If you have been thinking about jumping on the Nike+ bandwagon, now is your chance to do so.

Today marks the fifth anniversary of Nike+, an innovative fitness tool to keep running enthusiasts motivated and performing at their peak. Since its launch, the Nike+ community has rapidly grown with over four million members and more than 375 million combined miles logged. To honor the this milestone, Nike is gifting free Nike+ GPS Apps for a limited time only, available on iTunes App Store starting today, May 23.

So log on, download, and rack up some miles on Nike+.

After an illustrious running career, Grete Waitz succumbed to a long battle with cancer at the age of 57. She is an inspiration to all runners. Gothamist reports:

Grete Waitz, the Norwegian marathoner who won the New York City Marathon nine times, died today at age 57. She had been battling cancer for the past six years and passed away in Oslo. She won the 1978-80, 1982-86, and 1988 NYC Marathons, leaving the race organizers to call her “The Greatest Champion in New York City Marathon History.” Waitz’s husband convinced her to enter the race—her first marathon—in 1978; she was expected to be a pace setter, but ended up winning and setting a world record, 2 hours, 32 minutes, 30 seconds.

In NYRR’s tribute, they write:

We are sad to lose a dear friend and our most decorated champion, Grete Waitz, who passed away today. Her strength and grace throughout her fight with cancer were incredible, and when so many people would have crumbled she stood strong and positive.

Grete was a great champion in life as well as in sport. We treasure every moment we had with her. Grete is forever part of NYRR. Her legacy lives through the marathon, Grete’s Gallop, the Mini, and our youth programs. She was deeply important in making the New York City Marathon what it is today, and she inspired generations of women, including athletes like Paula Radcliffe and Deena Kastor. That inspiration will continue.

We will forever celebrate Grete in our hearts and as an inspiration and role model for women’s running.

If Grete had to go, it is somehow fitting that she lived until the day after one of the greatest weekends in the sport of marathon running.

[img: Waitz winning the 1983 NYC Marathon(AP)]

As Melissa Bowerman reached deep into a cupboard for a blanket against the night chill, she discovered a box stuffed with mud-caked shoes and a rusty appliance.

She showed the things to her husband, Jon, and his brother, Tom, who had found them buried near the house in Coburg where their father, former Oregon track coach Bill Bowerman, lived for decades with his wife, Barbara.

Melissa said she could sell the things at auction — she had a good cause in mind — but the two men laughed.

“‘No one’s going to want those,’” Melissa recalled the men saying last spring.

Oh, how wrong they were.

Excitement from the discovery would ripple across the state, from the headquarters near Beaverton of the company Bill co-founded to the tiny town of Fossil hours away where he spent his childhood. In addition to shoes with treads handmade by Bill, Melissa had stumbled upon Nike’s Holy Grail: the long-lost waffle iron that inspired him to craft the revolutionary sole that launched an athletic empire.

Full article here.

[Image: Courtesy of Nike]

The NYRR Manhattan Half Marathon was this past Saturday, January 21st 2011 in Central Park. The race started at 8:00am when the temps were a whooping high of 16 degrees.  16! The frigid temps didn’t stop the determined runners though and everyone was in high spirits completing the 13.1 mile run. I’m sure the gorgeous views of the winter wonderland that is central park helped motivate the runners as well as knowing how bad ass they all seemed running in such cold weather. Eddie Owens, who is only 17,  won the men’s race with the fantastic time of 1:10:25 and Jane Vongvorachoti took the women’s top spot at an equally impressive 1:22:48. See all the results here.

What’s the coldest temperature you’ve run in?

All photo’s taken by Amanda Blair

Nike + has teamed up with Tom tom on their latest round of running gadgetry. In a departure from the traditional Nike + systems, this band is linked to satellites, instead of relying solely on the data from the chip in the runner’s shoe. According to Nike:

“The Nike+ SportWatch GPS is designed for high performance with an extremely clear and readable user interface that delivers the information necessary to the user while in-run. It adds personalization and motivational features to the running experience, including audible sounds, challenges, run reminders and more.

