Photo credit: John Michael Maas, Global Water Challenge.

In February, New York City runners raised almost a half of a million dollars for Haiti, during the NYRR Run for Haiti event. In April, NYC runners will have another opportunity to join with others around the globe in running to help conditions in Haiti. Dow has teamed up with Live Earth for an event called “Run for Water.” Run for Water is a global event, in which runners will participate in a 6k race, to improve drinking water conditions in Haiti. From the event’s website:

The City that never sleeps will be coming together on April 18th as New York comes out to run Prospect Park at the Dow Live Earth Run For Water. 24 hours, hundreds of runs, celebrities, thousands of runners and funds raised to help solve the water crisis. Running or walking 6km makes the realities of water scarcity real.  Make sure you are with us as we highlight this world wide issue that affects all of us.

The New York City Installation of this event will be occurring in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park on April 18th. The registration fee is $50 and can be done through the event’s registration page online.Though the money raised from the event will be used to help improve drinking water conditions in various developing countries worldwide, “for each person who registers using Promotional Code “HAITI” Live Earth will make a special extra donation to Global Water Challenge (10% of all entry fees already go to support water projects worldwide – we’ll add $1 for Haiti relief). The special donation will go to Catholic Relief  Services, CARE, Population Services International,  and UNICEF to implement safe drinking water  programs on the ground in Haiti for earthquake survivors.” For the full details, please visit the event page on the Live Earth Website.

The sun was out early, in Washington Heights, on Sunday March 7th, and so were New York City runners. Nearly 6000 runners turned out to participate in the Coogan’s 2010 Salsa, Blues & Shamrocks 5K. The temperature was on the brisk side, but it was perfect for running.

The famed New Balance Track and Field armory was the start and finish of the race. The course went north on Fort Washington, into Ft. Tryon Park, around the Cloisters, then back down Ft. Washington.  As difficult as “out and back” course logistics can be, the NYRR staff pulled it off in perfect form.

Derese Deniboba of NY won the mens’ race with a scorching time of 14:34. For the women, Claudia Camargo was the first to cross the line, scoring a 16:35.

Congratulations to all those who participated in Sunday’s race. Full results can be found here.

Photos from the event can be viewed here.

(All photos by: Zach Tolbert)

(Photo: NYRR)

New York Road Runners, is presenting the perfect opportunity for fitness conscious “global citizens” to lend a helping hand. Saturday morning, February 20th, NYRR is organizing a 4 mile walk/run to benefit the earthquake ravaged country of Haiti. The walk/run starts at 9:00 AM. In addition to the 4 mile race, a kids race will take place at 10:30. According to the NYRR:

All entry fees collected by NYRR will go to New York City’s Haiti Relief Fund, administered by the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City, which is directing 100% of donations to reputable organizations providing relief in Haiti.

Online registration for the event is currently open, until 11:59 PM EST, on Wednesday night (February 17), after which participants will only be able to register on the morning of the event, in Central Park. Online registration may be done through the NYRR event page.

As an additional bonus for NYRR members trying to gain entry for the 2011 New York City Marathon, NYRR has announced that it will award double “9+1″ credit for this race. That means that the run for Haiti will actually count as two races toward the nine required for guaranteed entry to next year’s marathon. For additional details, including course map, please see the New York Road Runners’ event page.

The February 2010 Race Calendar has now been populated. Click though here to view the events. If you would like to have your event added to our calendar, please feel free to contact us.

Heel Strike Study

Harvard University

The debate about barefoot vs. trainer has been a hot one in podiatry and running communities alike, for quite some time now. Vibram has relied heavily on the theory that barefoot running is less likely to cause running injuries, for their Five Fingers ads. There have been countless books and articles over the past few years, that have also discussed this topic.

February 1, 2010 Science Daily published an article citing data from a study conducted by scientists at Harvard, relating to barefoot vs. trainer-shod running. It appears as though the Harvard Study has concluded that barefoot running, does indeed cause a runner to alter their stride in a way that the heel strike is less forceful than when the runner is wearing padded trainers.

Science Daily explains these findings, stating that:

Scientists have found that those who run barefoot, or in minimal footwear, tend to avoid “heel-striking,” and instead land on the ball of the foot or the middle of the foot. In so doing, these runners use the architecture of the foot and leg and some clever Newtonian physics to avoid hurtful and potentially damaging impacts, equivalent to two to three times body weight, that shod heel-strikers repeatedly experience.

The results of the study, as Daniel E. Lieberman, professor of human evolutionary biology at Harvard University explains, show that when a person is wearing a trainer the brunt of the impact is taken by the heel of the foot. Lieberman contrasts that finding with subjects who were running with no shoes, stating that the shock of each foot strike was absorbed by the entire foot, because of the way that barefoot runners instinctively flatten out their feet before each strike.

Lieberman warns that making a transition from running in trainers, to minimalistic footwear, or bare feet, should not be done hastily. In the article he states:

Running barefoot or in minimal shoes is fun but uses different muscles. If you’ve been a heel-striker all your life you have to transition slowly to build strength in your calf and foot muscles.

It is pertinent to point out that Vibram was one of the sources of funding for the Harvard study. This fact doesn’t necessarily mean that the results are biased. But, to those who view the barefoot running trend as the running world’s equivalent to the latest fad-diet, point to Vibram as evidence. Even the critics of the study would most likely agree that it has shown that runners can safely run distance with minimal or no footwear.

