Karhu pieces and "Runners Wanted" contest

I recently wrote a few pieces for Karhu on the history of Finnish running in the United States. Both are part of the relaunch of the Karhu website, the launch of their Karhu Originals line and their upcoming "Runners Wanted" tour across the United States, where a few lucky runners will navigate a refurbished Airstream® across the country, stopping at retailers and road races along the way. I visited the Airstream® this past weekend at the Boston Marathon and it's very cool. More information on the contest is located here. Follow Karhu Running on Twitter here.

Here are the articles. Click below each intro for the full piece on Karhu's page.

Click here to read the "Paavo Nurmi - 1925" piece on Karhu's blog

Click here to read the full "Finns rule Boston" piece on the Karhu blog

If you're interested in hiring me to write a piece or cover an event, contact me!

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Thanks to our sponsor, "There is No Finish Line: The Joan Benoit-Samuelson Story," for sponsoring the blog this week. I'll be reviewing it very soon! If you're interested in sponsoring writing about running (and other great sites like TrackFocus, Track Superfan, Paul Merca and the House of Run podcast) in the future, check out The Relay Network. You can also support the site by buying something on Amazon.com through this link

Hobby Jogging: 4/16/2012 - Boston, MA - Boston Marathon

When I got the emails from Boston Athletic Association stating "you should adopt the attitude that THIS IS NOT A RACE. It is an experience" and "if you are not highly fit you should NOT run this race. Inexperienced marathoners should not run," I joked about it. Turns out they weren't kidding. In what the Boston Globe described as a day where "even the breeze felt like a blast from a hair dryer," trying to race a marathon probably wasn't the best idea.

After having run well at Boston in 2010 and then having to skip last year due to injury, I wasn't missing this one. It could be my last for a while. Maybe I should have, but then I wouldn't have the story of running one of the toughest Boston Marathons ever. More than 2,100 people sought medical attention, plus my friend Tyler Pake, who had the pleasure of getting three IV bags upon returning to North Carolina.

Bill Hunt, Tyler and I under the tent
(It's already real bright out at 9am)

Upon landing in Boston on Saturday, the weather was great. Upper 60's, lower 70's. Good stuff. Being optimistic, I hoped that maybe the weatherman was wrong and it would be fine. I wasn't that lucky. We shipped out to Hopkinton on the school buses at 6:30am to prepare for the big wait in the athletes village, before heading over to the starting line for the customary 10am start. It was already hot. I wouldn't be carrying my usual throwaway hoodie and sweatpants to the starting line this year. It was straight singlet for the walk up and I definitely didn't need that, as it was soaked within the first few miles.

I've been injured and haven't done a run on the roads over 16 miles in almost two months, but was hoping to just go out, have fun and finish "somewhere around 3:30." This would be far off my last three marathons, but no big deal. That would prove far tougher than expected. Got out in around 6:41, which was easy on the downhill, but it felt odd. Second mile, 6:43. OK, I thought. I can roll these off and maybe surprise myself. That's when I could start to feel the effects of the heat beating down on us. There's very little shade on the Boston course and it would take it's toll early and often. I think my third mile was around 7:10 and they just got slower from there. I walked for the first time before the five mile mark. Why I didn't just bag it early, I'm not sure. Every time I'd see an aid station, I thought "just a little bit farther."

With less than a mile to go,
I could finally smile a little

I began slowly clicking off miles where I'd run a little, walk a little and just try to get to the next aid station. By the time I hit mile 10, I thought, "if I can just make it to Wellesley..." I think that was the point of the race where I decided I was going to soldier my 6', 175 pound body through, no matter what. I tried to take in the entire course and enjoy the crowds as much as possible. They were incredible. I don't really remember a lot of 2010 because I was running hard and focused. Not so much today. Where my shins felt fine (thanks to Capital RunWalk), everything else hurt. The calf spasms started around mile 15 and would not end until about 0.2 to go. They stopped me dead in my tracks looking for a curb to stretch them around ten times. What fun!

