Do you have what it takes to run across the entire country? Probably not for most of us. But Charlie Engle and Marshall Ulrich are planning to run across our great country from San Francisco to New York City while filming a documentary called Running America. It sounds like a great project as Engle and Ulrich make the long journey they will be running with running celebrities and average runners from every walk of life.
That’s right if you live near or are able to drive to their route across the country you might be able to be apart of their documentary. I went through some of the initial steps, but they aren’t coming near Minnesota at all. They will be going through Indiana and Ohio though. You can see their full route which has a lot of Super 8 hotels on it! Super 8 is one of their main sponsors. The route tends to skip around major metro areas, but gets pretty close. The run begins on Sept 12 and finishes on Oct 27.
If you are interested in being a part of the documentary go to the Screentest website where you can “audition”. It is basically filling out a questionarrie and submitting your application. If you have trouble finding it you can click here to be taken to the Running America Screentest page. It does appear there is a $3.95 charge to submit your application to be reviewed (not really sure where it goes).
Here are the bios of the two main characters:
Charlie Engle
has run through some of the most forbidding terrain on the planet and has learned many lessons about life along the sway. With a lot of determination and the ability to endure hardships in every way, Charlie has moved from a life of drugs and alcohol to a life of understanding and learning to live with himself. After many years of sobriety, he has become a top athlete, spokesperson and philanthropist.
Marshall Ulrich
is the only person in the world to complete the Triple Crown of Extreme Sports: world class ultra runner, record setting adventure racer, and Seven Summits mountaineer. His specialty is competing in extreme conditions including desert and adventure racing, as well as mountaineering. Marshall has: * Completed over 116 ultra marathons averaging over 100 miles each. * Completed 12 expedition length adventure races, including all nine Eco Challenge adventure races - something only two other people in the world have done. * Reached the summit of each of the Seven Summits, including Mount Everest, all on first attempts.
Are you going to or have you already signed up to join the documentary? Let us know.
Two average guys, Dennis and Christian decided as part of the 5 in 5 Challenge that they would see how they fared against Olympic athletes in 5 different events. You can read more about it at the 5in5.com blog.
The 5 events were:
100m freestyle,
100m dash,
110m hurdles,
long jump and
the rings (in gymnastics)
It is a pretty neat video, so be sure to watch it. I won’t spoil the fun, but I bet you can guess the outcome!
Finally, there is some bonus footage at their blog entry.
Last week I wrote about the great tool, Twitter. I mentioned it was great for building friendships and community with runners and other people. One of the great ways to build discussion around a specific topic or event on the web is by using tags. I use tags all the time on this blog to make sure others looking for something about running can find it easily.
With Twitter you are able to tag your tweets as part of a broader discussion using something called a hashtag. One of the popular uses of Twitter is during conferences or meetings to help broadcast what is going on or for possible meetups. To help facilitate this happening someone decided to start using hashtags to make searching for related tweets easier. A hastag is simply using the hashmark or pound symbol (#) before a series of letters. It was made really popular during the San Diego fire and was being used for the Iowa flooding. If you go to a Twitter search engine such as Summize (now Twitter Search) and searched for the hashtag #IowaFlood you’ll get hundreds of Tweets about the flooding.
Why is this important? Every major group, organization, conferences, etc has a hashtag. As of today I haven’t seen any for running. I think it would be nice to find other Twittering runners and see how their workout went. Most of the runners I follow on Twitter tweet a summary of their daily run or race report.
I was going to propose the already famous ORN be used for a hashtag, but a quick search pulled up some unsavory content - add a “p” to the beginning. So, let’s scratch that idea! Back to the drawing boards, I did some more research and found that some people had already started using #run, but that is a little simplistic and maybe boring! Then I came along a tweet from @runnershigh that #runlog is being used by Twemes to create Twitter Running Meme. Twemes also allows you to get an RSS feed of tweets posted with the hashtag.
Therefore, I propose that from here on out we all use #runlog to tag running posts.
Anyone else have thoughts on a better hashtag?
Used appropriately I think this would be a great addition to our running community. Step One: For it to work properly you should follow @hashtags on your Twitter account. This will help facilitate the hashtags bot to find your tweet and index it in their service. Step Two: Start using #runlog. Step Three: Use the Twitter search engine of your choice to find out how other runners ran today. I recommend Summize (now Twitter Search) or Tweetscan. You can also use the RSS feed from Tweme.
