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14,000 Celebrate Fall at Transamerica Rock ‘n’ Roll Denver Half Marathon and 10K

Although Colorado weather can be fickle in the fall, Mother Nature brought out her best running conditions in Denver on Sunday. More than 14,000 runners took to the streets of the Mile High City under blue skies and plenty of sunshine at the Transamerica Rock ‘n’ Roll Denver Half Marathon and 10K. The weekend also included a 5K race on Saturday morning.

The loop courses sent runners through downtown Denver and past the Pepsi Center, Coors Field and the 16th Street Mall, then through several of the city’s scenic parks that served up views of snowcapped mountains in the distance before passing the state capitol building and finishing back at Civic Center Park. Runners were treated to live music and cheer crews all over the course and were greeted by the Denver Outlaw Dancers before a free post-race concert from G. Love & Special Sauce.

“It was a classic bluebird Colorado day,” said Denver’s Ed Grant, who ran the half marathon. “It was nice and cool in the morning, warm and sunny for all the festivities after the race.”

PHOTOS: 2016 Transamerica Rock ‘n’ Roll Denver Half Marathon and 10K

Ethiopian Gebrekidan Abadi, 32, who lives in the Denver area, won the race in 1:06:46, while Kenyan Elvin Kibet, 26, of Colorado Springs, won the women’s division in 1:15:22 by edging out her twin sister, Valentine Kibet by 3 seconds at the finish line.

Former Colorado School of Mines cross country runner Marty Andrie, 23, of Golden, Colo., finished second overall but won the USATF Colorado half marathon championship with a 1:07:43 finish. Emma Kenyon, a 28-year-old full-time pediatric nurse from Westminster, Colo., was the women’s state champion with a 1:25:36 effort.

“It means a lot to me to win this race,” Kenyon said. “I work full-time with three 12-hours shifts a week, so it can be time to find time to train consistently while I’m balancing a full-time job and life and racing. I really enjoy racing on my home turf and I wanted to get in a good race here. It was an amazing day for running.”

RELATED: The 2016 Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas Half Marathon Finisher’s Medal is Out of this World

RELATED: Snoop Dogg Will Headline 2016 Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas Races

RESULTS

Transamerica Rock ‘n’ Roll Denver Half Marathon

Men

Gebrekidan Abadi, 32, Aurora, Colo., 1:06:46
Marty Andrie, 23, Golden, Colo, 1:07:43
Sean Quigley, 31, Boulder, Colo., 1:08:35

Women

Elvin Kibet, 26, Colorado Springs, Colo., 1:15:22
Valentine Kibet, 26, Colorado Springs, 1:15:25
Alexis Wilbert, 31, Colorado Springs, 1:20:17

USATF Colorado Half Marathon Half Marathon Championship

Men

Marty Andrie, 23, Golden, Colo, 1:07:43
Sean Quigley, 31, Boulder, Colo., 1:08:35
Tyler McCandless, 30, Boulder, Colo., 1:09:20

Women

Emma Kenyon, 28, Westminster, Colo.,
Amy Lease, 63, Denver, 1:49:58

Transamerica Rock ‘n’ Roll Denver 10K

Men

Alejandro Jiminez, 29, Denver, 31:59
Brian Medigovich, 29, Chadron, Neb., 33:43
Eder Pina, 23, Gunnison, Colo., 34:12

Women

Krystalanne Curwood, 31, Boulder, Colo., 37:01
Amber Hoak, 25, Denver, 40:34
Marit Tegelaar, 25, Denver, 40:59

The post 14,000 Celebrate Fall at Transamerica Rock ‘n’ Roll Denver Half Marathon and 10K appeared first on Competitor.com.

Photos: Transamerica Rock ‘n’ Roll Denver Half Marathon & 10K

The 2016 Transamerica Rock ‘n’ Roll Denver Half Marathon wrapped up Sunday morning as runners took to the streets of downtown for the 13.1 mile and 10K foot races. The event played host to the 2016 USATF Colorado Association State Half Marathon Championships. Live music and entertainment lined the course in the Mile High City to encourage runners as they made their way to the finish line. G. Love and the Special Sauce performed at the Toyota Rock ‘n’ Roll Concert Series in Civic Center Park to conclude the day for all the runners and their families. Race weekend saw more than 14,000 participants with a 5K on Saturday in downtown followed by Sunday’s races. Check out all the fun below! 

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The post Photos: Transamerica Rock ‘n’ Roll Denver Half Marathon & 10K appeared first on Competitor.com.

