It's a star-studded field at Sunday's Zazzle Bay to Breakers, a 12k footrace celebrating its 101st running, featuring an Olympic silver medalist, the B2B course record holder and a Boston Marathon champ.

Meb Keflezighi, one of greatest American distance runners, is perhaps the most famous name that will toe the start line at Howard and Beale Streets at 7 a.m. local time come Sunday. HIs competition for the win -- and the $25,000 bonus if the winner can beat the top female -- will be Kenya's Sammy Kitwara, the course record holder (33 minutes, 31 seconds) and Ethiopian Deriba Merga, the 2009 Boston Marathon.

In addition to those names, the Bay to Breakers run will have another unique wrinkle -- sobriety checkpoints.

This year, 360 police officers will line the 7.46-mile racecourse to enforce open-container laws and screen the less-serious competitors at a handful of sobriety checkpoints.

But, like last year, police say they will have a soft touch. After all, runners can still jog in their birthday suits.

"We will enforce fun and enforce the stuff that detracts from the fun," said Deputy Police Chief Denise Schmitt, who is coordinating the police response.

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Track stars will be looking like this at the 2012 Summer Olympics:

via i.dailymail.co.uk

That's the new "TurboSpeed" suit from Nike, which they say can shave off 0.23 seconds in the 100 meter. How? Dimples:

via rwdaily.runnersworld.com

Basically, the suit turns sprinters into giant golf balls, cutting down on wind resistance. And if Nike's claims are true, then in theory, someone could beat Usain Bolt -- a Puma-sponsored athlete -- simply by putting on the suit (USA's Walter Dix finished 0.22 seconds behind Bolt in Beijing).

Runner's World's "Ask Dr. Daily" has some fun with the "TurboSpeed" suits.

Onto the other running links!

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It's not often distance running is featured in that august publication The New Yorker but today is the exception. Reviewer Nicholas Thompson has produced a superb review of two books; Alberto Salazar's "14 Minutes" and Christopher McDougall's "Born to Run."

The piece uses the famous 1982 Boston Marathon (recounted in John Brant's "Duel in the Sun") as the starting point to ponder the current minimalist footwear fad. Salazar, who won the race, had a highly unorthodox running style he now thinks contributed to his early decline. That question of mechanics is the nut of McDougall's argument against conventional running shoes.

Ultimately, we don’t really know whether the movement spurred by "Born to Run" will make us more or less hurt. My guess is that, ten years from now, we’ll see it as a useful corrective. Runners will spend much more time thinking about their form, and there will be lines of well-tested and well-designed thin shoes. But most of us, particularly those of who live in cities, will be training in relatively thick shoes.

The real upshot, Thompson insists, is that the popularity of books like "Born To Run" seem to be re-ignighting an interest in the sport -- something runners of his (and my) era experienced after watching Dick Beardsley and Alberto Salazar battle it out in Boston 30 years ago.

Running books: "Born to Run" and "14 Minutes" reviewed : The New Yorker

Of course that interest couldn't be more timely given the recent interest in public health highlighted by HBO's four-part mini-series examining the problem of obesity.

Review: HBO's 'Weight of the Nation' pounds away at obesity - latimes.com

At the rate we're going, children of today may become the first generation to die younger than their parents. And forget the brouhaha over math scores; if we don't get our weight under control, the majority of the population will soon be too fat and too sick to get off the couch, much less compete internationally.

Bali Marathon: A good run - The Star

The Bali Marathon returns as the PT Bank International Indonesia Tbk (BII) Maybank Bali Marathon after a 20-year hiatus. More than 2,000 runners competed in the event this weekend.

Survey on cyclists running red lights 'only tells half story' - Cambridge City News

Fall Road Running Store owner featured in retail jobs campaign - baltimoresun.com

Hey, look, it's the 2012 U.S. Olympic Marathon team -- (L to R): Abdi Abdirahman, Meb Keflezighi and Ryan Hall -- just hanging out atop the Empire State Building.

Great looking hair, Ryan.

Onto the links!

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The weather is turning (or has turned, depending on your location) for the better, and for those of you who have been waiting for the sun to shine, you're out of excuses. Time to hit the pavement.

Top 10 Reasons to Run a Marathon: It's Time to Get Serious - Yahoo! Sports
The 2012 running season is underway and it's time to get serious.

Running addiction drives Onsare
Just call Benard Onsare the Good Will Hunting of Canada Olympic Park.

London 2012: Olympic torch is lit in Greece as relay to London begins - Mirror Online
From the Greek god of sun to Stratford's Olympic Stadium, the Olympic torch sets off on its journey to London - but only after the flame needed re-lighting during the ceremony

Running notebook: Race offers an exercise in charity - chicagotribune.com
As a coach for Fort Bend Fit, Larry DeSpain knows consistency matters when training for a long-distance race.

