Sacramento Running News

If you’ve ever been involved with measuring and certifying a course for a race, you’ll appreciate this article about the men responsible for measuring out the Olympic Marathon course.

The London course, specifically designed for the Olympics, is already gaining notoriety for having more than 90 turns, which include several hairpins. The longest straightaway is less than half a mile long. All of which makes it a nightmare to measure while trying to ride a bicycle precisely 12 inches from the inside curb.

Great stuff!

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Aaron Mulder and Quintin Barney work their way up to the Devil's Thumb aid station. (SRN photo)

With a race as long and challenging as the Western States Endurance Run, it is hard to strip it down to the essential kernel of a story that everyone should know.

Every single runner, finisher and non-finisher alike, has a compelling story to tell–about the race itself or the long journey that brought them to the starting line at Squaw Valley.

An astonishing field was assembled, the weather was perfect for running fast times, and records were destroyed.

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Can a vegan diet help you run faster?

Gretchen Reynolds, writing at the New York Times Well blog, explores the issue of whether athletes can perform well on a vegan diet.

Her piece was sparked by the release of Scott Jurek’s new book Eat & Run, which we all are no doubt going to run off and purchase.

I enjoy Reynold’s writing on running and health, but was a little frustrated by the lack of distinction here between vegetarian (no meat) and vegan (no animal products).

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If you are pacing someone this weekend, you might want to check out this great write-up by Tim Long on the rules of pacing. Not really rules, per se, but more like guidelines.

One of the most selfless acts a human can perform is pacing another person in an ultrarunning event. Mother Teresa never paced, nor did any of the popes.

Good stuff! Read it (parts I and part II) and you’ll be ready to tackle this challenge!

The Countdown: (L-R) Luis Alvarez, R.D. Greg Soderlund, Assistant R.D. Craig Thornley, and Mike Saling are getting ready for the big day. (From the WS Facebook page)

Of all the many races in the region, there is only one of international importance: The Western States Endurance Run.

Even though there are bigger races, and faster courses, the Western States 100 has history and prestige by the bucket-full.

The race gets more media coverage than any other in the region.

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David Stipp, writing at Slate.com, makes a compelling argument that “every sport other than long-distance running is fundamentally absurd.”

I’ve known that for a while, but why does Stipp think this?

In his article All Men Can’t Jump, he argues that despite the fact “we crowd into arenas and stadiums to marvel at our pathetic physical abilities as if they were something special,” among the animals, man is pretty pathetic at everything except long-distance running. (more…)

Run faster by running less?

Alert reader, John B. (not me) wrote to tell me about his experience trying the training protocol I had written about in the original post, High Intensity Training.

John writes:

Two blocks at first, two to three times a week? Then ramp up to three.

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