The Nike+ SportWatch GPS is designed to be simple and intuitive with only three buttons and a Tap Screen for navigation. During the run, the new Nike+ SportWatch GPS captures location information while showing runners their time, distance, pace, and calories burned on an easy-to-read screen featuring a customizable layout. Throughout the run, the GPS receiver works in tandem with the shoe-based Nike+ Sensor to deliver highly accurate pace and distance data.”

We’d love to hear from anyone who has had a chance to try this thing out.

Thursday morning, will be the first Thanksgiving Marathon in Van Cortland Park. There will also be a 10k and a Half-Marathon. All events are free to participate in, and have an 8:00 AM start time. For more details, check out the event page.

Kenya’s Linet Masai pulled of an impressive win Saturday morning at New York Road Runner’s Women’s Only Mini 10k, with a time of 30:48. The race is steeped in history and tradition. Run for the first time in 1972, the Mini 10k is named for the miniskirt, which was a symbol of renegade women’s fashion, at the time. The initial rendition of the race had less than 100 participants. Saturday’s iteration had over 5000 ladies participating.

Kara Goucher and Paula Radcliffe, both visibly pregnant, came out to Saturday’s race to show their support for women runners. Paula ran the course, although she was not competing. Kara was not feeling up to the run, though she greeted the runners from the podium at the start line and held the finish line ribbon.

More photos of the event can be seen on the run-nyc.com album page.

In addition to the Linet, the field of Saturday’s elite runners included several Olympic athletes. According to NYRR:

When Linet Masai of Kenya crossed the finish line in Central Park to win the 2010 NYRR New York Mini 10K, she became one of the few runners to have mastered all three of her sport’s disciplines. Already a world champion at 10,000 meters on the track and a two-time silver medalist at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships, Masai has now added a victory in the world’s original all-women’s road race. And she has done it all by the age of 20.
Just past the race’s halfway point, in the tough Harlem Hills section, Masai broke away from the strongest field ever assembled in this race’s 39-year history. The pack behind her included four-time Mini 10K champion Lornah Kiplagat of the Netherlands, 36, who had led early; Kenya’s Emily Chebet, 24, who had defeated Masai by one second to win this year’s World Cross race in Poland; 2010 Boston Marathon champion Teyba Erkesso, 27, of Ethiopia; and Werknesh Kidane, 28, also of Ethiopia, a former World Cross champion and a World Championships silver medalist on the track.

Congratulations to all of the participants of the 2010 New York Mini 10k, and to NYRR for organizing such a great event. Full results available on the NYRR event result page.

[Photos: Jacob Breinholt]

Run on the beach to avoid traffic? So was 38 year old Robert Gary Jones of Hilton Head Island South Carolina, when he was struck from behind and killed by a single engine kit plane. The event occurred on Monday evening. Jones, apparently was listening to headphones during his run, and likely did not even hear the stalled aircraft approaching from behind. According to the AP release:

“There’s no noise,” said aviation expert Mary Schiavo, a former inspector general for the National Transportation Safety Board. “So the jogger, with his ear buds in, and the plane without an engine, you’re basically a stealth aircraft. Who would expect to look up?”

This incident could provide fodder for proponents of banning the use of headphones during competitive races. Several major races already discourage the use of headphones, because of safety reasons. According to former inspector Schiavo’s statement, it appears unlikely that even without headphones, Jones would have heard the approaching plane.

But, for those who live in metropolitan areas (like Manhattan) and do not have the luxury of working out on the beach, Jones’ death should be a reminder to exercise caution. For many, taking music away from the workout, changes the workout from “doable,” into torture. So, the key is to find a happy medium.

When listening to music during a run, make sure that the volume in the headphones is not so loud that it blocks out all of the ambient noise. Lets be honest, even when Central Park Drive is closed to traffic, that place is a complete zoo. The same dangers exist on almost all of New York city’s pedestrian paths, especially those that are shared with bicycle traffic. As great as music can be to help a person get into a zone during a workout, tragedies like the one in South Carolina prove that it important to remain aware of surroundings, even in the most seemingly innocuous of locations.

So, to be on the safe side, turn down the headphones, and enjoy the spring weather!

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)