Ben Greenfield: How to Start Barefoot Running
If you use these six barefoot running tips to make a smart transition, you may find that it actually reduces how tired your knees and hips are after a run and increases your enjoyment and feel for the ground during a run.

New Jersey Marathon has an East Brunswick Feel - East Brunswick, NJ Patch
Many East Brunswick residents flocked to the New Jersey Marathon, Sunday, including Cliff Gerber, who finished second in the half-marathon.

Meet Claire Lomas, a 32-year old woman who, despite being paralyzed from the chest down, just completed the 2012 London Marathon. It took her 16 days, and she did it with the help of the ReWalk suit, making her the first person ever to complete a marathon while wearing a bionic suit.

With the ReWalk, Lomas was able to stand, walk, and climb stairs, using a pair of crutches and a set of wrist strap buttons that determine her movement. The exoskeleton's motion sensors and onboard computer system are used to detect shifts in weight and balance, which trigger movements in its lower limbs. These movements are executed by small motors, and the entire system is powered by a four-pound battery stored in a user's backpack.

Lomas completed to marathon to raise awareness for her charity. Already, she has raised more than $129,000.

"There were times when I questioned whether I would make it when I was training," Lomas told AFP. "Once I started, I just took each day as it came and every step got me a step closer."

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Jerry Rice is considered by most to be the greatest wide receiver in the history of the NFL (as an Alabama fan, I defer to Green Bay's legendary Don Hutson - but it's a close call). Aside from the heaps of records he holds, Rice's ability to continue to perform at such a high level over his two-decade-long career is a testament to athletic endurance. He has long attributed his daily hill workouts as a key reason for his ability to retain his physical skills so long and he now is looking to push a new generation of NFL players to try his approach.

Jerry Rice will take A.J. Jenkins to "the hill" | ProFootballTalk

The wide receiver taken by the San Francisco 49ers in the first round of the NFL draft is going to get whipped into shape by the former 49ers receiver who is regarded by many as the greatest player in NFL history.

The stratagem is one runners seeking to improve their times should take to heart and the folks at Runner's World have been kind enough to put together a list of tips for hill workouts recently:

Run Fast By Running Uphill From Runner's World.com

A new study suggest that the biggest foe to one's fitness maybe the daily commute:

Long Commutes May Be Harmful to Your Health - MedPage Today

The longer you drive to work, the more likely you are to be overweight and have high blood pressure says a report in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. And the daily commute was also negatively associated with high levels of physical activity and cardiorespiratory fitness.

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Three Reasons to Reconsider Vitamin Pills | Globe and Mail

Psychologists at National Sun Yat-Sen University in Taiwan have performed a series of fascinating studies on the "licensing effect," showing how we inadvertently change our behaviour – for the worse – after doing something we believe is good for us, like taking a vitamin pill.

Hutchison also follows up with a little more info at Sweat Science about the editorial process at Globe & Mail and also with a bit more about the studies (the one quoted above is psychological, not medical). For a while, I took Omega-3 and multivitamin pills. I haven't in a while, mostly out of sheer negligence. I'd been considering taking the pills again as I start my training back up full-swing. It's quite possible that supplements are a bit more useful for athletes, as we tend to be a bit more cognizant of what goes into our bodies and the amount of caloric output that we're achieving. That said, I'll likely leave them on the shelf for a while.

Thorvilson Blisters 50 Miles | ultraRUNNING online

Leah Thorvilson ran the fourth-fastest 50 mile race by a woman yesterday in 6:00. Which is to say, at ludicrous speed.

Oldest marathon runner announced retirement | BBC News

This is a few weeks old, but a 101-year old London resident ran what he claims would be his final marathon this spring. He showed up to his first training at the age of 89 wearing a three-piece suit and trainers. Old men are so awesome. (via @dieworkwear)

The Ultimate NPR Workout Mix | NPR

NPR's had an ongoing Workout Mix series going on this year (including an interview with the head of the IRS). They're continually updating this 'Workout Mix' list. It's a big list (like, silly big) but actually not all that bad.

Weekend Race Roundup!

Ironman 70.3 St. Croix Results: Andy Potts Wins, Lance Armstrong Finishes Third | Stride Nation

Reyes, Bea win Flying Pig marathon | Cincinnati.com | cincinnati.com

Lincoln Marathon photos and results | Omaha.com

New Jersey Marathon Has Another Banner Year | Little Silver-Oceanport, NJ Patch

ONTARIO Road Race Results | OntarioRoadRunners