Can you do it? I’ve been using it for awhile now and a few others have picked up on it. You can follow my Twitter Running Log here at Hashtags, or via Summize, or at Twemes.
Note:According to hashtags.org their service has been broken since July 10, due to a Twitter-side error. You can continue using the #runlog though and it will make it easier to search for. And the service should resume normal processing eventually!
Many of us in the Running Blog Family have taken advantage of new fangled technology called Twitter. Many runners probably first learned about Twittering from the podcaster Steve Runner who, with the help of his son, twittered his way through this year’s Boston Marathon.
My “twitterverse” or my universe of Twitter has quickly grown with lots of running friends, most of whom I’ve never met except through blogging and e-mail. In the past month or so that I’ve been active in Twitter I’ve encouraged other runners and they have encouraged me. Especially after finding this blog post with a list of running tweeps.
So What is Twitter? Simply, Twitter is the most popular micro-blogging site on the web. The official definition is:
Twitter is a service for friends, family, and co–workers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing?
Twitter will help you fill in the gaps in-between blog posts about what is going on in your friend’s lives. Common Craft has a great video that might help you understand Twitter a little better.
Still not convinced you need Twitter? This article written by a CEO Twitterer is what convinced me to take the leap and now I’m hooked to this 140 character phenom. I say go on over and try it out today!
I will say that initially I used Twitter every few hours, but now have gotten into a more realistic mode of posting every few hours and tend to post more highlights, while many people post lots of little details of their day. I have also seen tons of encouraging tweets from runners to other runners who are struggling to get on the road or with other personal issues. If you have 5 minutes a day and want to meet some other great runners and people - Twitter is the way to go. It might be a little over-hyped but it is a great tool.
That is the plan. Doing a prescribed set of push-ups 3 days a week for 6 weeks should allow you to complete 100 push-ups in a row. That is the claim of the latestet Internet fitness revolution. Bloggers (and non-bloggers) everywhere are taking part in the Hundred Push-Up Challenge created by Steve Speirs at Run Bulldog Run.
If you’ve been following my marathon training, then you know that I’m in the middle of Week 4 3. I’m almost up to 100 push-ups total in one setting - but within 5 sets. It can be pretty challenging some days.
I decided that I wanted to add a little something to my workout and started the challenge using a swiss ball. In addition to the regular benefits, I get a little extra benefits for my overall core. During an exhaustion test at the end of Week 2 my arms felt great doing the push-ups but my abs couldn’t hold my legs on the ball anymore and I fell over. My plan is that this will greatly strengthen my overall core and I’ll reap a little extra benefit for the marathon training.
It seems that pretty much everyone has had to repeat at least one week, including Steve himself. If you fail to meet the required workouts you should repeat the entire week to make sure you get the strength needed later. I repeated Week 2 because I skipped a workout! If you are thinking about starting it now, make sure that it fits in with your training schedule for fall races - you don’t want to try doing 100 push-ups the day before your marathon!
Are you one of the thousands doing the push-up challenge? Where are you at in the challenge and how does it feel?
There are hundreds of miles of trails - maybe even thousands across the greater Twin Cities metro area. Some have no real purpose other than winding around, enjoying nature. Some serve as vital arteries of transportation and commerce. The Midtown Greenway falls into the latter category.
Cutting East-West through the heart of South Minneapolis, the Greenway is a major commuter artery connecting the Western Suburbs to the Mississippi River. It is also a three lane recreational mecca of sorts easily connecting with the chain of lakes, Midtown Global Market, West River Parkway, and a variety of other bike trails.
Officially the “Midtown Greenway” is only 5.5 miles long but the trail continues on after leaving Minneapolis and Hennepin County. The Star-Tribune recently reported that for the the quarter ending on June 30th that overall trail usage was up 30% and three-fold since 2003. From a running standpoint this means the trail is quite busy. I would argue that this facility maintained and advocated for by the Midtown Greenway Coalition is invaluable as a paved trail for those who need paved surfaces to recreate.