Photos: 2016 Transamerica Rock ‘n’ Roll Denver Half Marathon and 10K

More than 14,000 runners took to the streets of the Mile High City under blue skies and plenty of sunshine at the Transamerica Rock ‘n’ Roll Denver Half Marathon and 10K on Sunday. The loop courses sent runners through downtown Denver and past Coors Field, Pepsi Center and the 16th Street Mall then through several of the city’s scenic parks that served up views of snowcapped mountains in the distance before passing the Colorado state capitol building and finishing back at Civic Center Park for a post-race concert from G. Love & Special Sauce. Ethiopian Gebrekidan Abadi, 32, who lives in the Denver area, won the race in 1:06:46, while Kenyan Elvin Kibet, 26, of Colorado Springs, won the women’s division in 1:15:22 by edging out her twin sister, Valentine Kibet by 3 seconds at the finish line. Former Colorado School of Mines cross country runner Marty Andrie, 23, of Golden, Colo., finished second overall but earned the USATF Colorado half marathon championship with a 1:07:43 finish. Emma Kenyon, a 28-year-old full-time nurse from Westminster, Colo., was the women’s state championship with a 1:25:36 effort. Check out the scenes in the gallery of images below.

RELATED: A Great Day at the Denver Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon and 10K

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Photos: Transamerica Rock ‘n’ Roll Denver 5K

 

 

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Transamerica Rock ‘n’ Roll Denver kicked off this morning with a 5K in Civic Center Park. For the first time in event history, the 5K was on Saturday allowing runners to participate in the 10K or half marathon on Sunday to complete the Remix Challenge and earn a third medal.

The post Photos: Transamerica Rock ‘n’ Roll Denver 5K appeared first on Competitor.com.

Photos: Rock ’n’ Roll St. Louis Kicked off Race Weekend with Saturday 5K

2016 Rock n Roll St Louis 5K & Half Marathon
St Louis, MO Oct 15-16, 2016
Photo: KevinMorris@PhotoRun
victah1111@aol.com
631-291-3409
www.photorun.net

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Rock ‘n’ Roll St. Louis kicked off race weekend with the Rock ‘n’ Roll 5K on Saturday. More than 1,900 runners toed the start line, which took off from Market St. west of 13th St. Upon finishing, participants were treated to live music and a beer garden at the finish line festival. Sunday is the main event with the half marathon and 10K. Participants that ran the 5K and any distance on Sunday will earn the coveted Remix Challenge medal in addition to each race’s finisher medals.

The post Photos: Rock ’n’ Roll St. Louis Kicked off Race Weekend with Saturday 5K appeared first on Competitor.com.

Rock ‘n’ Roll Denver Half Marathon Doubling as Colorado Championship Race

The 2016 Transamerica Rock 'n' Roll Denver Half Marathon on Oct. 15-16 also includes a 5K and 10K race. Photo: Bruce Wodder

There will be some fast feet flying through the Mile High City this weekend. The Transamerica Rock ‘n’ Roll Denver Half Marathon on Oct. 16 will serve as the 2016 USATF Colorado Association State Half Marathon Championships.

“We are thrilled to host the state championships again this year in Colorado’s capital city,” said Patrick Byerly, SVP of Global Events for the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series. “Colorado has such an active and healthy population, and we can’t wait to celebrate the running community here come Sunday.”

In order to be eligible for state championship awards, athletes must be members of USATF Colorado Association and be eligible to represent the United States in international athletics competition.

“We are very excited to be partnering with this race once again and building the sport of running in Colorado,” said Kathy Butler, a spokeswoman for the USATF Colorado Association. “Thank you very much to Transamerica Rock ’n Roll Denver for working with us to host the USATF Colorado Association Half Marathon Championships. Best of luck to all of the competitors.”

Boulder native Tyler McCandless’s personal best of 1 hour, 3 minutes, and 14 seconds makes him a top candidate for the championship. Turning 30-years-old on Friday—two days before the race—McCandless is a two-time U.S. Olympic Trials qualifier and placed 6th just a couple of weeks ago in the fast elite field at the Rock ‘n’ Roll San Jose Half Marathon. Other Coloradans competing for the men’s title are Marty Andrie of Golden, Colo., and Chris Siemers of Littleton, Colo., who placed 4th in this race last year.

The women’s race will have some steep competition with four of the top runners all posting personal bests under 1 hour, 15 minutes. Valentine Kibet who has crossed the finish line in 1:11:34, Christie Foster (1:14:02), Grace Kahura (1:14:24) and Ashley Brasovan (1:14:30) will all be going for the top spot.

