Runners World: What's That Green Stuff?

Getting Outside in City Green Spaces May Help You Live Longer
Boost the benefits by adding in some exercise, too.
Elizabeth Millard/Runners' World/December 20, 2019

Finding time to enjoy a city park isn’t just a pleasant lunchtime excursion—recent research suggests those outings could help you live longer.

Published in the journal Lancet Public Health, a World Health Organization review of nine major studies from seven countries—representing over 8 million people—on green spaces and all-cause mortality found that there’s a significant association between exposure to green spaces in urban areas and better public health.

Researchers found that for every 0.1 increase in green space within a third of a mile of a person’s home, there was a 4 percent reduction in premature death. This was consistent across every country, including the U.S., China, Spain, Australia, Canada, Italy, and Switzerland...

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Runners' World: Not Just The Cave

The Best Conditioning Exercises You Can Do to Stay Fit in the Off-Season 
Combine alternative cardio workouts with a strategic strength circuit so you’ll be firing on all cylinders when you get back into the swing of full-on training.
Ashley Mateo/Runners' World.com, Dec 17, 2019

You might be logging tons of miles a week during warmer weather, but when the temperature drops and the amount of daylight gets shorter, it’s not as feasible to keep that up.

That doesn’t mean you’re sentenced to a season of running on the treadmill in your basement. The off-season is a great time to build your foundation not just with conditioning exercises, but also with cross-training modalities that will keep you rolling strong right into your peak running season, says Zack Allison, a senior coach with Source Endurance and racer for Team Clif Bar... 

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CTS: If It (Or You, For That Matter) Ain't Broke Don't Fix It

(Uninjured) Heel-Strikers, Rejoice! Change to Forefoot Striking Not Necessary, Research Shows
Jason Koop, Head Coach of CTS Ultrarunning/December 17 2019

For far too long, heel strikers have been ridiculed, mocked and laughed at in running communities around the globe. It’s time for that to stop. We’ve heard it all before. The rationales for a forefoot strike go something like this:

“Our Paleolithic ancestors inevitably ran on their forefoot because they didn’t have shoes. They couldn’t heel strike because it’s too painful.”

They also lived to the ripe age of 40 and usually died because they were simply left behind by their hunter and gather pack. So, there’s that.

“We were ‘Born to Run’ on our forefoot, just look at the Tarahumara.”

The Tarahumara are awesome, but do you really want to run with old tires attached with leather straps on your feet...?

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Runners World: Compared to Whom

How Do You Compare to Every Runner on Strava This Year?
This year’s trends among Strava users may inspire your running goals for 2020.
Paige Triola/Runners' World.com, Dec 11, 2019

Whether it seemed to fly by or crawl along at a snail-like pace, with 2019 just about wrapped up, many runners are reflecting back on their year with a few questions:

• How well did I stick to my training plans? 
• Did I reach my annual mileage goal? 
• Was I doing enough cross-training? 

If you’re curious about how other runners performed this year, Strava can shed some light on the subject. The app’s annual “Year in Sport” report is out—and we wanted to put the running-related data on display for your viewing pleasure...

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Phil Maffetone: Java (No) Jive

More Coffee?
Dr. Phil Maffetone/December 10, 2019

I enjoy writing about coffee, especially over my first morning cup. This update adds to my other articles on coffee, caffeine and their many potential benefits.

The high caffeine content of coffee makes it one of the most popular psychoactive drugs in the world. It also may be the most popular — and legal — performance-enhancing substance among athletes and fitness enthusiasts.

Coffee’s fat-burning effects can help athletes go farther, faster. Even the caffeine from one cup can increase oxygen consumption, blood circulation, muscle function, and mitochondrial activity (fat-burners in our cells). The increased fat-burning conserves glycogen stores, and, despite claims, it won’t dehydrate you. In addition, caffeine can also help recovery...

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TrainRight.com: Okay Boomer This

5 Things Aging Runners Need To Do In Your 50s, 60s, and Beyond
Andy Jones-Wilkins, CTS Ultrarunning Coach/trainright.com

When I turned 50 I felt like an old man, just like that. While I know “age is just a number” there was something about the Big 5-0 that felt a bit different. Put bluntly, it felt to me that after 50 I was on the downhill side of life.