Living only 4 blocks from the Greenway and 6 from an entrance/exit I use the trail for many of my runs and bike commuting to work. From a running standpoint it is extremely nice to be away from cars and to have a flat surface to run on - although it does get a little boring and repetitive. The trail occasionally has a dirt shoulder that I can run on to avoid the pounding pavement but you can’t count on being able to run there. I said flat, but the newest addition - Martin Olav Sabo bike-pedestrian bridge over Hiawatha Ave - provides a pretty steep incline for both the runner and biker. However, it can provide some pretty sweet views of downtown at the right times of day.
In the winter the Greenway is extremely useful because it gets plowed on a regular basis and you don’t need to worry about cars sliding around and hitting you - just a bicycle!
I have really enjoyed being able to utilize the Greenway so much. It wasn’t until I started training for the marathon that I really started branching off and running different routes from my house. The Greenway is just so convienent!
Last year I purchased a pair of Brooks running shorts with side velcro pockets, but after my gels fell out during a race I became disappointed in their ability to carry nutrition for the long runs. I needed another option for my upcoming marathon. Blaine Moore recommends the Race Ready short. I personally don’t like how the Long Distance (Race Ready LD) shorts look - if you’ve never seen them they basically look like they have a bunch of mesh pockets hanging off your waist on the back - and the others aren’t really different from other shorts. I guess the mesh pockets are a little better than just pinning a bunch of Gu to you shorts as is often done!
So I was looking at all the various options at Marathon Sports after a MDRA training class and they offered 3 or 4 different shorts that had ample room for nutritional products. One of the other runners recommended the Pearl Izumi Go Shorts and compared to the others they looked the most like a regular short.
They offer 2 velcro closed pockets and 2 other pockets on your back and a key pocket built in the seam. His only comment was to make sure you actually tie the drawstring so that your crack doesn’t show while running! A good point. Being all sweaty and dirty I didn’t try them on but bought my normal medium. Oops, when I got home they were a little tight in areas where they shouldn’t be and that was even before I loaded up the pockets - so back I went to purchase a large - which fit wonderfully.
They do have a little different feel than most of my other shorts, the inner liner fits a little snugger than my other shorts and is made of a different fabric. From the product description:
Pearl Izumi has built its reputation on creating the highest performance technical fabrics in the world. On the Go Short Pearl Izumi Light II Ripstop fabric is made with channeled polyester yarns that quickly wick moisture away from your body for optimum fabric performance. The Ultrasensor float liner adds to this high moisture transfer performance, providing needed support while keeping you cool, dry and abrasion free during long, all-terrain runs.
The lightweight Go Shorts feature two Velcro mesh backed pockets, two open, mesh backed pockets, and an internal key pocket so that you can take essentials with you on the run. The shorts feature a straight hem style, elasticized waist, and laser perforated side panels for additional ventilation.
I’ve worn them for 2 long runs now (1 with Gu and 1 without) and they seem to do a pretty good job. They did dry out during my 14 miler after getting wet from hitting wet foliage! I didn’t really notice the Gu packet during the run either. One thing of note is that the key pocket is a little lower than on any of my other shorts. Most shorts have the pocket sewn into the seam - on the Go Shorts it is about a inch lower and actually hangs a little lower than others too. Not a big deal as it still feels comfortable on the run - its just a little more akward trying to dig the key out afterwards!
So far I have really enjoyed the shorts and would recommend them to you if you are looking for a safe way to carry Gu or other nutrition on a long run.
Do you have what it takes to run across the entire country? Probably not for most of us. But Charlie Engle and Marshall Ulrich are planning to run across our great country from San Francisco to New York City while filming a documentary called Running America. It sounds like a great project as Engle and Ulrich make the long journey they will be running with running celebrities and average runners from every walk of life.![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=0a2b7c13-af6e-49ab-b8a9-664bd548a8c0)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=090378e3-e0e4-4e99-996f-fa45dba929cf)
Last week I ![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=7cd3df39-e9d4-4dc5-861a-a9caefddbddd)
Many of us in the Running Blog Family have taken advantage of new fangled technology called 
That is the plan. Doing a prescribed set of push-ups 3 days a week for 6 weeks should allow you to complete 100 push-ups in a row. That is the claim of the latestet Internet fitness revolution. Bloggers (and non-bloggers) everywhere are taking part in the ![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=81860eee-bb27-4d7a-8e2d-abd9dc881672)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=21f85061-9b95-494d-895e-085cf7d8665b)
and compared to the others they looked the most like a regular short.
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=16e71aa6-df54-4a79-8961-31c0fe70e853)