Eventually, I got there. From mile 22 to the finish, it was very rough. Tons of great crowd support and I wanted to run the whole way, but my body just wouldn't let me. I ran as much as I could and just tried to envision the moment it would be over. Running by the Citgo sign at mile 25 and down the final stretch on Boylston was still very exciting and I happily accepted my finisher's medal as a badge of honor. There were tons of competitors that had similar results in the finishing chute. I was not alone in my death march!

"I finished the 2012 Boston Marathon"

There's no telling how much water I consumed, how many hoses I was sprayed by and how many cups of the extra salty Gatorade I drank, but it wasn't enough to combat the heat. Now while I consider that my only achievement of Boston 2012 was indeed finishing the race, I hope that one day I'll have tales of "nothing but (very) warm memories."

PS. I didn't get to attend any post-race parties, because I was on the brink of hospital-level dehydration, but I did get to drink a Samuel Adams 26.2 Brew, thanks to the Hilton Back Bay room service. Delicious and refreshing. Hope they take it national. A low alcohol beer that actually tastes good. Watch out Lance!

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Thanks to our sponsor, "There is No Finish Line: The Joan Benoit-Samuelson Story," for sponsoring the blog this week. I'll be reviewing it very soon! If you're interested in sponsoring writing about running (and other great sites like TrackFocus, Track Superfan, Paul Merca and the House of Run podcast) in the future, check out The Relay Network. You can also support the site by buying something on Amazon.com through this link

5 Questions with Brie Felnagle

Brie leads Jen Rhines at Stanford
(photo: TrackAndFieldPhoto)

Today we have 5 Questions with a fellow Tar Heel alumni who exemplifies the versatility that Chapel Hill breeds; she's been on the cover of Runner's World and is a pro at Words With Friends. After an excellent showing at the Stanford Invitational last week, she'll run a full schedule this spring in preparation for the Olympic Trials in June.

Brie Felnagle has been part of the national scene for almost ten years now, from finishing second at Nike Team Nationals and sixth at Foot Locker in high school to winning a national championship in the 1500 and finishing fourth in Cross Country at the University of North Carolina. She had a strong first season as a professional, running for Adidas, last year, finishing seventh in the 1500 at USATF Nationals and then winning Club Cross in the fall. She just missed the 5000 A Standard by 2.39 seconds in a strong season opener at Stanford and looks to be on track for her best season yet. Follow Brie on Twitter here.

5 Questions with Brie Felnagle

1. Writing About Running: Congrats on the big PR at Stanford. You slowly worked your way through the pack and finished strong. Was that the strategy all along?

Brie Felnagle: Thank you. I did not know exactly where my fitness was. I had not raced since December and was fighting injury for most of February. I had been at altitude for the month prior to Stanford and because workout times are adjusted up there, I just didn't know what to expect. So I went out conservatively and moved as I felt better throughout the race.

Brie in her Tar Heel days

2. Writing About Running: The transition back to the west coast seems to be going well. What have been the biggest changes in "heading home?"

Brie Felnagle: The biggest change in heading home is not having school! There is so much time in the day. It took me awhile to get the hang of making good use of that time and setting a schedule for myself. I have gotten much better at that this year and I think it has helped.

3. Writing About Running: You had a nice win at Club Cross this Fall. How did that fit into your training?

Brie Felnagle: Club cross was a lot of fun because it was a local meet. Several of my training partners got to run with me, which made it feel like a team experience. I have missed cross country a lot since college, especially the team part. It was also great strength training for track season later in the spring.

Felnagle's "fans"

4. Writing About Running: I saw fellow Tar Heel, Addie Bracy, recently and she told me about yalls training trip to Mexico. How did that come about and who all was involved?

Brie Felnagle: Mexico was where we were altitude training before Stanford. It is in San Luis Potosi, which has an amazing training facility that includes housing and food. There were four of us: Addie, myself, Jake Schmitt from University of Washington, and Kim Conley from UC Davis. The weather was amazing (especially since it was the worst March on record in Washington) and we got a lot out of the trip. Mental toughness included.

5. Writing About Running: What else do you have on the schedule this spring? Have you decided between the 1500 and the 5000 at the trials?