So, after being depressed about this realization for a little bit, I began noodling around with thoughts of what in my life gives me pleasure and how I can takes those things and find ways to maintain or enhance them in this stage of life. And, of course, running was close to the top of my list. It is certainly one of the most pleasurable parts of my daily existence and so, as both a runner and a running coach, I began to reflect on what things are most important to the aging runner. And, in the process, I came up with five key tips to keep running happily into old age...

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Runners' World: Shoe Size?

Everything You Need to Know About Running-Shoe Size
The fit of your shoe is critical to your stride—here’s how to get it right.
By CINDY KUZMA/Runners' World On-Line/DEC 5

Zero-drop, carbon fiber plates, minimalist or maximalist—runners love to discuss and debate the latest shoe types and features. Far fewer long-run chats and online forums are dedicated to discussing running shoe size. But how well a shoe matches the length, width, and shape of your feet may actually matter as much as, if not more than, the cushioning that goes underneath them, says Geoffrey Gray, D.P.T....
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Outside: Naming, Shaming and Blaming

Frank Meza’s Death and the Running Internet Mob 
Martin Fritz Huber/Outside Online, Jul 9, 2019

Anyone seeking guidance on how to be a decent person in our chaotic and violent world could do worse than consult John Stuart Mill’s famous essay, On Liberty, from 1859. One of the most influential ideas that Mill unpacks is the notion that—to generalize horribly—an individual’s freedom should only be curtailed when it begins to impinge on the freedom of another. It’s a concept that sounds great in theory but, of course, things get a little murky when we have to figure out where that nebulous boundary lies.

Take, for example, the seemingly benign case of the course-cutting amateur runner. On the one hand, if I’m participating in a race and someone else cheats, it’s really not my problem—unless the cheater somehow directly interferes with my progress. On the other hand, as I’m sure many will be quick to point out, if someone cuts the course and finishes ahead of me, it does impact me in the sense that I will be one spot further down in the results. If the cheating runner deprives me of a podium finish, or even prize money, the offense becomes more acute...

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Outside: What's Harder Than Giving Birth?

What Kara Goucher Learned from the Leadville Marathon 
Martin Fritz Huber/Outside Online, 21 Jun 2019

As you may be aware, Outside has recently made a lot of new friends in the trail running community, thanks to an article that suggested that the demographic should be more proactive about volunteer work. At the risk of squandering the surplus of goodwill, last weekend’s Leadville Trail Marathon brought to mind a contentious question: What would happen if more elite road runners transitioned to trail racing? Or, as we asked in an article from 2015: Are the stars of the ultra scene only successful because the best distance runners tend to stick to the roads?

The answer appears to be “no,” at least if last weekend’s race is anything to go by.

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Sports Illustrated: Perhaps Toby Tanser Got It Wrong

Olympic Marathon Silver Medalist Eunice Kirwa Busted for EPO Doping, Provisionally Suspended
Chris Chavez/Sports Illustrated May 21, 2019

Olympic silver medalist Eunice Kirwa of Bahrain has been provisionally suspended by the Athletics Integrity Unit after testing positive for EPO, a blood-boosting drug. Kirwa finished second in the women's marathon in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro behind Kenya's Jemima Sumgong.

Sumgong is currently serving an eight-year suspension after she tested positive for EPO in 2017. She was initially banned for four years but appealed the suspension and then lied at her doping hearing. An independent arbiter determined she provided false records of a hospital visit to try and justify her failed drug test. Since the positive test came after the Olympics, she will hold onto her gold medal from the 2016 Summer Games but cannot compete again until 2027. She made history with her victory in Rio by becoming the first Kenyan woman to win the Olympic marathon.

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Runner's World: How To REALLY Cut 30 Seconds Off Your 5K

How Stephanie Bruce Ran a 27-Second 5K Personal Best at 35 
After a 3-year racing break following the birth of her two boys, Bruce has been racking up personal bests and national titles.
Taylor Dutch/ Runner's World, May 19, 2019

“Believe, run first 3K with confidence, stay attached, you will be hurting a lot...pretty early on, but keep in contact. Split second decision to push, sub 15:22 top 3. Compete, compete, compete.”