The Transamerica Rock ‘n’ Roll Denver Half Marathon weekend includes a 5K on Saturday, Oct. 15 followed by the main event on Sunday, Oct. 16. Races will start and finish in Civic Center Park, and run through Denver’s scenic downtown and several parks as cheerleaders and live bands offer an entertaining atmosphere all the way to the finish line. On Sunday, runners will celebrate with a post-race concert featuring G. Love & Special Sauce in Civic Center Park. All runners will receive a finisher’s medal, Brooks technical T-shirt and personalized finisher certificate.

RELATED: Musician Plays Guitar While Running a Half Marathon

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Shoe of the Week: Mizuno Wave Rider 20

The Wave Rider 20 hit retail stores in early October.

Let’s start from the top: the Wave Rider 20 is a great everyday training shoe for a wide range of runners and types of running. Never mind for the moment that it’s a legacy shoe—Mizuno’s longest continually updated model—that has spanned two decades of running. It’s a versatile shoe that is light and cushioned enough, as well as soft and protective enough, for long runs, responsive enough for faster workouts (like tempo runs and longer intervals) and, for some, is agile enough to be the race-day choice for a half marathon or marathon. The new three-part mesh upper and plush interior create a comfortable, secure fit for a wide range of foot sizes, while the flexibility traits offer a touch of energetic pop. If this was the only shoe in your quiver, it would definitely serve you well in all regards.

But because it is a legacy shoe with a long history, there’s a bit more to consider when talking about the 20th edition. First, like the long-tail legacy shoes from other brands—Nike Pegasus and ASICS Gel-Kayano, for example—the Wave Rider has gone through plenty of ups and downs. Most of the editions through the years have been pretty darn good and on the leading edge of shoe design—even if looking at some of the models or running in them would make you scratch your head now. A few, though, were notably off the mark, and Mizuno is the first to admit that. That’s not meant to be a cheap shot, just a fact of how shoe design has ebbed and flowed over the past 20 years.

That said, what Mizuno tried to do with No. 20 was to get this shoe back into the sweet spot of the running population where it thrived for so long. The two big things they wanted to ensure was that it had a softer feeling underfoot and that it still retained a sense of liveliness to it. To make a long story short, they succeeded by 1. using a new midsole foam in the heel crash pad (called U4icX), 2. creating a convex geometry with a new Wave plate, and 3. developing a more snappy sensation at toe off. The Wave Rider 20 retains the 12mm heel-toe drop that has been a hallmark of the shoe, but it somehow doesn’t feel as abrupt given the softer feeling in the heel and lateral portions of the shoe. The sometimes unrelenting firmness of some previous models of the Wave Rider is gone, so it isn’t quite as snappy as previous models … but it hasn’t become a marshmallowly plodder either. The new version also has a slightly wider footprint and a more accommodating fit.

Is this Wave Rider model the best ever? Maybe. It kind of depends on whether you have history with this shoe and what your expectations are. After the first week of testing—which included a variety of runs from 3 to 15 miles—our wear-testers liked it a lot.

This is the shoe for you if … You’re looking for a comfortable, do-everything high-mileage shoe that’s not bogged down with extra stuff you don’t need or an exorbitant price tag.

Price: $120

Weights: 9.6 oz. (men’s size 9), 8.3 oz. (women’s size 7)

Heel-Toe Offset: 12mm; 31mm (heel), 19mm (forefoot)

Info: MizunoUSA.com

RELATED: Shoe of the Week—Brooks Ghost 9

The post Shoe of the Week: Mizuno Wave Rider 20 appeared first on Competitor.com.

Video: Running and Rafting Through Utah’s Canyons

It’s a trail running adventure like no other. Salomon Running TV follows pro trail runners Rickey Gates and Dakota Jones as they pack their running shoes (and rafts) and head into the canyons of “Nowhere,” Utah—far removed from the realities of the chaotic world and the familiarities of mountain wilderness and forest paths.

RELATED: Death Cab for Cutie’s Ben Gibbard is a Trail Running Rocker

The post Video: Running and Rafting Through Utah’s Canyons appeared first on Competitor.com.

Golden Hour: Get Faster with Just 60 Minutes of Supplemental Training

Photo: Shutterstock.com

Photographers call the 60 minutes of soft, supple light when the sun is on the horizon the “golden hour.” It’s when many of the most beautiful images are made. For runners, adding just 60 minutes of supplemental training each week can also help create something beautiful by adding speed, increasing durability or enhancing flexibility.

Is one hour really enough to make a difference? Coach Alan Culpepper, a two-time Olympian, thinks so. “Two or three days a week—on either off days or recovery days—is the best approach even if this means cutting back some of your running. Substituting 10 to 15 minutes of running with a 25- to 35-minute strength routine is a good approach,” Culpepper says.

RELATED: Coach Culpepper: Supplementing Running With Strength Training

Coach Culpepper’s advice focuses on strength training, and for good reason. Studies repeatedly show that strength training is good for runners even when the sessions are limited to an hour or two per week.

