Study: Pre-Run Static Stretching Bad Idea

From Runner's World online...

Study: Pre-Run Static Stretching Bad Idea
March 8, 2012 7:06 am
By Scott Douglas

You're better off heading out the door to run immediately after waking than if you first do static stretching, according to a review of research published in the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports.

Researchers did what's known as a meta-review of studies on pre-workout static stretching, meaning that they gathered the results from 104 studies to look for common threads. The upshot: Pre-workout static stretching (holding a stretch for a long time) was repeatedly shown to clearly reduce muscular strength, power and explosive performance, regardless of the subjects' age, gender and fitness levels. The negative effects were greater the longer that pre-workout static stretches were held.

Sorry, but this doesn't mean a Superman-like change into your running gear and then dashing out the door is the best pre-run routine. Dynamic stretching--warming up muscles by gradually moving them through an increasingly wide range of motion--has been shown to produce the performance enhancements many people seek from pre-workout static stretching.

This video demonstrates a good pre-run dynamic stretching routine. Save the static stretching for after your runs, when your muscles are already warm and you needn't worry about temporary decreases in power and strength.

Read it here. Video below.

DQ'ed Marathon Winner Explains

From Running Times online...

DQ'ed Marathon Winner Explains
Scott Downard ran the Cowtown Marathon with a friend's race bib, but he says he was just running to pace a friend and didn't have any devious intent
By Stephen Pyle
As featured in the Web Only issue of Running Times Magazine

On Feb. 26, Scott Downard, a 29-year-old Norman, Okla., resident, appeared to win the Cowtown Marathon in Fort Worth, Texas, in 2:31:40. However, he was immediately disqualified as he voluntarily reported to the race director that he used a friend's bib to run the race. Downard, who ran cross country and track for Oklahoma and Truman State while in college, has received a surprising amount of media attention, attracting calls from both local and national outlets since his disqualification. Some message boards and comment sections have been critical of Downard for his tactics. Ultimately, Kolin Styles, 25, of Weatherford, Texas, was credited with the win in 2:37:53. Downard and Jerry Faulkner, the friend whose bib he borrowed, answered some questions about how last weekend's events transpired.

Read on here.

Wednesday Night Run 3-7-2011

Hello ORC,

What's going on locally? Shawn Mullins is celebrating a birthday bash at Eddie's Attic. You can learn gardening at Gardening 101 with Erin Walker at EcoAddendum. You can learn about composting at the Oakhurst Community Gardens. Or attend Brew Your Cask Off at Sweetwater Brewery. The Pink Floyd Experience is at the Variety Playhouse. The Drowsy Chaperone is at OnStage Atlanta. The Grant Park Conservancy is offering walking tours of Grant Park and also a bird/tree tour.

What else is going on this week/weekend? Want to share?

There seems to be a lot of races this weekend; nothing that you can jog from home to but a bunch of races nonetheless. On Saturday, in keeping with the 10K distances are the Silver Comet 10K and the 9th Annual Jog for a Cause. There are also a couple of trail runs with the Assault on Pine Mountain 5k and 9-mile Trail Run, the Wellspring Sprint 5K Trail Run, and the Oneway Trail Run. On Sunday are the Junior League of Atlanta's 8th Annual Shamrock 'N Roll Road Race 5K/10K and the Hunger Walk/Run 5K. This is only a small sampling. Of course some of you are training for the half or full at the Publix GA marathon also.

This Wednesday you will be running route 8, the East Lake Golf Course run. The link to the route is at the bottom of this e- mail. After getting out of the hill on Garland, the route runs downhill until climbing Oakview Rd. Then the route continues to climb Howard to a quick downhill on College. Then it's the climb on Wisteria, and a finishing uphill at the shop. And as always, please wear your flashing, reflective safety gear for the run in the dark. After the run, it's off to Mojo's Pizza for food, drinks and trivia.

Enjoy your run Wednesday night. Thanks for making the Oakhurst Running Club one of the friendliest running club in Atlanta.

Corny

http://oakhurstrunningclub.blogspot.com/

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B9kfg7f38KdBZGQwMWNkNTAtMTIyMi00MjNiLWI5MTgtZDkwNDNmNWRlMmEw&hl=en

Local Runs This Weekend

Saturday, March 10
Silver Comet 10K, Mableton
Assault on Pine Mountain 5k and 9 mile Trail Run, Cartersville
Scamper against Cancer, Lawrenceville
Morrow High School 5K, Jonesboro
9th Annual Jog for a Cause 5K/10K/Mile, Alpharetta
Shamrock Shuffle 5K & Fun Run, Carrollton
Wellspring Sprint 5K Trail Run, Jefferson
Oneway Trail Run 5K/10K, Demorest
The Finish Lion 5K, Atlanta

Sunday, March 11
JLA's 8th Annual Shamrock 'N Roll Road Race 5K/10K, Atlantic Station
Hunger Walk/Run 5K, Turner Field

Running Robot Breaks Speed Record

From the NY Times online...

