You do know that registration for the Boston Marathon opened yesterday, right?
The question on everyone’s mind is “will the new qualifying standards slow down the process?”
Due to growing demand, they phased in a rolling registration process for the 2012 race, and then tightened the qualifying standards by five minutes for the 2013 race.
The new standards still aren’t as tight as they were back in the glory days of American running, but it’ll be interesting to see how this plays out.
After a few run-ins with way too much litter on the trail, I was inspired to write an essay about it for Ultrarunning Magazine.
You can read it in the September issue, which should be in your mailbox by now.
You’ve got a few hours to kill so you find your way to a favorite trail. You lace up your shoes, grab a water bottle, and disappear down the single track. Fir needles and dirt crunch under your feet as the troubles you took home from work slip your mind. You relax into the run and your breaths come easier.
Then you round a bend and see something crumpled on the ground next to the trail: the spent wrapper of an energy gel. Instinctively, you touch the pocket in your shorts and feel for the gels you’ve packed along for the run. You no longer feel so much a part of nature as you feel a part of a dysfunctional family.
Lindsay Tolefson on her way to the win. (Photo credit: Camron Shahmirzadi)
The Rebels XC Challenge kicked off the local adult cross country season yesterday in Granite Park, and competitors enjoyed picture-perfect weather and a challenging course.
The winding trails through Granite Park do not yield a particularly speedy course, but as typical for a PAUSATF cross country race the times were fast and the competition fierce.
The event stuck with the usual PA cross country format, with separate races for women, masters men, and open men, with the women running 5K and the men 7K.
Nicholas Thompson at The New Yorker gets the scoop and so, at last, we can stick a fork in this story.
Evidently, the folks at the New Yorker stay up later than those at Runners World. It kind of makes sense, seeing as how all those literati cocktail parties in Manhattan don’t really get cooking until after 24:00 EST, and all the runners are planning to get up early and knock down some mile repeats before it gets too warm.
Anyhow, this epic story of political intrigue ended pretty much how I expected it would end: It was all a mix-up.
“The race was more than 20 years ago, but my brother Tobin—who ran Boston last year—reminds me that he is the owner of the fastest marathon in the family and has never himself ran a sub-three. If I were to do any rounding, it would certainly be to four hours, not three. He gave me a good ribbing over this at dinner tonight.”
I fell in love with the Race for the Arts 5K when it was run downtown from Crocker Park and along the Sacramento River, on a Friday evening in late summer.
Over time, originally because of construction issues, the race was moved to Land Park–but still run in the evening.
Now, it’s just another Saturday morning 5K in Land Park, but still a good time and still a local favorite. The course is flat and shaded. There is plenty of grass to set up a team tent or run your kids around on after the event.
In today’s race, local speedster Kevin Pool ran alone for the win in 15:13. Following him in for 2nd and 3rd were Hector Miranda in 15:52, and Camron Shahmirzadi in 16:15.
First off, to follow up his 5th place finish in the final of the Olympic 800 meters, Nick Symmonds ran a 5:19 beer-mile this week. This is apparently a new American Record.
If you are not sure what a beer mile is, you can watch the video. It makes my stomach lurch just to watch.
Map of the detour courtesy of the Army Corps of Engineers (click to enlarge)
The Army Corps of Engineers is working on a levee improvement project between the Campus Commons Golf course and the Northrop Avenue access (approximately between miles 6 and 7).
Because of this work, starting this week, the main trail will be closed and trail users will be detoured along the old Lower Loop trail.
Additionally, access to the Parkway via Northrop Avenue will be closed. (This is where we get to the trail from the Howe Avenue Panera Restaurant.)
You do know that registration for the Boston Marathon opened yesterday, right?
