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Archive | Guest Perspective

Cupping, Should Runners Try it Too?

By on October 17, 2016 in Guest Perspective, Health and Wellness, Injury

screen-shot-2016-10-17-at-12-09-42-pmThe 2016 Rio Olympics brought new light to an old treatment–cupping. The world stared as athletes like Michael Phelps proudly displayed his petechia for the world to see.

Petechia is the medical term for the purplish bruise that can form with certain types of cupping techniques.

After seeing so many Olympic athletes with bruises this year, the rest of us were left wondering about this trend of using cupping as a medical treatment or sports enhancement treatment. Does cupping really work? Can I utilize cupping as a self-treatment method for common running related pains? Continue Reading →

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A Solution for Carrying Water While Running

By on October 14, 2016 in Fueling, Gear, Guest Perspective, Review

image2Orange Mud’s Hydraquiver backpack easily transports a water bottle, offers plenty of storage space and has a comfortable fit.

By Henry Howard

When it comes to longer-distance racing, runners often spend time trying to determine their best individual fueling strategy. Water? Electrolyte drink? Generation Ucan? Tailwind? Some combination of all of those?

It’s an individual, choice of course.

And, just like the liquid refreshment options, there are many options for how runners can transport their drink of choice over long distances. Continue Reading →

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Race Report: The Heart of America Marathon

By on October 7, 2016 in Guest Perspective, Review, Success Story

img_0828Editor’s note: This report was sent in by MTA fan Stephen Johnson.

Greetings MTA community! I have been listening to MTA for the pat two years and Trevor has inspired me to share my race experiences. Therefore: Now is the time for my first ever Not-Quite-So-Famous Race Recap.

On Labor Day this past September I ran the Heart of America Marathon in Columbia, Missouri. This a smaller race with only 142 runners who finished this year.

The race was well supported for its size. Continue Reading →

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An Inspired Ultra Challenge 

By on September 26, 2016 in Guest Perspective, PR, Success Story, Ultramarathon

img_4006My first two 50Ks, just 10 weeks apart, met a goal a year in the making and also paved the way for new challenges.

By Henry Howard

Last year, I had the opportunity to interview one of the most inspirational people I have ever met, Noah Galloway. 

Best known for his amazing performance on Dancing With the Stars, Galloway is a double amputee from injuries he suffered in the Iraq war. 

During our interview, Galloway told me “everyone should do something that scares them.” I decided to accept his challenge, upping my ultra ante — doing my first two 50Ks just 10 weeks apart.  Continue Reading →

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Inspired by an Ultrarunning Legend

By on September 17, 2016 in Guest Perspective, Interview, Ultramarathon

00810-07-1489-1Eric Strand saw a 1999 marathon as a one-time thing. Now, thanks in part to Dean Karnazes, Strand has completed dozens of marathons and the Leadville 100 five times.

By Henry Howard

Eric Strand had been fascinated by long-distance running ever since Frank Shorter won the marathon gold medal in the 1972 Olympics.

Years passed and before he knew it, 39-year-old Strand had just finished graduate school and his kids were becoming self-sufficient. “I’d always wanted to run a marathon and everyone knows you can’t run 26.2 miles once you turn 40, so I signed up for the 2000 Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth, Minn.,” he said.

That year — 1999 — he finished the “one and done” marathon. But instead of hanging up the running shoes, Strand has upped his running game to a total of 60 marathons and ultras. Continue Reading →

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The Ups and Downs of Running

By on September 7, 2016 in Guest Perspective

The author at Devou Park, with Cincinnati in the background

The author at Devou Park, with Cincinnati in the background

A series of mishaps on training runs, followed by some positive experiences, made for a roller coaster of emotions over a 72-hour period.

By Henry Howard

I had quite the series of training runs a couple of weeks ago. Lightning, a plunge into a creek and a mysterious bite. But after all those dismal obstacles faded into just memories, I experienced a run that was full of brightness and positive energy.

