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Lead Stories: Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Runners Needed for Record-Breaking Documentary

Posted April 8th, 2008 at 2:05 PM by Adam Jacobs

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Motivation, Movies

This June, Running the Sahara’s Charlie Engle and Marshall Ulrich are going to set off on their record-breaking run from San Francisco to New York. Their journey will be filmed and crafted into a historical documentary entitled Running America. NEHST is currently casting runners to join these athletes as they make history and raise money toward the water crisis in Africa.

If casted, you are only allowed to run one mile with Charlie and Marshall, but you can drop back and continue to run if you’d like. Anyone is eligible for submissions, no matter how young, old, disabled or experienced you may be. This is a great opportunity to be in front of cameras, meet some celebrities and be a part of history. To register for your chance to be a part of history, visit screentest.biz.

Read the rest of this entry at our partner site: HesFit.com

In addition, click here to listen to TheFinalSprint.com’s podcast interview with Charlie after his 2007 run through the Sahara Desert!

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Josh Cox: Miracles . . . A Runner’s Case for Theism (Elite Athlete Blog - Entry #6)

Posted April 3rd, 2008 at 12:45 PM by Josh Cox

Section: Elite Athlete Blogs, Josh Cox

Welcome to the official blog of U.S. marathon runner Josh Cox. Every other Wednesday visit http://joshcox.thefinalsprint.com for Cox’s latest blog entry and for more information, also please visit: www.joshcox.com

“If people think God is interesting, the onus is on them to show that there is anything there to talk about. Otherwise they should just shut up about it.” -Richard Dawkins, Evolutionary Biologist, Oxford scholar, author of “The God Delusion”

“Miracles are a retelling in small letters of the very same story which is written across the whole world in letters too large for some of us to see.”
-CS Lewis, author, teacher, former atheist, and Oxford Scholar

“It is, of course, true that your success would be open to a variety of interpretations-perhaps such a miracle says nothing about the existence of God but demonstrates that clairvoyance is an actual power of the human mind and that you possess it in spades.” -Sam Harris, atheist evangelist and author, explaining away the miraculous

“Try and penetrate with our limited means the secrets of nature, and you will find that, behind all the discernible concatenations, there remains something subtle, intangible and inexplicable.” --Albert Einstein, German-born theoretical physicist

I wasn’t planning on writing this. Honest. I pondered the idea during my long run with Dan [Browne] last week, again during my 15 miler over the weekend and a final time as I responded to nearly half of the 17 emails asking what I believed and why I believed it – but not even those served as this blog’s impetus. Nope. The tipping point came when I stumbled across the poem I wrote for my dad’s funeral nearly two years ago. I didn’t read it all; I couldn’t read it all – didn’t want to. Tears, therapeutic as they may be, don’t lend themselves to productivity; and because I am busier than a one legged man in a butt kicking contest I figured I would spare my wife the Dick Vermeil impression.
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Chicago Marathon ‘07: Women through 15k; on pace for 2:30 finish

Posted October 7th, 2007 at 9:53 AM by Adam Jacobs

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Special Features, Live Race Coverage

Women hit 9 miles in 51:30. 5:45 for the 9th mile. They subsequently hit the 15k mark in 53:20.

If they keep this up they are on pace for a 2 hours and 30 minutes finish time. That would be the slowest women’s pace at the Chicago marathon since 1996.

Reports from the course say that both the women and the men are drinking far more water than usual.

The women’s lead pack still includes seven favorites, including Benita Johnson and Berhane Adere. In addition, Kate O’Neil, who is making her debut at the distance, is catching up to the lead pack. She had been about 150 feet back at the 10k point and has cut that in half.

The women continue to allow Alevtina Ivanova to stay int he lead and do all of work. This may prove crucial down the stretch.