These are the notes that Stephanie Bruce wrote in her phone an hour before she raced the 5K at the USATF Distance Classic in Eagle Rock, California, on May 16. The prerace practice is part of a conversation with herself where Bruce addresses her fears and nerves with confident solutions.

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Outside: Crazy Dreams

Nike and the Problem with Pro Running Contracts 
Martin Fritz Huber/Outside/May 17, 2019

Last weekend, on Mother’s Day, the New York Times published an op-ed criticizing Nike for not having a maternity leave policy for sponsored track and field athletes. The article was accompanied by a short video narrated by multiple 800-meter national champ Alysia Montaño, which satirizes Nike’s pro-women “Dream Crazier” campaign. For anyone who has been skeptical of Nike’s recent foray into performative progressivism, it was a call out that’s been long overdue.

“They tell us to “‘Believe in something,’” Montaño says in the video, echoing last year’s much hyped Colin Kapaernick ad. “We say: How about maternity leave’?”

Bravo...

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RW: 'Cause It Bores Me?

Is Running on a Treadmill Harder or Easier Than Running Outside? 
New research debunks some persistent ’mill myths.
Hailey Middlebrook/Runners' World Online, Mar 22, 2019

 - A new meta-analysis published in Sports Medicine analyzes 34 studies that compare the physiological, perceptual, and performance differences between running outside and running on a treadmill.
- The research concludes that when runners speed up on a treadmill, they have higher heart rates and report feeling more fatigued than when they run the same speed on land.
- Runners display more endurance running outside than on a treadmill.

In a new research published in Sports Medicine, scientists from Australia sought to answer these questions by investigating the differences in running performance on a treadmill versus real ground. To gather this data, they analyzed 34 studies that compared treadmill runs to “overground” (outdoor) runs. Twelve of the studies asked participants run on a 1 percent grade on the treadmill, while the others used higher or lower inclines.

The researchers were focused on three key measures of comparison: physiological (how hard the runners’ bodies were working to maintain pace and finish their workouts, measured by heart rate, blood lactate levels, and VO2 max), perceptual (how hard the workout felt for the runners), and performance (how the runners performed in time trials).

 
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Outside: Save US From Us

Parkrun Could Save America From Itself 
Martin Fritz Huber/Outside Online, Mar 20, 2019
A free weekly 5K? What’s not to love.

When it comes to techno-utopianism, it’s hard to top Facebook’s mission statement. Apparently, the company is dedicated to “bringing the world closer together.” Personally, I find the dystopian counter-narrative—that “Big Tech” has us hopelessly atomized—more persuasive, but I’m trying to remain optimistic that the Internet isn’t irredeemably at odds with (non-virtual) community building. One of the more encouraging examples in recent years is an initiative called Parkrun...
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Outside: The Marathoner's Achilles Heel

How to Strengthen Your Ankles and Run Faster 
Alex Hutchinson/Outside Online, Sep 13, 2018

New research zeroes in on an unlikely culprit for why running gets less efficient as you fatigue.

Anyone who has scrolled through their own marathon race photos knows that the keen-eyed high-stepper who shows up in the early photos bears little resemblance to the pathetic hobbler of the final miles. Fatigue changes your running form, and yet the vast majority of biomechanics studies involve a few minutes on a treadmill at a comfortable pace. There are some exceptions (like this recent field study of marathoners at the World Championships), but much of our knowledge about running form assumes that we never get tired...

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Outside: On Your Left?

Runners, Stick to This Side of the Road
Martin Fritz Huber/Outside, Mar 30 2015

If you keep tabs on aging rockers and their brushes with the law, chances are you read about a recent incident involving David Crosby and an ill-fated roadside runner in California. Crosby was driving about 50 miles per hour in a black Tesla when he slammed the runner from behind. The runner suffered several fractures and lacerations after impact, and needed to be airlifted to a Santa Barbara hospital. Crosby, 73, who was driving the speed limit at the time, maintained that he was blinded by the sun and didn’t see the runner, who is expected to make a full recovery.