Running Robot Breaks Speed Record
By JOHN MARKOFF
Published: March 6, 2012

A design firm financed by the Pentagon has broken a 23-year-old speed record for legged robots. Boston Dynamics, founded by Marc Raibert, a former M.I.T. roboticist, released a video on YouTube on Monday of its four-legged Cheetah prototype running on a treadmill at 18 miles per hour. The treadmill is designed to support speeds up to 50 m.p.h., but the company said it planned to test the Cheetah outside the lab as soon as possible. The previous record was 13.1 m.p.h., set at M.I.T. in 1989. Boston Dynamics, based in Waltham, Mass., has designed a range of mobile robots with financing from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. Previous designs, like BigDog, have been machines intended to follow walking soldiers in the field with loads of up to 1,000 pounds. The company said that while Cheetah was a research project, both military and civilian applications were possible, including emergency rescue and the navigation of rugged terrain.

Read on here.

The Recovery Approach

From Running Times online...

The Recovery Approach
Matt Dixon has helped turn over-trained athletes back into competitive machines, Ryan Hall among them. Here's how.
By Michelle Hamilton
As featured in the Web Only issue of Running Times Magazine

Every athlete knows recovery is essential, but Ryan Hall seems to be living it. At the Boston and Chicago marathons in 2011, as well as the Jan. 14 U.S. Olympic trials marathon, where he placed second, Hall toed the line fit and fresh. His recovered state comes courtesy of strategic changes Hall has made to his training over the last year since becoming self-coached - strategies he gathered from an unexpected source: professional triathlon coach Matt Dixon.

Why would an elite runner with no interest in triathlon or even cross-training turn to a triathlon coach? Reputation. Dixon, a 37-year-old Brit who also coaches recreational runners and triathletes, is known in multisport circles as "the recovery coach." Over the last four years, he has helped revive a number of burnt-out athletes, putting them back on the path to peak performance through a program of "massive recovery." Professional triathlete Chris Lieto - who told his friend Ryan Hall about Dixon - is a good example of his handiwork. Overtrained and underperforming, Dixon slashed Lieto's volume by 30 percent, added easier workouts and had him eat more. A year later, Lieto placed second at the 2009 Ironman World Championships (2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike, 26.2-mile run).

Pro triathlete and former collegiate distance runner Linsey Corbin has a similar story. Dixon reduced her volume from 35 hours a week to 25, then filled those 10 hours with massage, functional strength and more sleep. Six weeks later, she clocked a personal best in the Ironman.

"Matt was working with athletes with a substantially higher workload than I, and I wanted to learn how I could become a smarter, more recovered runner," says Hall, on why he reached out to Dixon shortly after leaving the Mammoth Track Club to pursue a self-coached, faith-based approach to training.

Since he started working with Dixon, Hall has run three marathons: Boston (fourth, 2:04:58), Chicago (fifth, 2:08:04) and the Olympic trials (second, 2:09:30).
Dixon helped Hall see anew the benefits of recovery, encouraging him to incorporate more rest into his training and to eat more post-run to aid recovery.

In his buildup to Boston, Chicago and the trials race in Houston, Hall - who is now only occasionally in touch with Dixon - took one full day off per week, dropped his mileage to 100 (down from 120, which was his usual during previous marathon buildups), recovered fully between hard sessions, and says he probably ate more than any other elite runner after workouts. Although Hall is no longer officially coached by Dixon, he will continue to follow the recovery methods he learned under him as he prepares for the London Olympics.

"Matt," Hall says, "is a master of recovery."

Read on here.

Zombies, Run! for iPhone

iPhone motivation, from Runners World online...

First Look: Zombies, Run! for iPhone
February 28, 2012 11:16 am
By Jim Warrenfeltz

The Zombies, Run! Homescreen from Runners World online.

Has anyone ever laughed at you for running, saying "I only run when I'm being chased"?

Perhaps they should download the iPhone game Zombies, Run! and put that attitude to the test.

Zombies, Run! is available from the iTunes App Store for $7.99, with an Android version planned for later this spring. We got an early look at the game over the last week; here's what we learned.

Read on here.

Wednesday Night Run 2-29-2012

Hello ORC,

It's a leap year run, February 29th. Is there significance to it? Probably not so let's go for a run. Decatur is having a Go Local slogan contest. If you want to sharpen your kickball and dodgeball skills, Decatur High School is hosting a adult clinics for both sports. I may have to use that term of sport loosely. Also this weekend is 'Touch A Truck'. It's not for everyone but the Decatur PD is can also register your bike there. Roxie Watson is playing at Eddie's Attic. Wrath of Con at dad's Garage was incredibly funny and I recommend it for the inner-nerd in you. The Mandala exhibition continues at Emory.