***** ***** ***** ***** *****

Check back often for TheFinalSprint.com’s LIVE coverage of the 2007 Chicago Marathon, sponsored by Ultima Replenisher, at:

http://chicago.thefinalsprint.com

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2007 Blue Planet Run Concludes in New York City

Posted September 4th, 2007 at 8:54 PM by Adam Jacobs

Section: News & Results, Columns, SPOTLIGHT

An historic around-the-world relay run reached its finish line today in New York City, marking the completion of an unprecedented three-month athletic endeavor that is raising funds to deliver safe drinking water to some of the 1.1 billion people who currently live without it.

The inaugural 2007 Blue Planet Run, an event made possible by the generous support of The Dow Chemical Company, ended at noon at Manhattan’s South Street Seaport.

The twenty original Blue Planet Run team members who circumnavigated the globe, and two alternates who joined the journey along the way, ran through a crowd of fans, family and friends who were gathered at the landmark New York City waterfront locale to celebrate with the group as it completed its epic 95-day, 15,200-mile expedition through 16 countries.

Beginning from the United Nations in New York City on June 1, the Blue Planet Run team has run relay-style 24 hours a day, seven days a week across Europe, Russia, Asia, Canada and the United States. The runners have endured some of the world’s toughest conditions, from swatting flies through the Gobi Desert to navigating city streets in Beijing to coping with the blistering summer heat of America’s heartland.

Along the way, the Blue Planet Run inspired people around the world to donate to the Blue Planet Run Foundation (BPRF), the non-profit group that organized the Run. Because of Dow’s support, BPRF dedicates one-hundred percent of the money raised to fund grassroots safe-drinking-water projects in rural communities.
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ASK LARA: Introduction and Top-of-Foot Pain

Posted August 21st, 2007 at 8:45 PM by Lara Johnson

Section: Running & Training, Injury & Rehab, Columns, Health & Fitness, Injury & Rehab, Ask Lara

Need advice? Injured? Confused? Overwhelmed? Bored? ASK LARA!
ASK LARA is a free advice column to help you with all of your running, fitness and nutrition inquiries. To ASK LARA — simply fill out the form at the conclusion of the column.

You’ve heard of ASK FLASH…Welcome to ASK LARA, a new place to submit all of your running questions. Let’s get to it!

Q. So Lara, we have Flash for all of our running and fitness questions, why do we need another Q and A columnist?
~Maggie from Boston, MA

A. I’m glad you asked that question. Well, it’s true that I do not have a catchy nickname. And I don’t have Flash’s years of wisdom, as I am much younger. However, I can offer guidance based upon my own personal and professional experiences. On the personal side of the coin, I have had my share of injuries and triumphs and set-backs, and all of those other things that come with being a runner.

Professionally, I have a background in the sciences, including a M.S. in Health & Exercise Science (See below for my full bio), and simply a fascination with human anatomy and exercise physiology. I am a personal trainer and have worked with the old, the young, heart patients, diabetics, healthy adults, addicts, students, in the clinic, and in fitness. And all related to exercise. In order to tackle your many questions, I am teaming up with Flash so that we may best conquer your running inquiries. Two heads are better than one, right? Plus, perhaps some of you ladies have women-specific questions. Send them my way!
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The Juice on Juice: A nutritional, medicinal, and flavorful guide to the perfect post-run drink

Posted July 10th, 2007 at 11:00 AM by Bridget Sullivan

Section: Nutrition, Hydration

The following article clip recently appeared in Runner’s World Magazine. Author Leslie Goldman, MPH, is a women’s health writer who regularly contributes to Runner’s World, Women’s Health, Shape Magazine, People, and the Chicago Tribune. Her highly acclaimed debut book, Locker Room Diaries: The Naked Truth About Women, Body Image, and Re-Imagining the “Perfect” Body, recently came out in paperback and is available at amazon.com. Leslie regularly blogs about body image and women’s health at ivillage.com.

It’s hot out, you’ve finished your workout, you’re standing in front of the mini-mart fridge considering your options. Water isn’t quite enough, and you had a pre-run sports drink. Here’s something new: a juice blend called pomegranate blue. Sounds refreshing and, as a bonus, healthy. But is it?

