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Video: The Raised Hamstring Stretch

A way to loosen your hamstrings and get them ready for running.

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Shalane Flanagan, Kara Goucher Lead Star-Studded Rock ‘n’ Roll San Antonio Field

Shalane Flanagan (left), Amy Cragg (center) and Kara Goucher will bring star power to San Antonio. Photos: PhotoRun.net

The Humana Rock ‘n’ Roll San Antonio Marathon and ½ will be filled with star power.

With the U.S. Olympic Trials marathon just 10 weeks away, several top American runners are finding the half marathon in San Antonio to be a well-timed tune-up race. As a result, some of U.S. running’s biggest names will be competing on Sunday, particularly on the women’s side.

Chief among them is Shalane Flanagan, a favorite to make the 2016 Olympic team in the marathon. She will be running the half marathon in San Antonio as part of her training for the Trials on Feb. 13 in Los Angeles.

Flanagan has one of the most decorated resumes among U.S. women—a three-time Olympian, an Olympic bronze medalist in the 10,000m and a marathon PR of 2:21:14, second in U.S. history behind Deena Kastor’s 2:19:36. She won the Rock ‘n’ Roll San Antonio Half Marathon in 2011.

Flanagan will be going up against a formidable list of U.S. runners, including:

Kara Goucher, who’s coming off a win in the Big Sur Half Marathon and will be racing the half marathon in San Antonio as she continues to build toward the Trials. She’s a two-time Olympian with a 2:24 marathon PR.
Amy Hastings Cragg, a 2:27 marathoner and 2012 Olympian in the 10,000m who barely missed the 2012 Olympic team in the marathon. She won the Rock ‘n’ Roll Arizona Half Marathon earlier this year in 1:12:04.
Kellyn Taylor, fresh off a 1:10:59 half marathon at Rock ‘n’ Roll Philadelphia, is also in the running for an Olympic spot. She ran a 2:28:40 at the Houston Marathon in January and is looking to cap off a solid year of racing.

Other American runners include Lindsey Scherf (1:11:45 half marathon PR), Renee Baillie (1:11:51) and Wendy Thomas (1:12:29).

On the men’s side, the half marathon field will include Jeffrey Eggleston, who’s run a 1:02:41 half marathon and is a contender for the 2016 Olympic team in the marathon. He’ll go against Aaron Braun, Justin Young, Tyler McCandless and others.

“I am so excited about both our men’s and women’s fields for the half marathon in San Antonio this weekend,” said Tracy Sundlen, Senior Vice President for the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series. “Some of America’s best athletes, including some of the leading contenders for the U.S. Marathon Team in Rio will be testing themselves on the roads of San Antonio in advance of the Olympic Trials in February. The Rock ‘n’ Roll San Antonio Half Marathon has an All-Star history of champions including Shalane and this year’s New York City Marathon winner Stanley Biwott, but this Sunday’s race could really be something special.”

The Rock ‘n’ Roll San Antonio Half Marathon takes runners on a tour of the south Texas city with a start and finish at the Alamodome. The weekend of events also includes a 5K, 10K, marathon and relay. Third Eye Blind is headlining the post-race concert on Sunday.

RELATED: How to PR at Rock ‘n’ Roll San Antonio

 

 

 

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New Dallas Marathon Relay Attracts Big Stars in U.S. Running

Meb Keflezighi is one of several elite runners who will be in Dallas on Dec. 13. Photo: PhotoRun.net

Some of American running’s biggest names are heading to Dallas on Dec. 13 for a new relay event in conjunction with the Dallas Marathon.

The Duo to Rio Relay will feature some notable stars. The 10 elite runners confirmed for the relay include Meb Keflezighi, Desiree Linden, Deena Kastor, Dathan Ritzenhein, Molly Huddle, Abdi Abdirahman, Annie Bersagel, Luke Puskedra, Jared Ward and Becky Wade.

RELATED: Desi Linden Talks About Her Pre-Olympic Trials Marathon Build-Up

That’s five males and five females. The relay is set up for a male to run 13.1 miles and hand off to a female to run the second half. Pairings will be announced on Dec. 11.

All 10 athletes are qualified for the U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon on Feb. 13 in Los Angeles, or about nine weeks after the Duo to Rio Relay, and everybody but Huddle is expected to race in the Trials. While other elite runners are racing half marathons this month—Shalane Flanagan, Amy Hastings Cragg and Kara Goucher will be at Rock ‘n’ Roll San Antonio this weekend—these runners are finding the Duo to Rio Relay to be a well-timed 13.1-mile tune-up with a unique and enjoyable format. There’s no prize money at stake.