Anything else is going on this week/weekend?

On the running side, the time of 10K's is upon us and the listing of 'Peachtree Road Qualifiers' is growing. So here are some local races this weekend from 5K, 10K, to the trails. On Saturday is the Red Devil Dash 5K at Druid Hills High; a trail run in Cartersville, the Vision Trek 10K; the Chattahoochee Road Runners 5K/10K; the Shallowford Scot Trot 5K & Mile; the Shamrock -n- Run 5K, Atlanta; and the Hillside Husky Dash 5K and Fun Run in Roswell. While on Sunday there is the Intown Ten (that's 10K) in the Highlands.

This Wednesday you will be running the Winter route, route 12. A bulk of it is along DeKalb Av and W Howard on the PATH. But there are nice rolling hills getting there through MAK and Winnona. It's dark out there so wear your brightest, most reflective, most light flashing running wear. The link to the route is at the bottom of this e-mail. After the run it's off to Mojo's Pizza for food, drinks and trivia.

Enjoy your run Wednesday night. Thanks for making the Oakhurst Running Club one of the friendliest running club in Atlanta.

Corny

http://oakhurstrunningclub.blogspot.com/

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B9kfg7f38KdBYzc4Y2E4OGUtMWI0NS00N2JhLThhZjktZGZhODZjMTg4NmU5&hl=en

Local Races This Weekend

Saturday, March 3
Wiphan Warthog Waddle for Orphans 5K & 1K, Roswell
Red Devil Dash 5K, Atlanta
Vision Trek 10K Trail Run, Cartersville
6th Annual Newnan Jr Service league Shamrock Run 5K/10K/Mile, Newnan
Chattahoochee Road Runners 5K/10K, Atlanta
Shallowford Scot Trot 5K & Mile, Atlanta
Run for Your Lives 5K Obstacle Course, Union Point
Shamrock -n- Run 5K, Atlanta
Hillside Husky Dash 5K and Fun Run, Roswell
Botanical Boogie 5K & 1 Mile, Villa Rica

Sunday, March 4
The Intown Ten (10K), Virginia Highland
4th Annual Newton County Run for Hope 5K & Fun Run, Covington
Challenged Child and Friends 5K/Mile Fun Run, Gainesville

Cowtown Marathon winner disqualified after failing to register

From the Star Telegram online...

Cowtown Marathon winner disqualified after failing to register
Posted Sunday, Feb. 26, 2012 Updated Monday, Feb. 27, 2012

By John Henry
Special to the Star-Telegram

FORT WORTH -- The 34th edition of the Cowtown Marathon featured somewhere in the neighborhood of 9,000 registered participants Sunday in three events.

And two men's marathon winners because of one who was not registered.

Initial runner-up Kolin Styles was declared the winner of the 26.2-mile race when Scott Downard was disqualified because he didn't register for the race and was wearing an unauthorized bib.

Read on here<http://www.star-telegram.com/2012/02/26/3764019/cowtown-winner-quickly-disqualified.html>.

Why Road Runners Should Run on Trails

From Running Times online...

Why Road Runners Should Run on Trails
Max King explains how and why to leave the roads behind
By Max King
As featured in the June 2010 issue of Running Times Magazine

If you're not going to be racing on a trail, why would you train on a trail?

That's the first question a lot of runners preparing for a road, track or cross country race will ask. Based on my experiences and those of other runners who frequently run off-road, there are huge upsides to tackling some of your training on trails.

One of the biggest benefits regularly ascribed to running on trails is that the softer surfaces will reduce the impact on your body. This is true. But to me, the benefit to running trails is simple: They will slow you down. Most of you already know, take your easy days easy, and your hard days hard, but the more people I coach and the more I observe, the more I see runners continuing to push a pace that isn't necessary on their easy recovery days, and they aren't allowing their body the full benefit of an active recovery.

Active recovery is an integral part of any training program for any distance. It aids in muscle memory, building your aerobic system, muscle endurance and obviously, recovery from a hard workout. Running an easy-intermediate technical trail--meaning a little curvy, rocky or rooty--forces you to slow down and take your time, putting a lighter training load on your system. "On roads I tend to be very conscious of my pacing and sometimes push harder than I should," says Michael Spence, the 2009 U.S. 10K trail running champion and an 8:30 steeplechaser. "The hills and turns of the trail force me to focus more on how my body feels and less on my watch."

Read on here<http://runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=19733>.