“… if you set out on an adventure and you’re absolutely convinced you are going to be successful, why bother starting?” – Sir Edmund Hillary. I will start this post with the end. Happiness is finishing a 50 mile race smiling and with spring still in the step. There is a strange exuberance coming to the…
Marine Corps Marathon after action report. Semper Fly 2016 at my 24th Marine Corps Marathon and proud to represent the USAF. The weekend started at the AMAA Marine Corps Marathon Sports Medicine Conference where my topic was “Running with Diabetes” and a focus on low carbohydrate adaptations to endurance sport. I followed a Sports Nutritionist…
Welcome to the 2016 Marine Corps Marathon! As part of the US Air Force Running Team, my Patriotic Marathon ritual includes 23 Boston Marathons and 16 consecutive, 23 Marine Corps Marathons and 16 consecutive, and 17 Air Force Marathons and 14 consecutive. The average time of these 60 plus finishes of these three races is…
This week sharing the story of my friend Jennie Brackens who with the tribe of Bros and Bras are changing the landscape of health and fitness in our community. We all talk about “exercise science” , but more important I think is “exercise humanity”. Thanks Jennie for sharing this amazing story on why we run and…
Natural Running friends reporting back from two weeks on a natural running mission! Now we are less than a week from the 8th Freedom’s Run, the largest running event in West Virginia and highlighting what we hope is a path for a healthier future. Come visit October 1! More at www.freedomsrun.org The first trip was to…
Abebe Bikila in Rome 1960 Leesburg 20k on Olympic Marathon Day. Correct Toes are great product if you have foot deformities caused by modern shoes. In 1960 Abebe Bikila of Ethiopia became the first Olympic Champion from Sub-Saharan Africa and the first to win the race barefoot. Over the last 50 plus years the East…
This blog post will contain few words as the pictures tell the story. I started distance running in Avalon NJ barefoot in the sand as 12 year old running with my brother Chris who was prepping for cross country. We would do 10 miles barefoot without thinking much of it. This was in the late…
I had the privilege to write the forward to a just released book “Slow Jogging– Lose Weight, Stay Healthy, and Have fun with Science Based, Natural Running” by Dr. Hiroaki Tanaka. My friend Dr. Tanaka is one of the most inspiring scientists and self-experimenting athletes I’ve met. Dr. Tanaka has changed my life and his…
This week I share the amazing story of my Indiana friend Phillip Brenneman. Phillip and I share things frequently over Facebook and email and his story is one that will change your life if you are facing similar challenges. Read on and you will understand the nothing comes easy, but if you believe you…
In West Virginia and around the nation opiate addiction and the effects on lives and families is a catastrophe and no answer is in sight. People have asked me if I have ever met anyone who has come off opiates successfully without substituting another opiate or drug. In over twenty years of medicine the list…
Monday I ran my 22nd Boston Marathon and as a 49yo veteran of this 120 year old event the goal now is fun, sharing the experience with colleagues and friends, and advance the science of how we have evolved to run. Every year there are new special “Boston Edition” shoes from every manufacturer. So this…
** FREE SHOWING OF FILM 5:30 AT SHEPHERDSTOWN OPERA HOUSE PRIOR TO TALK ** This Monday 7pm March 28 at Two Rivers Treads we will teach you how to “Run on Fat” and meet the stars of the recent movie – “Cereal Killers 2- Run on Fat”. Over the last few years in this column…
By Elinor Fish For years Julia had some kind of running-related injury. It began as a soreness in her right foot that then moved up to the knee. After changing her shoes and running form, she experienced some relief. Then while training for a half marathon, the pain flared, this time in her right hip….
By Amanda Loudin Jason Bahamundi will go to his grave clutching his pair of Hoka One One running shoes. The finisher of five Ironman races and multiple ultramarathons swears by the big, cushy shoes—and he’s not alone. The brand saw sales increase 350 percent from 2013 to 2015 and most running shoemakers now have a…
Diseases caused by poor eating habits destroy lives and cost the nation trillions in health care. Our current Dietary Guidelines and food policies clearly aren’t working. Just this week the CDC announced obesity is on the rise despite the fact that more adults are exercising. Huh? We though that more exercise would reverse this…
The first work of fiction from Phil Maffetone: Million Dollar Marathon. It’s a novella (aka short story) that is now available on Amazon Kindle. When Xi, a shepherd from one of the most remote parts of Tibet, flees across the Himalayas to India, he doesn’t know what awaits. But his very act of fleeing—alone and…
By Dr. Steve Gangemi In the final part of SockDoc Stop Mindless Stretching series, we focus now on Stretching as Warm-Up and Injury Prevention. Stretching should not be the sole activity performed during a warm-up before or cool-down after your movement (or exercise) program. Should it be a part of your routine at all? Most of us…
By Dr. Steve Gangemi Continuing our 4 part SockDoc Stop Mindless Stretching series, we focus now on Flexibility, Fascia, and Your Nervous System. Contrary to popular belief, yoga is not Sanskrit for stretching. It actually means to join or unite, and it is a combined spiritual, mental, and physical practice. Assuredly, most yoga poses do focus on flexibility…
By Dr. Steve Gangemi Continuing our 4 part SockDoc Stop Mindless Stretching series, we focus now on Flexibility, Fascia, and Your Nervous System. Flexibility might be the ability of a joint to bend through its full range of motion, but in actuality, it’s the reflection of your nervous system and not simply the more you can…
By Jay Dicharry Jinge bells are out, mistletoe is up, and you are freaking out because you missed out on useless sales on Black Friday and Cyber Monday…..uh oh. What do you do now? How about dig deep, and find a present for your fellow endurance athlete that’s actually worth its weight. This week, I’ll…
By Dr. Steve Gangemi In this 4 part SockDoc series, you’ll learn the advantages of movement, the myths of flexibility, the confusion over stretching, and the perils of being misinformed about such a controversial topic. What truly makes you flexible? Should you ever stretch? PART I: Move With a Purpose: Stop Mindless Stretching – Stretching…
By Dr. Philip Maffetone What will U.S. Olympic Marathon Team look like? We’ll know for sure in a few short weeks, but one thing for certain is America’s fastest marathoner Ryan Hall won’t be on this team. At 33, Hall, who ran 2:04:58 at Boston in 2011, announced his retirement recently, citing extreme fatigue and chronically low testosterone…
In my opinion and those of others who treat patients the new 2015 Dietary Guidelines for America (DGA) will not stall the Diabetes Epidemic and we continue Full Steam to the Full Catastrophe. But there are more runners now than ever before and exercise was going to fix all this stuff? You may not pay much…
By Dr. Phil Maffetone Most runners intuitively know movement is necessary for a healthy body — nearly as necessary as air. But did you know it’s important for developing and maintaining a healthy brain, too? That’s because attached to our wiggling toes, bending knees, rotating spine and all moving muscles are nerve endings sending up to…
by Jae Gruenke, GCFP When a runner comes to me for help with their form, one of the questions I ask before looking at how they run is, “Is there anything you’re trying to do with your form when you run?” Honestly, even though as a running technique teacher I’m of course very vigorously in…