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I am a Marathoner

By on October 16, 2015 in Guest Perspective

Never mind the critics that look down upon the masses who complete 26.2 miles nowadays, we should enjoy our achievements.

By Henry Howard

On Saturday, Nov. 3, 2012, I achieved a bucket list goal, completing a 26.2-mile run in 4:07:55 at the Indianapolis Monumental.

Starting that day I could rightfully say, “I am a marathoner.”

I epitomized being a middle-of-the-packer, finishing 1,474th out of 2,911 finishers. Each of the other 2,910 finishers could also call themselves a marathoner, whether it was their first or 100th finish, or somewhere in between.

I worked hard for the distinction of calling myself a “marathoner.” I’ve seen estimates that say that only 1 percent of the U.S. population has completed a marathon. But, apparently, just completing a marathon isn’t good enough for some people. Continue Reading →

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Review: North Face Endurance Challenge Marathon

By on October 8, 2015 in Guest Perspective, Review, Trail Running

Screen Shot 2015-07-14 at 4.33.23 PMBeautiful scenery, hilly trails and scrumptious aid station food await those willing to try a challenging course in race distances from 50 miles to 5K.

By Henry Howard

My 10th marathon was the most challenging, hardest and slowest that I have finished so far. It was also one of the most rewarding.

The North Face Endurance Challenge Series hosted an event Oct. 3-4 in Kettle Moraine State Park in Wisconsin. (Other sites included Utah, Washington, D.C., New York, Ontario and the series finale in the Golden Gate area of California in December.) Continue Reading →

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Race Recap: The Rock Cut Hobo Runs

By on October 6, 2015 in Back-to-Back Races, Race Recap

Rock-Cut-Hobo-logo_1410811722I decided to run the Rock Cut Hobo Run series for my peak training week for my first 50 mile race. This would involve three back-to-back races.

I knew it would be much more motivating to run an actual event rather than gutting out two back to back long runs myself.

The trails in Northern Illinois also seemed very similar to what I would experience at the North Face Endurance 50 miler in Wisconsin. Continue Reading →

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Marathoner John Young is 4-foot-4 and Full of Heart

By on October 5, 2015 in Guest Perspective, Interview, Motivation

photo credit: John Young Twitter page

photo credit: John Young Twitter page

John Young — the first person with dwarfism to complete a half Ironman — doesn’t let his size keep him from his goals.

By Henry Howard

About nine years ago, John Young was not sleeping well so his wife encouraged him to undergo a sleep study. At the doctor’s office, he stepped on the scale and was shocked to see that he weighed 195 pounds.

That weight is incredibly unhealthy for someone who stands 4-foot-4-inches tall. Continue Reading →

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Interview with Bart Yasso – Chief Running Officer at Runner’s World Magazine

By on October 1, 2015 in Interview, Motivation, Podcasts

flat bart

flat bart

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Bart Yasso started running in 1976. He joined Runner’s World in 1987 (and still loves his job).

He’s friend to millions of runners around the world.

In fact, I tried to friend him on Facebook today and got notified that, “Bart has reached the friend limit. He can’t receive friend requests at the moment.” Facebook caps the number of friends at 5,000.

Bart was with us for episode #19 (five years ago) and we’ve since bumped into him at the Little Rock Marathon and Modesto Marathon.

His book, My Life on the Run, was the first running book I picked up after taking the plunge. Interesting side note to the book . . . Continue Reading →

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Six Ways I’m Fixing My Achilles Tendonitis

By on September 28, 2015 in Beginner, Injury

These are not my feet, btw.

These are not my feet, btw.

You may have heard on podcast episode #154 that I had to skip a marathon because of pain in my achilles tendon.

My injury became the inspiration behind The Marathon That Got Away.

Thankfully my tendon hasn’t bothered me for the last two weeks and I’m ready to slowly ease back into running.

I’m thankful to Angie (my wife) and my physical therapist friend Dr. Ben Shatto for helping me diagnose and deal with this injury before it got serious.

Here’s what I’ve been doing Continue Reading →

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Review: Erie Marathon at Presque Isle

By on September 22, 2015 in Guest Perspective, Review

Erie Marathon medalLooking for a BQ or PR? This flat and fast course will fit the bill, while the cost is affordable especially given the swag and post-race food.

By Henry Howard

The Erie Marathon routinely shows up on lists touting the “best Boston Qualifier races.” In fact, organizers use that as a draw for BQ hopefuls: the race is held each year on the last day for qualifying for the next Boston Marathon.

The course — which is accurately described as flat and fast — is two loops around Presque Isle State Park in northwestern Pennsylvania. For most of the course, one lane of traffic is blocked off and the other lane is for the runners. Continue Reading →

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The Marathon That Got Away!

By on September 20, 2015 in Injury, Podcasts, Safety

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If you’ve been running for a while you may have faced the disappointment of having to miss a race due to injury or illness.

You may have been fighting injury over a long period of time and came to the realization that the race wasn’t going to be a good idea. Or you may have had an injury or illness that came out of nowhere.

In either case, it’s very hard to know when to skip or DNS (did not start) a race and deal with the disappointment of not being able to do something you’ve been training for and looking forward to.

Trevor faced this recently with what would have been marathon #10 at the Tupelo Marathon. A couple weeks before the race he started experiencing Achilles soreness, a lump, redness and discomfort.

This got progressively worse until he was feeling discomfort with every step. This is annoying for a 4 mile run but potentially dangerous during a marathon. Continue Reading →

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How to Prevent and Self-Treat Shin Splints

By on September 12, 2015 in Guest Perspective, Health and Wellness, Injury

ShinSplints_ArrowsThe term shin splints, also known as an anterior compartment syndrome, refers to pain along the shinbone (tibia), the large bone in the front of your lower leg.

Shin splints can be excruciatingly painful to the point that you may struggle to walk or run. They are typically caused by inflammation in the anterior muscle of the lower leg known as the anterior tibialis muscle.

This is the primary muscle needed to lift your foot. Shin splints are often considered an over use injury and unfortunately, are relatively common in runners.

Discover the common causes for shin splints and implement these strategies to prevent and self-treat shin splints. Continue Reading →

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Interview with Dr. Jeff Brown (Part 2), The Runner’s Brain

By on September 9, 2015 in Beginner, Interview, Podcasts

e503-jeff-brown*[Audio Content Available For Members Only. Click Here to Join Now]

Here’s part 2 of our conversation with Dr. Jeff Brown the lead psychologist at the Boston Marathon and author of the new book The Runner’s Brain.

In this episode we ask brain questions sent in by Academy members. I know you’ll love it!

Topics covered include: how to mentally prepare for a race, overcoming the post-race blues, mental toughness, how the elites think, and dealing with start line nerves. Continue Reading →

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