In years past participants of the New York City Half-Marathon gained entry on a first come-first serve basis. New York Road Runners decided to switch things up this year and hold a lottery for those who do not qualify for guaranteed entry. The registration format mirrors that of the New York City Marathon. Runners who have completed a Marathon, or Half-Marathon, in the times proscribed by the New York Road Runners, will qualify for guaranteed entry. Others, will have to put in the lottery.

The Lottery for the 2010 New York City Half-Marathon is currently open, as of December 1, 2009, and will stay open until 11:59 p.m. EST on January 5, 2010. Qualifying times, for guaranteed entry, as well as more information regarding the lottery, can be found on the NYRR event information page.

The New York City Half-Marathon has also moved from August, to March, with the 2010 Race scheduled to take place on March 21st. This change of schedule seems wise, given that a large portion of the course tracks the West Side Highway, where there is little or no shade. The 2009 Race, which took place on a particularly hot and humid summer day, had a modest number of participants that ended up suffering from some sort of head induced fatigue.

In addition to an earlier date, and registration date for the New York City Half-Marathon, the New York Road Runners have extended the registration period for next years New York City Marathon, as well. The lottery for the 2010 marathon opened the day after the 2009 race, and is currently open. Application information for the 2010 New York City Marathon can be found on the NYRR event page.

[photo: 2009 NYC Half-Marathon by: Jacob Breinholt]

The Run-NYC November Event Calendar is now posted.

As always, please contact us, if you would like to have your event added.

Meb Keflezighi winning the 2009 New York City Marathon (Photo: Jacob Breinholt)

After a 27 year drought, an American won the mens’ New York City Marathon. Meb Keflezighi brought home the title, with a roughly 40 second margin between himself and the second place male finisher. In addition to an American taking first place, Ryan Hall, finished fourth. For the winner, Meb Keflezighi, this race was also a personal best, at 2 hours, 9 minutes and 14 seconds.

It was an amazing sight to watch Keflezighi cross the finish line, kiss the ground and go straight over to his family. Keflezighi, originally from Africa, immigrated in the 90’s to later become a naturalized citizen of the United States.

Meb Keflezighi at the finish line with his family at the  2009 New York City Marathon (Photo: Jacob Breinholt)

The womens’ race took a turn for the unexpected, only a few short miles before the finish, when Paula Radcliffe, 3 time winner of the New York City Marathon, started to fall back, after leading the pack for the majority of the race. Paula, who was favored by most, to win her forth New York City Marathon, this year, ended up finishing off the podium in fourth place, and was visibly upset at the finish.

Women’s winner Derartu Tulu with Paula Radcliffe and NYRR CEO Mary Wittenberg at the finish line of the 2009 New York City Marathon (Photo: Jacob Breinholt)

Derartu Tulu, of Ethiopia won the womens’ race with a time of 2 hours 28 minutes and 52 seconds. Although the womens’ race kept a fairly tight pack until very late in the race, Tulu finished with a solid margin.

Derartu Tulu, of Ethiopia  crossing the finish line as victor of 2009 New York City Marathon (Photo: Jacob Breinholt)

A few fun facts about this year’s New York City Marathon, provided by NYRR:

43,741 runners competed in the 2009 ING New York City Marathon
2:09:15 Keflezighis time as he became the first American man to win since 1982
2:28:52 Tulus time as she became the first Ethiopian to win the NYC Marathon
11,410 pounds of ice were at the ready at marathon medical stations
2.5 million people will read the marathon results section of tomorrows NY Times
For more fast facts about the marathon, click here.

For more photos, click here.

Over 3,000 runners took to the road in Brooklyn, NY on Oct. 24 for the Nike+ Human Race 10K.  Nike hosted Human Race events in 24 cities around the globe as part of the world’s largest one-day running event. (Photos: Nike)

For a lot of New Yorkers, the weather on Saturday was enough to cancel plan, sleep in and order delivery. For some 3000+ dedicated New York area runner, it was a different story. This year’s Nike Plus Human Race was Saturday, October 24th. As Nike explains it:

New York City was one of 24 cities worldwide to host a 10K as part of the second Nike+ Human Race.  Nike also encouraged runners located outside one of the 24 host cities to log their miles online using the Nike+ system, creating a truly global event.  Together, the world ran almost 800,000 miles on 10.24.09

Congratulations to all of those who participated in the world-wide event, especially to those who braved the weather in New York on Saturday, to get out and log some miles.

Saturday, October 24, 2009 will be the second installment of what Nike is billing as:

the world’s largest one-day global running event. Nike-hosted Human Race events will be held in more than 24 cities globally, from Buenos Aires to Rome. U.S. races will be held in NYC’s Prospect Park, at the University of South California (USC) and at Ohio State University (OSU)

The great part about this race, is that it will take place anywhere that any of its participants happen to find themselves at any particular time on Saturday the 24th. Nike is, however, organizing group events in some of the larger cities. The group run for New York City area residents will be held in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park.

The course is two laps around the park. The course map can be found here. In addition to the group run, Nike will be putting on events in the park, basically all day long, including a post-run show by Matt and Kim.

For those planning on running in Prospect Park on Saturday, race packets can be picked up at NIKETOWN New York, 6 East 57th Street, between 5th Avenue and Madison Avenue on Thursday, October 22th from 1:00PM to 7:00PM and Friday, October 23th from 11:30AM to 4:30PM. Packet pick-up will also be available on race day at the Nike+ Human Race in Prospect Park. Pick-up will close 30 minutes prior to the start of the race.

The group run in Prospect Park will begin at 8 AM. Here for more details.