A few points. First, weight loss during a long race is a bit more tricky than some are noting. Some of the weight lost is from stored glycogen and fat, not a lot, but some. The glycogen is more important because each gram of glycogen is stored with four grams of water: burn off one gram and you GAIN...

Yes, my Father was witty the same way. Towards the end he said "if I knew I was going to live this long I'd have taken better care of myself".

He was a funny guy: wish his Grandchildren had a chance to know him.

Some of you are very optimistic! A runner races a 5k in 27 minutes and you think that might actually be their proper easy pace? Running slower with good form takes practice: running SLOWLY isn't taught much in school as I recall. Running with a runner who CAN run a relaxed pace is probably the easie...

Actually a very nice morning to run here in Calgary.

30km in 2:20, starting to taper just a little for the upcoming Kananaskis K-100 Relay. Now off to Montreal to sit in business meetings all week..

Lol, well that about fits me - i'd consider my 2:56 no slouch.... I train with about 20+ men and women in the 2:40-3:15 range. Its tough to say because in that group you still get quite a difference in 5k-marathon times that aren't aligned. I underperform in the short categories for sure compared t...

Finally the science is catching up on the latest fad: turns out the answer is "neither", or perhaps "it depends" is a better way to characterize it. http://www.runnersworld.com/running-tips/study-rearfoot-forefoot-strike-equally-efficient" onclick="window.open(this.href);return f...

Men's 5K Double Bellybuster - PNC 5K, Myrtle Beach, SC - 21:26, Feb 15 DougG Snowflake 5km 30:21 Jan 1 Men's 8K/5-miler 5km - Robbie Burns 8K Burlington, Ont. Jan 27th 39:50 Stampie - Vancouver Spring Run-Off, Stanley Park, Mar 24th 41:28 Men's 10K Bunsontherun - St Patricks Day Race, Calgary, AB 1...

Men's 5k The Joggler 15:05 Backs in Motion, Apr 02 Pat Menzies 16:56 Hamilton twilight meet, '03 ian 17:08 Camrose Running Club time trial, July '09 cgraham 17:09 Acura 5k, July 09 Robbie-T 17:30 Run for Wells (Georgetown) Oct 09 bgroot 17:39 Bulldog Triathlon(Rondeau) Aug. 2008 tritorun 17:42 Broo...

I can't actually find the study that is referred to. What I CAN find is several studies suggesting both humans and animals automatically choose a breathing pattern that is most efficient. At high effort levels the act of breathing takes up a surprizingly important percentage of muscular activity. Th...

And photos from today... http://metronews.ca/news/calgary/685024/slideshow-more-than-11000-run-in-calgary-marathon/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; If I'm not mistaken, there's a maniac in the photos! Yes, I was #728. By the way, that isn't a tattoo on my arm, that is gatorade splash...

Good luck! This will be the first time in years that I'm not doing something - in the last 5 years, I've done the 5k, 10k, half marathon, and marathon (twice). This year I volunteered, since I wasn't planning to race anything, but got an email a few weeks ago saying they didn't need me :( . Feels s...

Nine pages of posts on Ottawa and not one about the oldest marathon in Canada? Calgary is run this weekend, and co-incidentally I was born the same year it was. Scary that I'm slightly older than Canada's oldest marathon :doh: It also marks my return to marathon racing after a three year hiatus: sho...

I agree that the details of foot striking should be a consequence of productive refinements to running form rather than the other way around. Based on my experiences, I would probably rate "slow cadence" as the most prevalent cause for poor form. When I first started fixing this in my own...

I like the basic posture of Chi Running, and have used some of the "imagery" to get people to improve. Basically good running posture is simply good athletic posture: strong back position, chest open, shoulders back and down. After that if you land almost under your center of mass with you...

Interesting results from this large study on the effect of what part of the foot you land on with regard to injury rate and running peformance. In short, the injury rate for the 13% of runners who land forefoot and "mid foot" (whole foot) is the same as the 87% who land heel first. http://...

Guess we'll have to agree to disagree. Everybody I have coached has managed to run even splits. This includes 250lb runners running 4+ hours and people running in the 2:40's, and all of them went faster that way. My opinion is it is both possible and optimal, just not common. I have read Pfitzinger'...

Just because it isn't commonly done doesn't mean it isn't optimal. Your implication is that 19/20 just got it wrong... I find that tough to swallow. Most marathoners I know are pretty diligent people and almost all buy the negative or even split thing- yet alarmingly few achieve it. Surely we can g...

Just because it isn't commonly done doesn't mean it isn't optimal. Few people are at their ideal weight, but being at ideal weight certainly helps your marathon time. To me barring a very odd course profile the halfs of the race should be very close. Perfect might be a 10 second negetive split, but ...

They don't: assuming the training volume is similar, so is the taper. You sound pretty sure! 3 weeks is a long time for a shorter distance race Sounds like you are arguing both sides of the fence. Many (most) Elites don't taper for three weeks. They vary between 10 and 21 days, depending on their p...

They don't: assuming the training volume is similar, so is the taper. Recreational racers are a different story. Your average recreational 10k racer might put int 30-40k per week, whereas a marathoner is hopefully at least double that. Taper should be based on the time it takes to recover (rebound) ...

Really Ian? If I were Susan Gordon I'd do the same thing. Not for the medallion but for the principle of it. And because the course-cutter would otherwise keep doing it. I realize I'm in the minority here and I'm having a hard time finding the right words to articulate it. Dave's last post captured...

Personally I would only put ONE speed session per week (and my definition of "speed" is anything MP or faster but includes hills): focus on gradually building up base mileage. With swimming, bicycling and a variety of WHAT speedwork I would hope that would keep it interesting. My preferred...

Quite a bit of nonsense in there interspersed with a few facts to further an agenda. The site caters to people who choose to cut bodyfat to a bare minimum for competition purposes: this colors the analysis. I was a freestyle wrestler and owned a bodybuilding gym, so I understand the mindset, but it ...

Men's 5K Double Bellybuster - PNC 5K, Myrtle Beach, SC - 21:26, Feb 15 DougG Snowflake 5km 30:21 Jan 1 Men's 8K/5-miler 5km - Robbie Burns 8K Burlington, Ont. Jan 27th 39:50 Men's 10K Bunsontherun - St Patricks Day Race, Calgary, AB 17 Mar 13 - 1:03:52 (snowslick and icy) Men's 15K Men's 10-miler M...

Training paces should generally be based on your current time at your BEST distance. This should make the workouts challenging to complete at the correct pace, but not wreck you completely. Basing your paces on a longer distance will often make the speedwork a bit easier than it should be. You shoul...