“All juices are not created equal,” says Princeton University sports dietitian Mandy Clark, R.D. “Are you getting nutrients or are you drinking sugar water?” Indeed, some fruit-juice products contain only 10 to 15 percent juice; the balance includes as much as 27 grams of high-fructose corn syrup, sucrose, or even the healthful-sounding organic cane sugar. They may look like fruit juice, but technically they’re “fruit drinks,” and the distinction is important. Nutritionally speaking, fruit drinks are not much better than soda and should be consumed sparingly, according to the Beverage Guidance Panel, a group of health experts established to make recommendations on what and how much Americans should drink to stay healthy and control their weight.

Read the rest of this entry at: RunnersWorld.com

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Q & A: Does it matter when I drink during a long race?

Posted June 8th, 2007 at 7:15 AM by Jeanie Rebb

Section: Nutrition, Hydration, Health & Fitness, Exercise

A study from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill shows that drinking fluids earlier can improve performance more than taking them later (International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, December 2006).

Seven highly-trained male triathletes, aged 18 to 35 years, were tested during two simulated Olympic-distance triathlons. They took a full glass of water at 8, 16, 24, and 32 kilometers, and this was compared to taking the same drink 2, 4, 6 and 8 kilometers later in the event (at 10, 20, 30, and 40 kilometers).

As you would expect, opening swim times for 1500 meters were similar between trials; as were the second event (40-km cycling) times, but the third event (10-km run) times were faster when the athletes took food and drink earlier. Dehydration does not harm an athlete’s performance until he lacks a large amount of water and his blood volume is depleted significantly. That explains why the athletes’ performance was not harmed until the third event of the three-event competition.
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Exercising in hot weather and the body’s need for salt

Posted May 31st, 2007 at 11:00 AM by Jamal Walker

Section: Nutrition, Hydration, Health & Fitness, Exercise

Fatigue during hot-weather exercise is caused by lack of water, salt, sugar or calories. Of the four, exercisers are most ignorant of their sodium needs. A study from The University of Otago in New Zealand shows that taking a salty drink prior to competition can help an athlete to exercise longer and harder. (Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, January, 2007; and Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine, January 2007).

Athletes who took the salty drink had larger blood volumes and greater endurance. Salt makes you thirsty earlier so you drink more, and salt in your body holds water so you have more water available to meet your needs.
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Hyponatremia …
… Too much water

Posted May 7th, 2007 at 10:18 AM by Martha Jones

Section: Nutrition, Hydration

For the last 40 years, sports medicine experts have told athletes in endurance events that they should take fluids frequently during events lasting more than one hour. However, three years ago, a 28-year-old woman collapsed and died after finishing the Boston Marathon. Her blood salt levels were extremely low and she died from a condition called hyponatremia.

A few weeks ago, a policeman training for bicycle duty died of the same condition. On July 26, 2005, sports medicine experts issued a warning to all athletes from the First International Exercise-Associated Hyponatremia Consensus Development Conference.

I have never seen this syndrome in well-conditioned athletes. It has been reported almost exclusively in very thin, less-fit, slower and novice athletes, and is far more common in women. This condition is caused by drinking too much fluid and is not caused by excessive loss of salt in sweat or by exercising. When people with psychiatric problems force themselves to drink huge amounts of water while sitting still, they also can die of hyponatremia, only in this case, it is called water intoxication.
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Rain Should Not Be a Problem for Chip Timing at Boston

Posted April 14th, 2007 at 1:41 PM by David Monti

Section: News & Results, Marathons

The wet, cold and windy weather predicted here for Monday’s 111th Boston Marathon will be a bigger problem for the athletes than for the man responsible for timing them.

Mike Burns, president of ChampionChipUSA/Burns Computer Services of Ann Arbor, Mich., says that even torrential rain won’t be a problem for the ChampionChip transponder timing system.

“Everything works perfectly,” said Burns of the system’s operation in wet weather. “Everything is battery powered, battery driven. Any potential weak links in the electronics are encased in waterproof coverings. It should be fine.”
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