“It will probably be a variety of different approaches among the field,” Wade told USA Today. “Maybe some people who are trying to get in a solid tempo run, some people who don’t want to take it too intensely. Some who will give a half-marathon effort.”

The relay teams will run the marathon course, which is looped in certain areas. That will allow participants to pass the elites multiple times.

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How Lewis Kent Trained For The Beer Mile World Championships

Watch beer mile world record-holder Lewis Kent do a track workout to prepare for the Beer Mile World Championships.

Our friends at Canadian Running magazine went out to a track in London, Ont., for an evening of beer mile training with Lewis Kent, who holds the world record-holder in the event with his recent 4:51.9 effort. He’ll be one of the favorites in the second annual FloTrack Beer Mile World Championships on Dec. 1 in Austin, Texas. If you think you have what it takes to run a fast beer mile, check out this video to see what Kent and some of his running pals do for track workouts.

RELATED: Beer Mile Record-Holder Signs With Brooks

The post How Lewis Kent Trained For The Beer Mile World Championships appeared first on Competitor.com.

How Lewis Kent Trains For The Beer Mile World Championships

Watch beer mile world record-holder Lewis Kent do a track workout to prepare for the Beer Mile World Championships.

Our friends at Canadian Running magazine went out to a track in London, Ont., for an evening of beer mile training with Lewis Kent, who holds the world record-holder in the event with his recent 4:51.9 effort. He’ll be one of the favorites in the second annual FloTrack Beer Mile World Championships on Dec. 1 in Austin, Texas. If you think you have what it takes to run a fast beer mile, check out this video to see what Kent and some of his running pals do for track workouts.

RELATED: Beer Mile Record-Holder Signs With Brooks

The post How Lewis Kent Trains For The Beer Mile World Championships appeared first on Competitor.com.

Video: The Raised Hamstring Stretch

A way to loosen your hamstrings and get them ready for running.

The post Video: The Raised Hamstring Stretch appeared first on Competitor.com.

Beer Mile World-Record Holder Lewis Kent’s Tips for Drinking on the Run

Kent clocking his record-breaking time.

Lewis Kent, who a little over a week ago set an unofficial world-record for the beer mile with his 4:51.9 clocking, is preparing to better his mark on Tuesday night, Dec. 1, at the Flotrack Beer Mile World Championships in Austin, Texas.

Here are five tips from Kent for drinking on the run—responsibly, of course!

1. Practice holding your breath.

Remember when you used to hold your breath underwater for a whole 10 seconds as a kid? You’ll have to conjure up those childhood skills again. Take a deep breath right before you place the cup or bottle to your lips, and, whatever you do, make sure not to breathe in any air while chugging. You need to free up your mouth space for chugging, and chugging only. Don’t let your need to breathe compete with your duty to get every last drop in there. When it’s done, you can breathe—not before!

2. Take large gulps if you can’t let it flow straight down.

If you haven’t yet mastered the ability to let that beer sting your throat continuously as it flows down, no need to fret. One tip to keep in mind is to swallow in large gulps. You only want to swallow once you’ve reached the maximum amount you can hold at the back of your mouth. Continuously swallowing is a recipe for taking way too long to chug and also tiring your throat out.

READ MORE: NYC Marathon—5 Boroughs, 5 Beers

3. Don’t slow down to taste the beer.

Sucking on the bottle or the cup to get a taste of the beer is a rookie mistake. Approach the chug as if you’re pouring water down a drain. You’re pouring the beer into your mouth, not drinking it to savor it. This goes hand in hand with holding your breath; you’re holding it so you can free up that highway to your belly.

VIDEO:  A Running Store With 20 Beer Taps

4. Suppress your urge to gag.

Eventually, you’ll chug enough that your throat will tense up and the reflex to cough will arise. Avoid that by clutching the thumb of your non-dominant hand. Really. If you’re right-handed, clutch your left thumb with your index finger. If you’re left-handed, do the same thing but with your right thumb. Don’t ask me to explain why this works, but it does.

5. Drink with your left hand.

This is etiquette more than a tip. Most of you reading this are right-handed, so this’ll come as a shock. Holding the cup or bottle in your left hand means you have your right hand free to high-five your buddies after you down that beer like a champ.

RELATED: Tips For Running a Beer Mile

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Video: Behind the Scenes With Desiree Linden

Desiree Linden is on our December 2015 cover. During the photo shoot in San Diego, she spoke to Competitor about her 2015 racing and what it means heading into the 2016 Olympic Trials Marathon.

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NBC’s ‘Today’ Show Profiles the NYC Marathon’s Final Finisher

Sala Cyril finished 49,466th place at the New York City Marathon earlier this month—the last official finisher in a time of 8 hours, 28 minutes and 24 seconds.

