March 24, 2008

Houston Marathon Registration re-opens April 1; Cap raised to 18,000 this year

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HOUSTON - (March 18, 2008) - The Houston Marathon Committee has increased the number of participants it will allow into the Chevron Houston Marathon and Aramco Houston Half Marathon to 18,000 for the January 18, 2009 event, a bump of 1,000 over the 2008 race cap.

The 18,000 limit is a combined cap for the marathon and half-marathon. The field for the EP5K, the companion 5K race presented by the El Paso Corporation, will be limited to 5,000.

Race organizers encourage runners to register early. The marathon and half-marathon reached their 2008 combined limit of 17,000 on September 28, 2007, fourteen weeks before race weekend.

“Our participant growth rate and the demand to enter our races over the last seven years have been phenomenal,” Race Director Brant Kotch said. “But we want to manage that growth appropriately to ensure that every runner has a great experience in Houston.”

Online registration re-opens Tuesday, April 1 for the marathon, half-marathon and 5K. Early registration was open from race weekend until Jan. 31, with more than 3,000 participants taking advantage of the early sign-up.

Runners can register for any of the races online at ChevronHoustonMarathon.com. The registration fee is $90 for the marathon and $65 for the half-marathon through Thursday, May 15, when both prices increase $10. The entry fee for the EP5K is $20 through Friday, October 31.

The three races, along with the Texas Children’s Hospital Kid’s Fun Run on the Saturday of race weekend, attracted 20,000 runners in 2008, making the event one of the largest of its kind in the country.

The Chevron Houston Marathon, a Running USA Founding Member, is the nation’s premier winter marathon, annually attracting participants from all 50 U.S. states and nearly 30 foreign countries. The marathon offers the only closed marathon course in Texas and is ranked among the top five in the nation by the Ultimate Guide to Marathons for fastest course, organization and crowd support. More than 5,000 volunteers help organize the race, which is Houston’s largest single-day sporting event.

More information is available at ChevronHoustonMarathon.com or by calling (713) 957-3453.

March 19, 2008

Heart Condition Led to Runner’s Death

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Suzy Allman/The New York Times

Ryan Shay, second from left, died after collapsing during the United States Olympic marathon trials in November 2007.

By AIMEE BERG   

More than four months after Ryan Shay collapsed in Central Park during the United States Olympic marathon trials, the New York City medical examiner determined that his death was caused by an irregular heartbeat that stemmed from an enlarged and scarred heart.

Shay, who was 28 when he died Nov. 3 in pursuit of a berth in the Beijing Olympics, was found to have an enlarged heart at age 14, according to his father, Joe Shay. The medical examiner could not determine the origin of the patchy scars, called fibrosis.

Ellen Borakove, a spokeswoman for the medical examiner, said she could not comment on the specific results of the toxicology tests as a matter of policy, nor could she reveal what chemicals were tested for. Joe Shay said none of the toxicology tests were positive, although he did not know what tests were conducted.

“I believe it was a fair and accurate assessment,” Joe Shay said Tuesday in a telephone interview from the family’s home in Central Lake, Mich. He was informed of the results by telephone and e-mail messages from the medical examiner’s office and was awaiting a copy of the full report.

