Come out to Heartbreak Hill on 6/29

Run the 5K or 10K race and stay for a day of pro-am bicycle racing.

Races start at 12-noon!

Marathon weekend is here. Are you ready?

so yeah, not really sure how almost two months have gone by without any updates here... but there's gonna' be a cool race announcement next week. so stay tuned... or watch out for the yellow flyers on heartbreak hill during the marathon.

U.S. Women's Olympic Marathon Trials - huh?

NYC hosted the men's trials the day before their marathon and we're doing the same up here in Boston... only better. Read about this and more from the quotable David McGillvary today.

After reading the article, let's have some fun: comment here about the other 10% of the time Dave crosses the Mass Ave. bridge.

I’ve run over that bridge and on Memorial Drive over 1,000 times. Eighty percent of the time, it’s the most enjoyable run I have all year. And then ten percent of the time, it can be windy.

Huh???

Adidas technical tshirts for Boston Marathon!

Yes, it's true... no more long sleeve cotton tshirts! The BAA is giving us technical tshirts from Adidas this year. I heard this last night at a BAA runners clinic for members of the Boston Marathon charity teams; I'm running with the Dana-Farber team this year. (help me!)

While discussing the chip timing system, David McGillvary, Boston Marathon Race Director, explained how "back in the old days" nobody would know if I was having a bad race and quit the marathon. "Nowadays, your progress is tracked every 5km and posted to the web for all to see," he quipped. "So if you have a bad race, everyone's gonna' know about it the next day." And then he delivered one of those lines that remind us why he's such a great race director...

So if you're having a bad day, you might wanna' just take your chip off!

Leaky calcium channels & snips of thigh muscle

Scientists claim to have figured out why muscles get tired and developed a drug to eliminate fatigue. Clearly, this would be a performance-enhancing drug... so should it be banned? Is this really that much different than ibuprofen?

And how the hell did they get anyone to agree to this?

"Highly trained bicyclists rode stationary bikes at intense levels of exertion for three hours a day three days in a row. For comparison, other cyclists sat in the room but did not exercise. Dr. Nieman removed snips of thigh muscle from all the athletes after the third day and sent them to Columbia..."

Joe Paterno and the Boston Marathon

Penn State's proudest, Joe Paterno and his wife Sue, are coaching a team of Happy Valley runners training for the Boston Marathon.

While a junior at Penn State, I rode my mtn. bike past JoePa's home every day on my way to and from campus. One fall morning, while riding through the woods nearby, I nearly slammed into someone on the trail. HOLY SHIT, it's JoePa! I was speechless; he just laughed. "Hello, lad! Have a great day!" he quipped, while moving off the trail so I could pass. "Thanks JoePa, you too."

No matter how late I was for class, I never rode through those woods that fast again. Just imagine if I'd taken him out? Penn State was ranked #7 that year. I would've been chased outta' town.

Super Sunday Medals @ Marathon Sports Boston

Mailing all the unclaimed medals from the Super Sunday 5K/10K is a pain in the butt. Instead, they can be picked-up at Marathon Sports on Boylston St. in Boston starting Monday, 2/11. If you placed top 3 in your age group and didn't get your medal, please visit the store soon. (like in the next few weeks?)

And in related news, Marathon Sports' owner Colin Peddie recently purchased the Runner's Edge store in Melrose, MA. While signage still hasn't been replaced, Peddie's staff has already taken over operations of this 6th location.