Brie Felnagle: I will run both the 1500 and 5k this spring. I'll be running at the Mt. Sac Relays, Payton Jordan Cardinal Invite, Oxy and potentially Adidas. I am not sure which I will go for at the trials, but I'm excited to run both!

Follow writing about running on Twitter and Facebook

Thanks to our sponsor, 14 Minutes, the Alberto Salazar autobiography, for sponsoring the blog this week. I'll be reviewing it very soon! If you're interested in sponsoring writing about running (and other great sites like TrackFocus, Track Superfan, Paul Merca and the House of Run podcast) in the future, check out The Relay Network.

Film Major: "Town of Runners"

Jerry Rothwell's "Town of Runners" gives us a timely look at how the Ethiopian running system works from the elementary level on up. It's nice to see this, in a moment where the international road racing scene has been called into question. In America, we see new faces pop up from Ethiopia and Kenya every year and this documentary shows us how they are brought up through the ranks, from their hometown to the club system and then on from there... if they are good enough.

The film starts in the small town of Bekoji, where you see a big crowd watching the Women's 5000 meter final from the 2008 Beijing Olympics on a flat screen television. The crowd roars as it becomes obvious that one of the stars of their town, Tirunesh Dibaba, will take the Gold Medal. Other stars from Bekoji include Derartu Tulu, Kenenisa Bekele and his brother Tariku. They were all developed by longtime local coach, Sentayehu Eshetu.

Coach Sentayehu Eschetu

The story then begins to focus on two middle school aged girls, Hawii Megersa and Alemi Tsegaye, who are training with Coach Eshetu, with hopes of showing enough promise to get picked up by a club. If they show enough talent at the Regional Youth Championships in Asella, they are rewarded with a two year contract with one of the clubs, which are located through out Ethiopia. Both the girls run well, with Hawii placing a little higher, but ultimately, Alemi gets into a better situation, as although the government supports the clubs, Ethiopia is still a developing country and some limitations can't be avoided.

Coach Eshetu doesn't have to do much convincing of the girls parents, as moving on from the 12,000 person Bekoji is something they are proud of. "Winning is not without reward. They get money" is part of his sales pitch. "Only education and running" are important, according to Hawii's mother. Unfortunately, Hawii is thrown into a bad situation in Woliso, with poor living conditions, lack of money for dinner for the entire club and a town that doesn't support the runners. She retreats home before falling into another tough situation in Asella. Alemi is a better situation in Holeta, which ultimately brings out the best in her at the Oromia Club Championships.

"Most atheletes in clubs in Addis Ababa are from Bekoji" says Coach Eshetu, whose advice for some young runners during a tough hill workout is "vomit and keep going!" His runners love him and his care is genuine and proven. He's aware that very few will truly make it, but that doesn't stop him from helping all of them.

Director Jerry Rothwell

It's noted that Bekoji had "roads of mud that not many people visit," but by the end of the film, it shows that the roads have been paved and "big trucks will now come through Bekoji." Will that lead to more injuries and more opportunities outside of running? Maybe.

The cinematography in "Town of Runners" is absolutely beautiful and there's a scene of Ethiopians doing the High Jump that you must see to believe. Most of the film is subtitled, as the official language of Ethiopia is Amharic, but that doesn't take away from the very entertaining subjects. It's a film that any running fan will be very happy to see.

Follow "Town of Runners" on Twitter here. "Town of Runners" opens Friday at the Tribeca Film Festival. For all upcoming screenings, go here.

Update: Watch in the US is online for free at the Tribeca Online Festival. You can watch the film online anytime between April 19th at 6:45 and 11:59 on April 29th and it is free to watch. But you do need to reserve a virtual seat (and there are only 1000).

Check out the trailer below:


Follow writing about running on Twitter and Facebook

Thanks to our sponsor, 14 Minutes, the Alberto Salazar autobiography, for sponsoring the blog this week. I'll be reviewing it very soon! If you're interested in sponsoring writing about running (and other great sites like TrackFocus, Track Superfan, Paul Merca and the House of Run podcast) in the future, check out The Relay Network.