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March 19, 2008

Visualizing the High

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PET brain scan croppedRunner’s high: the idea that endorphins released during endurance activities cause a person to feel exceptionally happy— euphoric, even. Is it fact or fiction? Truth or fabrication? Some people swear they get it. Others shrug off the notion incredulously. Despite an air of mystery surrounding the phenomenon, others still cross their fingers and hold out hope that they might eventually feel it. Now researchers are starting to obtain results that might one day earn this seemingly mythical experience a place among generally accepted truths. Using positron emission tomography (PET) scans, researchers in Germany have taken the first steps to illustrating how what happens in the brain during an endurance run might relate to the feeling of runner’s high. According to their paper published last month in the journal Cerebral Cortex, endurance running led to changes in opioid binding in certain parts of the brain and corresponded to feelings of euphoria in the runners. Boecker+Laufer imageIn the study, researchers from the Technical University Munich and the University of Bonn looked at 10 trained male runners who had experienced runner’s high in the past and were fit enough to complete a 2-hour endurance run. Each runner was injected with a radioactive ligand that would bind to opioid receptors in the brain and had their brain scanned twice: once in a resting state and once 30 minutes after a 2-hour, 21km run. Their moods were also analyzed at these times using Visual Analog Mood Scales (VAMS). The results of the PET scans showed that after running there were fewer opioid receptors available in certain parts of the brain for the PET ligand to bind to, indicating these receptors were already bound by an opioid released during the run. This decreased receptor availability showed up in areas of the brain that are understood to play a part in emotional processing and occurred alongside a significant increase in feelings of happiness and euphoria. This suggests there is a link between endorphin binding in certain parts of the brain and the feelings of runner’s high, which seems to fit with common theories thus far. As this was a pilot study, there is much work to be done to confirm the mechanism behind these results. Currently the team, as led by Professor Henning Boecker, is looking at the effects of endurance training on pain processing. Perhaps one day soon scientists will get to the heart—or should I say the brain?—of the runner’s high and all it entails. PET brain scan Release of endorphins after endurance training: five consecutive brain slices. The brain areas in which body-own opioids are released and bound after long-distance running are most strongly visible in regions a, b and c, which play an elementary role in emotional processing. The subjective level of euphoria in the investigated runners was closely related to the amount of endorphins released and bound in these areas.
March 17, 2008

Training and Pacing

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More on Pacing by Joe Friel

Since my post last month on negative splits in steady state events such as time trials and triathlons there have been a lot of questions about how the principles described there apply to courses with hills and wind. There have been several scientific studies done on this matter. Here is a brief summary of several of these studies. I’ll let you draw your own conclusions.

* Using a mathematical model Swain found that when compared with a constant effort there was a significant time savings in a cycling time trial by slightly increasing power on the uphills and into headwinds and decreasing it slightly on downhills and with tailwinds. (Swain. 1997. A model for optimizing cycling performance by varying power on hills and in wind. Med Sci Sports Exercise 29:1104-1108.)

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November 3, 2007

Men’s Olympic Marathon Trials results

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It was an absolutely amazing race.

Ryan Hall, as anticipated, took first and did it with impressive style. His time of 2:09:02 bested the prior record by 1:17. This guy is the real deal and will be a blast to watch in Beijing.

Second went to another fan favorite, Dathan Ritzenhein, who came in with a 2:11:07 time and Brian Sell, a huge surprise with a gritty performance, took third in 2:11:40. Khalid Khannouchi took fourth with a 2:12:34 time and goes to Beijing as an alternate.

Dathan considers himself more a 10,000 meter runner and is still looking to qualify for the 10,000 meter marathon trials. He’s previously said if he was able to qualify for both the marathon and the 10,000 he’d opt for the 10,000 - so we’ll see if Khalid gets in as the third US representative once Dathan sorts out his options.

Wow!

October 29, 2007

Rookie Kristen Henehan Wins Marine Corps Marathon

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From USA Today:

Kristen Henehan, a three-time All-American in track at Georgetown, won the Marine Corps Marathon on Sunday, while Ethiopia’s Tamrat Ayalew took the men’s title in the event that featured more than 22,000 runners.

Henehan finished the course among the monuments in the nation’s capital in 2 hours, 51 minutes, 9 seconds, edging ahead of Lisa Thomas in the final mile to win the women’s division by 27 seconds.

“I truly was not going out with the mind-set of, ‘I want to win,”‘ said Henehan, who had never run a full 26.2 miles before beginning training three months ago. “I was going out with the mind-set of, ‘I’m running my first marathon and I want it to be a positive experience.”‘

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October 29, 2007

Interesting NOVA special on science of marathon

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Show airs tonight at 8pm. From the NOVA site…

When you watch an Olympic weightlifter hoist a 500-pound barbell over his head, or see a gymnast gracefully slide into a split, the physical attributes that allow these athletes to excel in their sports may seem obvious. But what is it—both physically and psychologically—that makes an elite marathoner able to run over 26 miles in little more than two hours? And can almost anyone—even someone who has been sedentary for years—become fit enough to run a marathon?