“It did not bother me at all to be last, I was actually excited. It was a distinction…I said I finished, how many people were able to do that? Last was never a loss,” Cyril told Today.com.

RELATED: Watch Nike’s Inspiring Tribute To Back-of-the-Pack Joggers

Over the weekend, Cyril was one of four people profiled by NBC’s Today show for a feel-good feature about overcoming a so-called “losing” effort (though few in the running community would look at Cyril’s finish that way). Along with Cyril, Today featured an NFL kicker who was the last pick in the NFL Draft, a politician who’s lost 14 elections and a beauty pageant who overcame multiple runner-up finishes.

Cyril’s message? “You choose what your win will be.”

Here’s the video:

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How to PR at Rock ‘n’ Roll San Antonio

For many wearing a bib at the Humana Rock ‘n’ Roll San Antonio Marathon and 1/2 on Dec. 6, just the fun of lacing up a pair of running shoes and jamming to the entertainment along the course will be enough for one day. But what if this particular race happens to be your big hope for a Boston Marathon qualifier? Or perhaps you’ve been putting in the miles and running around the track for this one chance to set a new personal best. Other than doing the work and showing up on the day of the race fresh and eager, is there anything else you can do to ensure your chances of success in one of the most beautiful cities in Texas?

The answer is yes.

Here are three race-week tips to follow leading up to the main event and on the day of the big race:

1. Memorize the course—especially its elevation profile and the turns.

Both the half and the full marathon course are exactly the same as last year’s race. This means that you’ll be running a large loop throughout downtown San Antonio with the half marathon acting as the first 13.1 miles of the full marathon. The start and the finish are next to the city’s iconic Alamodome. “The good news about the course is that San Antonio is relatively flat,” says David Benjes, the San Antonio course lead and the man who designed the route. “We had to go into the Texas hill country for a little bit of the race, but that part is quick and short.” Benjes points out that all runners looking for a fast time need to account for some of these hills. For example,  just past the 5-mile mark of both courses a relatively steep uphill section awaits for about one third of a mile near the San Antionio Zoo on Tuleta Drive. “It’s relatively short, but it’s aggressive,” Benjes cautions. There’s also another very short (but steep) 12-percent-grade hill after you pass Trinity University at mile 6 called Ledge Lane. “I suggest marathoners don’t hammer these two hills,” suggests Benjes. “Definitely save your energy while going up them.”

RELATED: Kara Goucher to Run Rock ‘n’ Roll San Antonio

Lauren Smith, last year’s second-place finisher in the half marathon ran a 3-minute PR in San Antonio and says the course is her favorite. Smith recalls that she used the hills to her advantage. “You can really push it and break people—it has an incline and people tend to get tired on that point of the course,” she says. “The incline doesn’t last long so it’s really important to focus on pushing it at that point.”

Since both San Antonio races are run on loops course, runners should expect a lot of turns, which can be a challenge but also an opportunity to cut tangents. Benjes says the course is full of them and encourages runners to take advantage when possible.

2. Plan for the wind.

Unlike other races that take place in late fall, San Antonio isn’t typically a place where wind will be a factor. That said, it’s still a good idea to know where you might face a headwind. Check the weather a few days beforehand and see how fast the wind will be blowing and what direction it’s coming from. It might even be worth your time to print out the course map and draw wind-direction arrows on it calling out potential headwind points. At those points, plan to tuck into a pack to shield yourself. When you encounter a tailwind, make a move if you’re feeling strong.

3. Know where you will push it and where you will back off.

All personal bests come from allocating your effort in just the right way. For San Antonio, Benjes suggests a couple points to hold back, like the hills at miles 5 and 6.

But for the next 4 miles, he recommends runners let go and put down the gas pedal. “You’ve put in the work going up the Tuleta and Ledge Lane Hills, and you get it all back downhill on one long and straight shot,” he says. “If I were running the race, I’d open up my legs at that point and then settle in.” If you’re running the half, then this is also a good time to start cranking it home to the finish.

Full marathoners should then be aware of the Mission Reach Trail that awaits them starting at mile 20. Benjes says the good news at this point is the scenery—a welcome sight when the marathon “wall” presents itself—but he also cautions that the surface of the trail is cement, which can be less forgiving than asphalt. As such, marathoners might want to think twice about wearing minimalist flats in this race. After the trail, the last few miles are back on asphalt and Benjes says the “fun factor” builds exponentially with band after band reminding you that you’re almost home. “We really have tried to build the excitement for runners here,” he says. “We know they won’t have any gas in the tank and good distractions like cheer zones and music can really help.”

RELATED: A Runner’s Guide to San Antonio

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