5 Questions with Betty Wong, Editor-in-Chief at Fitness Magazine

Betty Wong

The Boston Marathon isn't the only big race going on this week. The (Sold Out) More Magazine/ Fitness Magazine Women's Half-Marathon is this Sunday in New York City. The beautiful Central Park course will host thousands of women from all over the world. Today, we have 5 Questions with the Editor-in-Chief at Fitness. Follow the More/Fitness Half on Twitter here.

Betty Wong is the Editor-in-Chief at Fitness Magazine, which with a circulation of 1.5 million, is recognized as the nation’s leading active lifestyle magazine for women. Under her leadership, Fitness has won numerous industry awards for its magazine stories and digital properties, including a MIN Editorial & Design Award, Ad Age Media Vanguard Award and Folio Eddie Gold Award. Wong is an avid runner, having completed more than a dozen half-marathons and two NYC Marathons as well!

5 Questions with Betty Wong

1. Writing About Running: What’s your history as a runner?

Betty Wong: I’m a recreational runner, for sure. I didn’t get serious about long distances until about 5 years ago, shortly after I had my second child. My friend, who’d also recently had a baby, and I decided to train for and run a half-marathon as a way of losing the baby weight. It was so fun and rewarding that I’ve been hooked ever since. I’ve now run more than a dozen half-marathons, two New York City Marathons, and the Hood to Coast Relay in Oregon.

2. Writing About Running: How’d you get involved promoting such a large race like the Women’s Half-Marathon?

Betty Wong: Shortly after I became the editor-in-chief of Fitness magazine, we partnered with our sister publication More on the Women’s Half-Marathon in spring of 2009. The race has grown tremendously now that we are in our fourth year of our joint partnership with the New York Road Runners on this women’s-only event.

3. Writing About Running: What are some of your favorite areas to run in NYC?

Betty Wong: I love running in Central Park, of course. The hills are killer but such good training. And I run a lot in my neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens. Forest Park is beautiful, peaceful patch of woods in the middle of the city. I love being surrounded by so many trees on the running path as well as the park’s bridle trails.

4. Writing About Running: What are a few of your favorite post-run restaurants in NYC?

Betty Wong: I usually start day dreaming about burgers around mile 10 of every half marathon. To get my protein fix post-race, I love going to Blue Smoke or Dinosaur BBQ.

5. Writing About Running: What do competitors have to look forward to in running the Women’s Half-Marathon?

Betty Wong: This has always been my favorite race of the year—not just because I work at Fitness. I love the crowds of women who come in for this race, from all 50 states and even several other countries. Everyone is super excited to run and prove how invincible they are, and yet they are also so supportive of each other. You see a lot of high-fiving going on throughout the course and you hear lots of girl talk going on. The energy and camaraderie are truly infectious.

Follow writing about running on Twitter and Facebook

Thanks to our sponsor, 14 Minutes, the Alberto Salazar autobiography, for sponsoring the blog this week. I'll be reviewing it very soon! If you're interested in sponsoring writing about running (and other great sites like TrackFocus, Track Superfan, Paul Merca and the House of Run podcast) in the future, check out The Relay Network.

5 Questions with Tim Jeffreys, filmmaker of "The 41st Day" (Ryan Hall Film)

Tim Jeffreys

Today we have 5 Questions with a fellow North Carolinian and a fellow "film student," who has an exciting project in the works that offers fans a chance to fly to Flagstaff and spend a day with Ryan Hall. Running, dinner and just hanging out. What a cool concept!

Tim Jeffreys is a runner and a film maker. If you haven't heard of the new Ryan Hall film yet, you're one of the few. The Kickstarter page for "The 41st Day" launched a mere three days ago and has already hit the funding goal of $30,000, but there are still plenty of chances to get involved! Follow Tim on Twitter and check out the Kickstarter page to see out some of the incredible fan packages that are available to help support the film.

5 Questions with Tim Jeffreys

1. Writing About Running: Your first foray into running films was "the TRIALS" series for McMillan Elite. How'd that come about and what's your background in film making?