“Hey,” you might be objecting. “This story promised I could see improvements with just one extra hour per week—now you’re sneaking in another hour.” Fair enough, but that will depend on what kind of baseline you are starting from—if you are already doing focused strength training, or other supplements to running such as flexibility sessions, you may need to go beyond the 60-minute mark to keep improving. However, for many people who are currently only running for exercise—perhaps with a few additional minutes of unfocused post-run stretching or some push-ups—devoting an hour to supplemental workouts each week will be enough to see real-world improvements.

Look below for one scheme that could add a “golden hour” to your training week. Of course, countless variations are possible. Think about the areas of your running that most need improvement. Are you hindered by poor flexibility? Devote more of the extra supplemental training time to mobility work. Did your legs turn to jelly at the end of your last race? Consider focusing on strength movements and/or hill work. The key is to make a concerted effort a few times a week to focus on non-running activities like the ones described below.

20 Minutes of Strength Training

When it comes to strength training, keep in mind that a little is loads better than doing nothing at all. One 20-minute session per week might be just the starting point, but it’s a reasonable way to begin. If strength training becomes the priority in your extra hour of supplemental training you will likely want to add a second, and perhaps a third, session a few weeks after getting your feet wet.

RELATED: 5 Quick Strength Exercises for Runners

20 Minutes of Yoga

Yoga is great because it emphasizes both the mental and physical aspects of supplemental training. It’s one thing to absentmindedly go through some stretches on the floor while watching television, but it’s an entirely different experience to focus on your breathing and your body while learning the various poses yoga offers.

RELATED: For Runners, Yoga Offers Balance, Mental Benefits

10 Minutes of Plyometrics

“Plyometrics, or jumping exercise, is something that every runner should do and that most runners don’t do,” says running and nutrition author Matt Fitzgerald. “Running is a form of jumping. Plyometrics isolates and exaggerates the jumping element in running and thereby improves running performance in a way that running itself does not.”

RELATED: 6 Plyometric Exercises That Will Give You a Leg Up

10 Minutes of Hill Sprints

As with the other exercises described here, adding a weekly 10-minute session of hill sprints might eventually expand into longer bouts of hill work, but for the first few weeks it will be plenty to provide a stimulus and begin adding power to your legs. Running hills is, obviously, a form of running so it’s an extremely sport-specific form of supplemental training, and because these uphill blasts are highly demanding you probably won’t want to start out with anything more than a 10-minute routine.

RELATED: Workout of the Week: Steep Hill Sprints

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How to Master Downhill Trail Running

Photo: istockphoto.com

Technical trail running—where you’re negotiating rocks, roots and the like—can be challenging, even on flat and uphill terrain. Add the speed generated by gravity and downhill trail running can be an exercise in trying your hardest to not roll an ankle or take a sprawling fall. Get comfortable at it, however, and running a rocky, rooty, rutty or twisty downhill trail can be downright gleeful.

You may have heard tips like “choose your line,” which means picking your way through a technical trail by taking the path of least resistance. Or the one about looking where you want to run instead of looking where you don’t (an old mountain biking trick). And you may have seen masterful trail runners with a wide arm swing for added balance.

RELATED: Perfect Your Downhill Running Form

The historic Dipsea trail race, a 7.4-mile run over the hilly terrain between Mill Valley, Calif., and Stinson Beach, is one of the most famous technical races of all. We asked three-time winner Brian Pilcher for his tips on learning to master running downhill.

1. Practice makes perfect

“The first thing is specificity,” Pilcher says. Find a downhill section of trail that’s particularly technical and run it over and over again at various speeds. “You have to get over the fear,” he says. “Do it a lot, and you won’t be as afraid.” 

2. Shorten your stride

“If you have a long stride,” Pilcher says, “you spend a long time in the air, and when you hit the ground, you brake.” The goal is to not break your speed, and therefore, shorter strides are better. Another benefit of short strides, he says, is being able to place your foot quickly and precisely.

3. Have a quick turnover

Similar to a shorter stride, a quick turnover benefits a runner on a technical downhill. “Normally,” Pilcher says, “you’re worried about pushing off your back foot. But if you focus on picking up your back foot as soon as you put it down, you’re basically falling downhill—a good thing if you’re looking to run fast.”

4. Separate mind from body

Most downhill trails are preceded by uphill trails. In a race, your body will want (and need) to recover on a downhill. But, Pilcher warns, “Don’t let your mind recover. Somehow you have to separate the two.” Staying focused will help keep you from tripping up, and it’ll help you keep your speed.

RELATED: Downhill Running Workouts to Improve Speed and Control

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