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Runners unable to finish invited back for 2014 Boston Marathon

2013-05-16T16:07:31Z

On Thursday, exactly one month and a day since the twin bombings at the Boston Marathon, the Boston Athletic Association announced that the runners who were unable to cross the finish line in April will be invited back for 2014. Approximately 5000 participants had their marathon cut short.

"The opportunity to run down Boylston Street and to cross the finish line amid thousands of spectators is a significant part of the entire Boston Marathon experience," said Tom Grilk, B.A.A. Executive Director. "With the opportunity to return and participate in 2014, we look forward to inviting back these athletes and we expect that most will renew their marathon training commitment. Boston spectators are known for their impassioned support and unbridled enthusiasm, and they will give these returning athletes some of the loudest cheers at next year's race. We want to thank our participants for their patience as we continue to work through the details of arranging this accommodation for them, and we ask for continued patience from the running community as we plan the 2014 Boston Marathon next April."

The 2014 Boston Marathon invite applies to runners who officially started the 2013 race and reached the 13.1-mile mark. When registration opens in September, they will receive a special, non-transferable code for entry. Runners will still be required to pay an entry fee, though the exact amount has not yet been determined.

The B.A.A. says 5633 runners fall into this category; 2611 from Massachusetts and 726 international participants.

No decision has been made yet on what the maximum field size will be for the 2014 Boston Marathon.

Nike's 'Rise and Shine' motivational commercial

2013-05-14T19:21:03Z

Looking for some motivation before your next workout? Look no further. Rise and shine.

Pittsburgh Half Marathon race report

2013-05-10T18:36:01Z

I should have figured a race sponsored by Dick's Sporting Goods would be a great operation during Saturday's visit to the company's headquarters. A sprawling campus sits atop a giant hill, surrounded by gardens, rolling lawns and a three-mile running trail. Inside, there's a cafeteria (with stickers to designate healthy options), an employee gym, a full basketball court and even a complete mock-Dick's store.

As I mentioned last week, Dick's Sporting Goods invited me to participate in the Pittsburgh Half Marathon on Sunday, as part of their #RunFor initiative. I spent Friday and Saturday attending a couple VIP events, and talking with Steve Bell, the runner featured in the initial #RunFor video. He is as great a guy as his story is inspiring, and it's clear that running is a genuine passion for him (made more evident by his 1:40 time on Sunday).

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Race day began with a my typical pre- workout and race breakfast of a Clif Bar, followed by a couple handfuls of Honey Nut Cheerios and a bagel with cream cheese. Oh, and coffee, obviously. The #RunFor crew meandered down toward the start line, before going our separate ways since a couple had to stop by gear check.

Normal pre-race ceremonies followed -- including the seemingly never-ending waiting, with nervous silence only interrupted by nervous conversation: "How'd your training go?" "Feeling ready?" "Think I have time for one more porta potty trip?"

As mentioned, I was making this a #RunFor Boston, and Dick's was nice enough to supply me with the appropriate shirt (that made me tough to miss):

My plan for the race was see how I felt after 3 or 4 miles, and then decide how much I would push myself -- my triathlon training schedule called for a two-hour run anyways. But when that decision point came, even though my legs weren't feeling great -- three days of travel and too much walking led to sluggish steps and tight IT bands -- I got too caught up in the crowds, other runners and the perfect day for a race. So race I did.

And it was awesome. The crowd support began in earnest at the start line, and never stopped. Granted, I only ran the half, but there were people lining the streets throughout the entire 13.1-mile course, even in sections of town that seemingly wasn't very populated. Much of the talk during the weekend was about how Pittsburgh is a proud city, and that was clear on race morning -- the entire city seemed ready to welcome roughly 30,000 strangers running through its streets.

There were even people on the bridges.

And oh, those bridges (BOUNCY VIDEO AHEAD!):

"This course is surprisingly flat and fast!" The official website actually makes that claim, and I'm not sure why, because it is not flat.

That elevation chart probably explains why parts of me still hurt a few days later, especially those final few miles.

From a race management standpont, it was arguably the best race I've ever participated in (it's tough to beat the Marine Corps Marathon and the organization of Marines). The corral start system worked perfectly, the course was never too crowded. Aid stations were well-marked, where the map said they'd be, and huge -- tables and tables of Gatorade and water, on both sides of the road (such an underrated aspect of aid stations).

My goal was just to break the two-hour mark (something I'd never done before in a half), but my secret goal was to go under 1:50. Unfortunately I didn't hit that, but I was close -- 1:51:02 (8:29 pace) -- and managed to set a new half marathon PR.

What I am really proud of is that I finished strong. My 10K split was 54:15 (8:43 pace), and I hit the 11.3-mile checkpoint at 1:36:27 (an 8:32 pace). And my peak 5-mile, 5K and 1-mile splits were all at the end of the race -- my fastest mile was the last mile, done in 7:13.

It was (somewhat surprisingly) a great race in a (somewhat surprisingly) great city, and already has me thinking about becoming of a "Runner of Steel" again next year.

Usain Bolt narrowly wins 100m with slowest career time

2013-05-09T19:31:11Z

Usain Bolt's 2013 began in disappointing fashion Wednesday night at the Cayman Invitational. He won the 100 meters, but did so in 10.09 seconds, making it the slowest run of his career.

Bolt only grabbed the race lead with roughly 40 meters to go, and still almost lost -- he only narrowly edged Kemar Bailey-Cole, his training partner in Jamaica, when Cole appeared to ease up.