Tim Jeffreys: I graduated from the University of South Carolina in 2010 with a honors degree in Math, so my background is about as far away from film as possible. After starting to do videos for McMillan Elite last year, I found a passion for film that needed to be cultivated. I proceeded to essentially go to "film school." I read everything about movies and watched all the films I could find. The director of photography for our project, Matt Conner, has more knowledge about films than anyone I've ever met. We've worked together to try and develop a unique style for "The 41st Day" that has elements from all of our favorite films.

2. Writing About Running: What is your favorite documentary and why?

Tim Jeffreys: My favorite documentary, hands down, is "Man on Wire." Everything about that film is perfect. Documentaries are all about telling a story and no one has done it better than they did. It was the only film to win the Jury Prize, Audience Award (at Sundance) and an Oscar in the same year. The protagonist, Philippe Petit, is one of the most compelling personalities I've ever seen in a film.

Watch the trailer for "the TRIALS" here

3. Writing About Running: How'd the plan for the Ryan Hall film come together?

Tim Jeffreys: After "the TRIALS" was coming to a close, I was trying to figure out what my next film project was going to be. I wanted to do something that, as a running fan, I would want to see and be interested in more than anything else. Ryan Hall is someone who I've followed closely for a few years and one of the most interesting athletes in the sport. So, in December, I went for it. I pitched the idea to his agent Ray Flynn, he was very receptive to it, and then it progressed from there. Once Ryan made the team, we started following him, and have continued to do so ever since.

4. Writing About Running: The initial response to the Kickstarter project has been incredible. What made you decide to go this route for funding?

Tim Jeffreys: At of the time of this writing, we just hit our goal, so first I want to thank everyone who donated to the project. Kickstarter was something that was in the back of my mind for a while. It made sense to launch the film and subsequently launch Kickstarter, so that fans who are excited and drawn to the film have a place to get involved. This film is literally happening because of our fans and that is a beautiful thing. I want to build a community around this project. If people are invested in the film, they take an ownership and sense of pride surrounding it that would not otherwise be possible.

Watch the teaser for "The 41st Day" here

5. Writing About Running: The kind of documentary you are doing requires a lot of time spent with Ryan. Will this be a "warts and all" affair and how has the shooting gone thus far?

Tim Jeffreys: Filming thus far has gone quite well. We have a total of seven months to capture all the footage of Ryan we can get. Obviously, I want to acquire as much footage as possible, while still having the integration into Ryan's life come naturally. Up to this point, we've filmed mostly workouts and interviews, but we are at a mutual level of trust (at about two months in) that is going to allow us to start spending protracted amounts of time with him.

Follow writing about running on Twitter and Facebook

Thanks to our sponsor, 14 Minutes, the Alberto Salazar autobiography, for sponsoring the blog this week. I'll be reviewing it very soon! If you're interested in sponsoring writing about running (and other great sites like TrackFocus, Track Superfan, Paul Merca and the House of Run podcast) in the future, check out The Relay Network.

5 Questions with Stanford commit, Thomas Graham

We have our first high school guest today on “5 Questions with”. In the Triangle, we’ve know of Thomas Graham for some time. He’ll be heading west to Stanford next year, but represents the latest of a strong resurgence in North Carolina prep running.

Thomas Graham has been making noise in North Carolina and on the national scene for the past few years, qualifying for the past two Foot Locker Cross Country Championships (finishing 9th in 2011), finishing third at the Brooks PR Invite 2 Mile in 2011 (9:04.14) and 2nd at the National Scholastic 5000 in 2011 (14:45.42). His most recent achievement was his best yet, running 14:11.66 for 5000 at the 2012 Raleigh Relays. Follow him on Twitter here.

5 Questions with Thomas Graham

1. Writing About Running: First off, congrats on running 14:11 at Raleigh Relays. You ran 14:45 at National Scholastic in June. What kind of preparation went into improving so vastly 10 months later?