It all seems like an unfortunate accident, but there’s a catch: The runner, it appears, was running with traffic, not against it. Though not illegal on a national level, that move goes against common sense...

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Runner's World: From Sickness to Grand Slam

Once Drained by Multiple Sclerosis, She Is Now Headed for the Grand Slam of Ultras

Melissa Ossanna’s doctors told her exercise could help. So she started with a marathon—and has never looked back.

Taylor Dutch/Runner's World, Feb 17, 2019

Melissa Ossanna has a nickname among her community in Bar Harbor. To her friends on the island off the coast of Maine, the ultrarunner is affectionately known as “Smiley,” because when she logs miles around the town, she smiles from ear to ear.

Even at the finish line of a grueling 100-mile race, she can always be counted on to smile through the pain.

Ossanna has a lot to smile about...

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Outside: How To Turn Dreadmill To Treadmill?

The Science Behind Your Favorite Workout Playlist 
Mollie Bloudoff-Indelicato/Outside, Jan 31, 2019

...For years, scientists have studied the link between music and heart rate. In 2005, a team of researchers found that listening to music with a fast tempo could speed up heart rates, while a leisurely tempo could slow them down. Furthermore, crescendos—where the volume of a song gradually rises—can increase heart rates, while decrescendos have the opposite effect, according to a small study from 2009 published in the journal Circulation. Although scientists aren’t certain why and how these interactions happen physiologically, relaxing music could be used to maintain a level of serenity for lower-intensity activities like yoga. “I always set my metronome at 60 [bpm] because it’s lower than the normal heart rate, and it helps me relax,” says Rodney Garnett, an ethnomusicologist at the University of Wyoming. “Something that has a slower beat gets a different response than something that has a fast beat..."

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Outside: She's In My Rear View

Are Women Closing in on Men at the Boston Marathon?
Alex Hutchinson/Outside, Jan 28, 2019

A detailed analysis of historical Boston results wades into the long-running debate on sex differences in endurance

Back in 1992, scientists at UCLA made a surprising prediction in Nature. Since women’s marathon times were improving more quickly than men’s, they forecast that women would surpass men in 1998. While that didn’t come to pass, the idea that women might be closing the gap in endurance races persists, thanks to the feats of athletes like Jasmin Paris, the ultrarunner who shattered the overall course record in the 168-mile Montane Spine Race in Britain earlier this month, and Camille Herron, who beat the entire field while setting a women’s 24-hour running record in December.

But you can only learn so much from individual stories, no matter how remarkable. That’s where a new analysis in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research comes in...

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Runner's World: Dog Is My Training Partner

Who Rescued Whom? Dog Adopts Elite Athlete
An abandoned mutt, who can handle 6-minute miles, turns up on a running trail and encounters a 2:32 marathoner.
Sarah Lorge Butler/Runner's World, Jan 30, 2019

Dog works in mysterious ways.

How else to explain the mystery of an abandoned dog that found the single best runner in Ocala, Florida? Stephanie Pezzullo was running in mid-December along the Santos Trail, a paved route winding out of the city. There were no other people in sight. No runners, no walkers, no cyclists. It was the middle of the day, a cold one by Central Florida standards.

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Runner's World: ...And He Liked It

Manager Runs 263-Lap Half Marathon in Shirt and Tie to Keep Promise to Workers
The 0.05-mile roundabout was snowy, but David Stephenson wanted to show his employees that you don’t need to back down from a challenge.

Jordan Smith/Runner's World, Jan 18, 2019

David Stephenson, store manager of Cedar City Deseret Industries, promised his team that if they met their sales goals, he would run at least 200 loops around the roundabout outside of their office—and he would do it in his work clothes: a shirt, tie, and slacks...
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Runner's World: That Guy

Who Is the Guy Who Tells You to Have a Good Race? 
Ali Nolan/Runner's World, Jan 10, 2019

It’s 32°F at the start of the Philadelphia Marathon and the corrals are packed with runners bobbing up and down as the anthem plays. One of them, Gary Collina, stares straight ahead and reminds himself why he’s running today. He turns to a woman standing next to him, offers a fist bump, wishes her luck. Then turns to another runner, repeats the gesture...

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