Having his trainer partner seemingly take his foot off the gas -- and the awkward TV angle -- fired up the conspiracy theorists, but Bolt's agent released the image from the photo finish, showing that the fastest human ever did indeed cross the finish line first, albeit it barely:

via www.letsrun.com

Bolt came into the race with a known hamstring injury (he withdrew from the Kingston Invitational last Saturday with a minor strain), but refused to blame Wednesday's performance on that:

"It was just a bad race. It wasn't a bothering pain so I can't blame it on that," the 26-year-old said.

He added that he'll "have to go back and figure out with my coach what went wrong."

So what to make of all this? Is bolt past his prime? Is he more injured than he's letting on? Has he become lazy?

Based on Bolt's history, tonight's hideous 100 means a) His back is hurt, b) He hasn't been training or c) Wake me up in August
— Tim Layden (@SITimLayden) May 9, 2013

Or that.

Ryan Hall to run Bay To Breakers

2013-05-08T21:50:32Z

Ryan Hall, who was forced to withdraw from the 2013 Boston Marathon in early March with a nagging quad injury, announced on Wednesday that he will be running in the Bay To Breakers race, a 12K celebrating its 101st anniversary May 19.

Excited for my first race of the season. Going to be a fun way to kick off the summer circuit! youtu.be/-Z19cOBsxQY
— Ryan Hall (@ryanhall3) May 8, 2013

The video linked out to an official video celebrating the race's history:

Hall owns the American record in the half-marathon (59:43) and has a run a sub-2:07 marathon, but more recently has been bothered by injuries. A tight hamstring resulted in the 30-year-old withdrawing from the Olympic Marathon around mile 11, and then persisted, forcing him out of the 2012 New York City Marathon.

Pulling out of Boston this year means Hall has not successfully completed a race since the Healthy Kidney 10k in May 2012, where he finished just 15th.

Running for Boston in Pittsburgh

2013-05-01T21:53:13Z

I never really had a hometown.

Born in North Dakota, I grew up a military brat and lived in Nebraska, Germany, Alaska and Virginia. I'm not really "from" anywhere. Through all the packing and moving and new schools and new languages, there was one constant: the city of Boston.

With parents from there, and a vast majority of my extended family still calling the greater Boston area home, it quickly became a home for me, too. Vacations, summer trips, birthdays, weddings, funerals -- they've all brought me back to Boston at one point or another.

My first-ever baseball game was at Fenway Park, where my grandfather worked for the Red Sox. My parents tell stories of run-ins with John Havlicek while out for dinner. I spent an internship working for the Patriots, holding the parabolic mic during training camp practices.

It was the first city I could somewhat navigate without a map. I loved the confidence when I took friends from Faneuil Hall to the North End. Or argued that Regina's was the best piece of pizza in the city. Or when I explained to them what a frappe is when eating lunch at Bartley's in Harvard Square. (Yes, like most of my trips, visits to Boston quickly came to revolve around food.)

North Dakota, Nebraska, Germany, Alaska, Virginia, Connecticut, DC -- that bit of Boston has always been with me no matter where I've lived.

It's not too surprising, really, that one of my favorite childhood memories comes from driving toward my grandmother's house in Arlington, heading east on Route 2, and watching the Boston skyline rise out of the horizon as we drew closer

via Wiki Commons

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When Dick's Sporting Goods invited me to the Pittsburgh Half Marathon a couple months back, I quickly accepted -- the distance fit in nicely with my already-planned triathlon training, I'd never been to Pittsburgh, and I genuinely liked their message in the #RunFor campaign:

True stories of triumph, loss, friendship, redemption, and the simple love of running. Every runner has a reason. What's yours?

For weeks now, I've been sharing those inspirational stories in video posts, from Julia Chase's #RunFor joy to Dick and Rick Hoyt's #RunFor those who can't. But then I had to find my own reason.

As one of the social ambassadors for the race, I was asked what I wanted my reason for running to say on my race shirt. What was my #RunFor?

Ultimately I landed on "Relief." Relief from stress. Relief from anxiety, and depression. Relief from sitting in front of the Internet too much every day. Relief from the tacos and beers I plan to have for dinner. But then the attacks at the Boston Marathon happend. And suddenly "relief" took on a whole different meaning.

So come Sunday, when I toe the start line (read: stand somewhere within a few hundred yards of the start line), my 13.1 miles in the Dick's Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon will be a #RunFor Boston. For the relief of those affected, or injured, or worse, by the attacks, and their families, and a city as a whole, doing its best to push forward to brighter days.

And Pittsburgh will become the newest city to which I've brought my memories, and thoughts, and feelings of Boston.

A #RunFor veterans

2013-04-26T21:41:18Z

Marine veteran Tony Clark decided to train for the Badwater Ultramarathon by building a heat box in his Wichita, Kansas garage. Every runner has a reason. What's yours?

Runners help raise money for One Fund Boston

2013-04-23T21:08:40Z

Since The One Fund Boston launched last week to help raise money for victims from the twin bombings at Monday's marathon, the organization has reportedly already raised more $20 million, and a key contributing group has been runners.

Two major sponsors from the marathon, John Hancock and adidas, started things with a $1 million donation and "Boston Stands As One" shirts, respectively, and New Balance followed with $1 million donation of its own.

Additionally, three marathons set to be run in May -- Pittsburgh, Flying Pig and Cleveland -- are all selling "BOSTON STRONG" and "#RUN FOR BOSTON" wristbands "for a suggested $1.00 minimum donation," with 100 percent of the money going to One Fund Boston.

via www.pittsburghmarathon.com

Run Now is also selling its own wristbands to "highlight the resiliency of the running community and ensure that the events in Boston do not deter or prevent us from exercising our running freedoms."