Thomas Graham: Thanks! It definitely was a huge PR for me, and my coach and I consider it to be a real breakthrough. I think that such a big drop was the product of a few things. First, I think my old 5k PR wasn’t really representative of the shape I was in at the time. Basically Edward Cheserek took off and ran the first lap of that race in 63, and left the rest of us way behind. The guy that was in 2nd wasn’t running fast enough, so I moved into his position and basically ran 11 really lonely, not very fast laps. I think I probably could have run closer to 14:30 last June, but it just never really materialized running what amounted to a solo time trial. Over the summer and winter off seasons I had really good base periods where I was consistently running 80-85 miles a week, and I came out of those feeling a lot stronger and ready to run some good times.

2. Writing About Running: Friday night at the Raleigh Relays has become of night of excellent racing. How long had you been planning on running the 5000 here? Also, I noticed you ran a smart race, working your way through the pack. What kind of game plan went into your race strategy?

Thomas Graham: Before the season started my coach and I thought it would be cool to run a fast 5k, and Raleigh Relays, which is about 10 minutes from my house, seemed like the best place to do it. It had been on the calendar all season, and I’d been excited for it, but seeing how stacked the field really got my psyched for it. I didn’t really have a race strategy going in. The only plan I had was to run off the backs of the other runners, move up if I felt good, and fall back if I felt like the pace was too much. Luckily, I ended up feeling good pretty much the whole time, so whenever the lead pack started to break away from the chase group I just tagged along on the back of that group and just rode it along to a nice time.

Graham runs for Cary Academy & will attend Stanford

3. Writing About Running: I’ve seen you running at Umstead many times. What can you say about the park that has helped you in your training over the years?

Thomas Graham: I’m a huge fan of Umstead for a lot of reasons. By itself it’s probably the biggest reason that I’ve continued to improve and continued to love running. I really like being outside and Umstead has a ton of single-track trails to complement the wider main trails. There is a ton of variety possible for runs, so if you need to go 9 miles 5 days in a row, you can run a different route every day. Another great thing about Umstead is how hilly it is. Because it’s centrally located in the triangle, a lot of the runners from around the area meet there on Sundays during the offseason to do long runs, which I think have really helped me develop over time. There’s a great, really hard loop that’s 15, but you can add or take off of it by going slightly different routes to make it anywhere from 12-17. A lot of times, it’s just a slow run with friends, but sometimes it gets competitive and when it does, an hour plus of hammering hills is a really good workout.

4. Writing About Running: You’ll be joining an excellent program in Stanford this fall. What led you to this decision?

Thomas Graham: My college decision was one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever had to make. The main reasons that I ended up deciding on Stanford—a team I got along really well with, a good chance to succeed long term, great places to train—I also saw in a ton of other schools. Ultimately it came down to Michigan and Stanford, and I felt that all the major elements were largely the same at each place, so smaller things like housing and weather ended up being what I based my call off of. I’m really excited to get to school, though. Being in one college race made me realize how competitive it is going to be every day, and how much better I can hopefully get when I’m pushed in all my workouts by other guys who are better than me.

Graham has run the last 2 Brooks PR Invites

5. Writing About Running: You’re running the famed Arcadia 3200 this weekend. What are your goals for this race and the rest of the outdoor season?

Thomas Graham: As of right now, the plan is still to run Arcadia. I’ve been under the weather basically since Raleigh Relays, though, so if I’m not feeling close to 100% tomorrow I might pull out. If everything goes as planned, though, I’d like to finally get under 9 minutes, which I still haven’t done. I don’t really have too many concrete goals for the rest of the season. I’m planning on running the 2 mile at outdoor nationals, and the 5k at Payton Jordan. Hopefully I can be competitive in both of those races, and if everything goes well, run some really special times.

Update: Graham went on to run 8:56.21 for 3200 at Arcadia (#6 All Time for NC)

Follow writing about running on Twitter and Facebook

Thanks to our sponsor, 14 Minutes, the Alberto Salazar autobiography, for sponsoring the blog this week. I'll be reviewing it very soon! If you're interested in sponsoring writing about running (and other great sites like TrackFocus, Track Superfan, Paul Merca and the House of Run podcast) in the future, check out The Relay Network.