NOVA wanted to investigate these questions through the “Marathon Challenge,” and with the help of a dozen enthusiastic recruits, we set out to see if “ordinary people” could transform themselves into marathoners in just a matter of months. The results were extraordinary.

Preview:

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October 22, 2007

Running for a cause - Nike Women’s Marathon

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Yesterday’s marathon and half marathon events raised an estimated $18.6M for the fight against cancer. An estimated 20,000 runners and walkers turned out for the fourth annual event in San Francisco. Over those for years and estimated $60 million has been raised. Racers came from every state in the US and from 18 countries. For those who couldn’t make the trip to San Francisco, about 3300 people with special shoes from Nike were able to participate in a “virtual marathon,” where the shoes tracked how far they ran.

Entrance into the race was a challenge in itself - the half-marathon sold out in 10 hours, and the full-marathon in about three days. The Leukemia Society’s Team in Training, had about 5300 participants; team members gained entry to the race by reaching set goals for donations to the cause.

Lauri Thompson of Boise, Idaho won the marathon (3:01:26) and Giovanna Mandy won the half marathon (1:20:54).

October 16, 2007

New Women’s 1/2 Marathon World Record Set

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Lornah Kiplagat of the Netherlands set a new half-marathon world record at the world road running championships in Udine, Italy this weekend. Kiplagat completed the course in 1 hour, 6 minutes, 25 seconds. Kiplagat’s time was 19 seconds faster than the prior record set by Elena Meyer eight years ago.

“Everything just went perfect today,” said Kiplagat. “With four kilometers left, I realized that the record was possible.”

For her efforts Kiplagat pocketed $80,000, $30,000 for the victory and a $50,000 bonus for the record.

Mary Keitany and Pamela Chepchumba, both of Kenya, took second and third.

In the men’s race Zersenay Tadese of Eritrea successfully defended his title with a time of 58:59, three seconds ahead of Kenyan Patrick Makau Musyoki.

Men’s Results
1. Zersenay Tadese, Eritrea, 58:59
2. Patrick Makau Musyoki, Kenya, 59:02
3. Evans Kiprop Cheruiyot, Kenya, 59:05
4. Deriba Merga, Ethiopia, 59:16
5. Yonas Kifle, Eritrea, 59:30

Women’s Results
1. Lornah Kiplagat, Netherlands, 1:06:25
2. Mary Jepkosgei Keitany, Kenya, 1:06:48
3. Pamela Chepchumba, Kenya, 1:08:06
4. Bezunesh Bekele, Ethiopia, 1:08:07
5. Atsede Habtamu, Ethiopia, 1:08:29

October 16, 2007

Rock ‘n’ Roll San Jose Half Marathon Results

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An estimated 11,800 runners and walkers descended on downtown San Jose yesterday for the second annual Rock n Roll San Jose Half Marathon. But this isn’t an ordinary marathon… it’s a rock n roll marathon, so of course it had music…. Lots of music. Elite racing’s general manager Elizabeth O’Brien and her team selected 16 Bay Area bands - including a punk band, a Stanford Band alumni marching band and Ozomatli to accompany participants.

In the men’s division McDonald Ondara of Kenya held off Tanzania’s John Yuda to win in 1 hour, 1 minute, 11 seconds. Magdalene Makunzi (also of Kenya) dominated the women’s division with a winning time of 1:09:11.

American Khalid Khannouchi, who’s set the world record twice and won the Chicago Marathon four times, ran San Jose as a tune up for next month’s U.S. Olympic Team Trials in New York for the men’s marathon - and to test his foot - which has plagued his efforts to qualify in the past. He completed the race in a disappointing 1:05:04. “It was a great day for the race,” Khannouchi said. “But, this is not what I expected. I thought I would run 1:03:00.”

JT Service, San Jose local and another US Olympic marathon contender, won the San Jose resident prize with a time of 1:07:28.

Men’s Results
McDonald Ondara 1:01:11
John Yuda 1:01:13
Hillary Kipchumba 1:01:32
Tom Nyariki 1:02:17
Charles Munyeki 1:02:58

Women’s Results
Magdalene Makunzi 1:09:58
Megumi Oshima 1:11:14
Everlyne Lagat 1:11:35
Rose Kosgei 1:12:42
Caroline Cheptanui 1:12:49