As I reflected back on those 72 hours of oddities, I recalled one of my favorite but little-known movie lines. It’s from the “grandma” character in the 1989 film, “Parenthood,” describing why she likes the roller coaster.

“It was just so interesting to me that a ride could make me so frightened, so scared, so sick, so excited, and so thrilled all together! Some didn’t like it. They went on the merry-go-round. That just goes around. Nothing. I like the roller coaster. You get more out of it.”

Continue Reading →

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InsideTracker Review

By on August 19, 2016 in Guest Perspective, Health and Wellness, Review

N-O_7ZQb_400x400Even as my health has improved, I wasn’t sure about my overall outlook. InsideTracker’s report reveals my successes and guides me on where to improve.

By Henry Howard

I began running about five years ago as a way to improve on my health and cross “finish a marathon” off my bucket list. The side benefits have included eating a healthier diet and eliminating soda — with the exception of a rum and coke from time to time. Continue Reading →

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It Takes a Village to Build a Marathoner

By on August 6, 2016 in Beginner, Guest Perspective, Interview, Success Story

IMG_0153Jon Lepley of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, knew he wanted to be a runner and started out creating a training plan in which he would run three or four days a week, with progressively longer runs.

But he soon developed bad habits — running every training run as hard as possible — and developed running injuries. “I was never fully following a structured training plan, instead just generally trying to increase distance on a weekend long run, and recover in the days in between,” he recalls.

Lepley set a goal for himself: completing a marathon. And he needed help, so in stepped Marathon Training Academy.

Continue Reading →

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With The Correct Training Anything Can Be Possible

By on July 30, 2016 in Guest Perspective, Interview, Ultramarathon

IMG_3262Collegiate swimmer Molly Culver needed a new challenge and took up ultra running. She won her first ultra, the North Face ECS in Wisconsin, and returns this year. By Henry Howard

When work and home commitments collided with my race calendar, I had to withdraw from the Ultra Race of Champions, which would have been my second ultra.

I had been looking forward to that race. However, as I shuffled plans, my initial disappointment gave way to excitement when I realized that I could return to Wisconsin for an Endurance Challenge Series event.

As much as I am looking forward to the Wisconsin race, I am probably not looking forward to it as much as Molly Culver, who has won the 50-mile event three years in a row. Continue Reading →

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Thoughts from a First-Time Ultra Runner

By on July 17, 2016 in Beginner, Guest Perspective, Ultramarathon

Henry_BuckeyeTrail1I had no idea what lay ahead when I recently lined up at the starting line for my first ultra race, the Buckeye Trail 50K in Brecksville, Ohio.

I had completed 13 marathons previously, including one on a trail — the North Face Endurance Challenge Series in Wisconsin last year.

I knew I had trained well and had my nutrition dialed in. We got a break from the weather — the long-range forecasts of thunderstorms had given way to a nice 60-degree day start.

There was no rain in the forecast and the temperature would be in the mid-70s around my anticipated finishing time. Not bad at all for July.

Oh, about that anticipated finishing time. That was an eye-opener! Continue Reading →

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Champion Runner Shares Trail Knowledge, Advice

By on July 10, 2016 in Guest Perspective, Interview, Ultramarathon

Bryon Powell and Meghan Hicks running a trail in Moab, Utah. Credit Kirsten Kortebein

Bryon Powell and Meghan Hicks running a trail in Moab, Utah. Credit Kirsten
Kortebein


Meghan Hicks has been a runner since she was 14, focusing on road races early on. At the same time, Hicks credits her parents for taking her to “wild places” and her brother for playing with her endlessly in the woods when they were younger.

About 10 years ago, she combined her loves of running and the outdoors by exploring the sport of trail running. In 2013, she won the Marathon des Sables in Morocco, the world’s oldest and largest expedition trail-running race.

Now, as Hicks prepares to run the Hardrock 100 trail race, she and partner Bryon Powell have put their love of the outdoors, trail knowledge and passion for the sport into a 226-page book, “Where the Road Ends: A Guide to Trail Running.” Continue Reading →

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