I’d like to share my race report from the 2008 run. This top photo was taken at mile 48 and made the front page of the Hagerstown Herald Mail in Maryland. It captures the spirit of ultra running. I wanted to relive this…
After enjoying another Marine Corps Marathon (47th place in 2:49 age 48) curiosity led to digging into past races that stretch back several decades. So into the archives I plunged to see how many MCMs (I thought it was 22) and what the times were. So I contacted my friend and Marine Corps Marathon historian…
As you enter the week prior to the Marine Corps Marathon, or any marathon, here are a few visualizations to help you set your plan. Running your best 10K is mostly about fitness. Running your best marathon is part art, science, guts, and faith in what you can do. I’ve had the privilege of running …
by Dr. Phil Maffetone. With his day-glo orange racing flats flashing through the Berlin streets, Kenyan Dennis Kimetto blazed to a world record 2:02:57 marathon. The weather did not hinder his pace, and it may not have helped much either, as other race times were not particularly quick (third-place men’s time was almost 2:06, and…
Sharing the journey of friend and fellow Race Director Dave McGillivray. Dave directs the “Big Boy” races, including the Boston Marathon. His message of fitness vs. health is a must-read for all. From his extraordinary run across the U.S. to benefit the Jimmy Fund and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in 1978 to serving as technical director…
School has started. It’s a time when parents are buying their children new shoes for gym class, cross-country and everyday wear. Given what we know about childhood development and the elements of natural running gait movements, here are a few things to consider before you start shopping for shoes. — Ultra-thin soles allow proper proprioception,…
Here in our small town of Shepherdstown, West Virginia you will find truly amazing people with their own amazing personal stories. So please enjoy this fun and inspiring interview with Two Rivers Treads’ leading ladies, Diana Gorham and Sheri Fiolek, who finished the Burning River 100 miler in Ohio on August 3. If anyone tells…
Two bold, young documentary filmmakers, Dana Richardson and Sarah Zentz, left their home in Big Sur, California, and traveled to the depths of Copper Canyon in Mexico in search of the “seeds of health.” They lived among the Tarahumara who suffer almost none of the modern illnesses of Westernized Society. The Tarahumara are famous for…
The sub two-hour marathon is running’s final, most elusive barrier. The first runner to go 1:59 will become universally celebrated as marathon’s Roger Bannister. This timely book by Dr. Phil Maffetone, “1:59: The Sub-Two-Hour Marathon Is Within Reach—Here’s How It Will Go Down, and What It Can Teach All Runners about Training and Racing,” examines…
Dr. Ryan Green is managing partner at Varsity Sports Mandeville in Mandeville, Louisiana. He received his athletic training certification in 1997 and received his PhD in Kinesiology from Louisiana State University in 2006. After graduating from LSU and then teaching in the athletic training program at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, Dr. Green went…
We are happy to share the following essay from my friend and colleague Jeff Gaudette, who is the founder of Runners Connect, which is a team of expert coaches dedicated to helping runners train smarter, stay healthy and run faster. Jeff is one of the forward thinkers in natural running movement as well as a…
We all learn from our travels. By witnessing amazing accomplishments and the spirit of others trying to change the world in places of need, there is much to learn and appreciate. I recently had the privilege of returning to South Africa to teach an International Sports Medicine Symposium with Dr. Tim Noakes. Dr. Noakes has…
Our trusted friends and sharers of natural movement wisdom, Sarah Young and Jenn Pilotti, who created the three-part video series on glute exercises for runners, are back with the second installment of “Breathing Exercises for Runners.” *** Breathing Exercises for Runners, Part One by Jenn Pilotti and Sarah Young Humans can go about a month…
Several weeks ago, Vibram USA, which is the parent company that produces and distributes FiveFingers running shoes, agreed to settle a lawsuit that alleged the company made “false and unsubstantiated claims about the health benefits” of its toe-glove footwear. According to the court filings, Vibram will deposit $3.75 million into an escrow account and those…
It is a privilege to share additional insight and expertise from Drs. Kevin and Heather Vincent on the process (and outcome) of their position paper, “Selecting Running Shoes,” for the American College of Sports Medicine’s (http://www.acsm.org/docs/brochures/running-shoes.pdf ) The published document was big news for all runners and walkers, as it represented a dramatic change in…
April 21 was my twenty-first running of the Boston Marathon. The week before, I wrote a Dr. Mark’s Desk’s piece challenging runners to be fearless on race day just as the bombing victims have been fearless in their journey back to health. At last year’s marathon, I had already finished the race and was with…
April 21 will be my twenty-first running of the Boston Marathon. That’s a pleasing symmetry, but I also know that I will be experiencing unpredictable emotions. At last year’s marathon, I had already finished the race and was with my family, safe in a nearby hotel a block away, when the terrorism attack occurred. The bombings…
On the last day of March, the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) released a groundbreaking position paper called “Selecting Running Shoes.” To those who came across the paper the following day, they might have mistakenly thought this was some kind of April Fools’ joke. It wasn’t! After a generation of sports medicine doctors, podiatrists, coaches,…
Getting published in the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Pulse Magazine is a great honor for scientists, engineers, technologists, and biomedical researchers. A comparison would be a health or medical research team having its study published in The New England Journal of Medicine. In the current issue of IDEE Pulse that feature articles…
All movement, whether it is walking, running, dancing, or lifting, requires balance and symmetry to do it safely. What we measure in gait labs looks at things the eye cannot see. These include specific forces, timing of phases of gait which are fractions of seconds, and the gait differences from right to left. One of…
by Bill Katovsky. By rudely pushing aside lean-’n-mean minimalist shoes in running stores, those beefy bullies known as maximalist shoes might one day be remembered as a shoe-category killer. We hope not. But consider all these brands boasting super-thick foam styles: Hoka One One, Brooks, Skechers, Puma, Vasque, New Balance and Altra. Other shoes like…
A common currency in the world is running and physical activity. A simple pair of shoes can set you free and take you on great adventures, meet new people, and share in the joy of simple movement and health. I recently spent two weeks traveling 25,000 miles and visiting three continents to teach healthy running,…
by Jim Hixson. Q. What is the basic difference between minimalist and traditional running shoes? A. A lot, and it’s not simply a matter of philosophical differences. Minimalist shoes fit the anatomy of the foot, allow the foot to move through its natural range of motion without restriction, and enable the sole of the…
For tips on how to make 2014 a better running year, let’s turn to my friend Danny Dreyer, the founder of Chi Running. Running shoes have gone from thick to thin to thick and to everything in between since 2006, several years after Danny first started writing and teaching that the keys to healthy, enjoyable…
by Bill Katovsky. Depending on how frequently runners read magazines like Outside or Competitor, or check Runner’s World’s blog, they can be excused for thinking that minimalism is gone, departed, yesterday’s news. The sporting goods and fitness media abhor a news vacuum; they constantly seek out the latest trend, often on the heels of announcing…