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Photos: Musician Plays Guitar While Running a Half Marathon

Professional musician Thad Beaty ran the Rock ‘n’ Roll Denver Half Marathon on Oct. 18 and played a song with 11 bands along the course. The 41-year-old guitarist and age-group runner and triathlete played the National Anthem before the start of the race, then jumped into the fourth wave of the race and ran 13.1 miles through the streets of downtown Denver. Along the way, he stopped to jam with every band along the course with custom-made pink ribbon guitar. The guitarist for the Grammy-winning country band Sugarland and professional touring musician said catching his breath and lowering his heart rate enough to play a song was a challenge, but said he had a blast—especially knowing he was running to support TeamEdith while raising money for the Edith Sanford Breast Cancer Foundation. (A friend rode a bike and towed a cart with Beaty’s guitar and a mini amp that he plugged in at each band’s stage.) Check out the photos below from his musical run!

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Published on October 20, 2015 09:45

Morganne Hockett: Beat the (Post-Marathon) Blues

You registered for, trained and ran your marathon. Congratulations! But, after months of focus on a specific event, the lack of structure in the days and weeks after an “A” race, while relaxing at first, can be a bit of a letdown. You need some much needed recovery time, both mentally and physically, but that doesn’t mean moping around. Keep reading for five tips to stay positive while you take a break.

Set recovery goals in your training plan

Most of us follow a training program that leads us up to our race, with no set schedule after. Post-marathon is a critical period for rest and recovery. Approach it as methodically as you did your marathon training, even setting a specific schedule and length of time for recovery.

Focus on nutrition

Following a marathon, muscles are repairing, joints and ligaments are resting and in general your body is healing itself. Don’t deny yourself food just because you aren’t working out as much as you were during training; your body needs nutrients to heal properly. Focus on fueling your body with a healthy combination fruits and vegetables, protein, and carbohydrates will help with your rest and recovery.

Pick a non-running hobby

Maybe you gave up reading during training because you fell asleep the moment your head hit the pillow each night. Or maybe you didn’t have time to take a new class at the gym or try out new recipes. Now that you have the time, delve into something, anything, other than running. Definitely exercise and be active, but keep it fun and restorative. If you don’t have a hobby, try something new that you’ve always wanted to do. A new activity will help remind you that running isn’t the only thing that makes you happy.

Connect with others

Whether they’re your running buddies or friends you neglected during training, finding time to connect with others can help you take your thoughts off of your post-marathon blues.

Pick a new goal

Whether it’s another marathon or a different distance, a bucket list race or participating in a charity event, setting a new goal gives you a reason to recover right and get excited about something new.

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Published on October 19, 2015 16:11

Photos: 2015 Toronto Waterfront Marathon

Doubling as the Canadian national championship, the 2015 Toronto Waterfront Marathon took place on Sunday with national pride at stake for several Canadian runners. In the end, Eric Gillis (2:11:31) and Lanni Marchant (2:28:09) were crowned Canadian national champions and did so in an Olympic-qualifying time.

As for the rest of the field, 19-year-old Ethiopian Shure Demise won the overall women’s race in 2:23:37, while Ishhimael Chemtan of Kenya won the men’s race in 2:09:00.

Here are photos from the race, taken by PhotoRun.net:

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The start, in downtown Toronto with the CN Tower overhead.

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2015 Scotiabank Toronto Marathon

2015 Scotiabank Toronto Marathon
Toronto, Canada October 18, 2015
Photo: Victah Sailer@PhotoRun
Victah1111@aol.com
631-291-3409
www.photorun.NET

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Kellys Arias finished seventh in 2:32:32.

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Belay Asefa finished fifth in 2:10:32.

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Robert Chemosin finished the men's race in 2:09:38

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Ishhimael Chemtan of Kenya won the men's race in 2:09:00.

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Sharon Cherop finished second in 2:24:16.

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2015 Scotiabank Toronto Marathon

2015 Scotiabank Toronto Marathon
Toronto, Canada October 18, 2015
Photo: Victah Sailer@PhotoRun
Victah1111@aol.com
631-291-3409
www.photorun.NET

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Shure Demise, just 19, won the women's race in 2:23:37.

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Eric Gillis, the top Canadian in the field.

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Ishhimael Chemtan won the men's marathon by a hair in 2:09:00, and celebrated at the finish line.

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Eric Gillis was the top Canadian, finishing 7th in 2:11:31 and qualifying for the Rio Olympics.

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Sharon Cherop and Fatuma Sado finished 2-3, but not without some fireworks as Cherop fell at the finish line.

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Sharon Cherop and Fatuma Sado finished 2-3, but not without some fireworks as Cherop fell at the finish line.

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Sharon Cherop and Fatuma Sado finished 2-3, but not without some fireworks as Cherop fell at the finish line.

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Lanni Marchant was the top Canadian in the women's race, finishing sixth overall in 2:28:09.

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Marchant qualified for the 2016 Rio Olympics, but her 2:28:09 just missed the Canadian record.

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Shure Demise and Ishhimael Chemtan post-victory.

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Published on October 19, 2015 14:47

How Local Running Groups Prepare for the NYC Marathon

Photo: Eric Blevens

Among New York City’s fertile selection of track clubs, running clubs and run crews, the marathon is one of the biggest days of the year. We learned what they do leading up to it, and on the big day.

Step One: Have a unique pre-race ritual

“We’ve always done a run upstate in New Paltz in August called the ‘Death Run,’ named because our coach was into the Grateful Dead. It’s a 22-mile run that kicks off our training in earnest.” —Tony Ruiz, coach, Central Park Track Club

“We have a policy in Black Roses NYC that you’re not allowed to mention the marathon until Sept. 1, because in New York, it’s such a hyped-up environment that people start training for the marathon in the beginning of June! And the summer is just too hot and humid, there’s just too many great parties, and there’s too much to do here in the summertime to lock down and really dedicate yourself to proper marathon training.” —Knox Robinson, co-founder, Black Roses NYC run crew

Step Two: Go over the final strategy, host shakeout runs

“We have a pre-marathon get-together about 10 days before. I generally will discuss strategy and approach—I have a 10-10-10 series on running the marathon: 10 miles, 10 miles, 10K, as opposed to, say, two half marathons. —Tony Ruiz

“We’ve got a big circle of friends in a number of different running groups we’ve been connected to from London, Paris, Amsterdam and Copenhagen—people who will be with us all week. Shakeout runs and things that groups normally hold have lots of people from out of town. The community aspect of races is a fun opportunity to not only support our runners but also to see runners that we see only once in awhile, or on the Internet.” —Jessica Zapotechne, founder, Girls Run NYC run crew; co-founder, Black Roses NYC

“They say the day after the marathon in New York is New Year’s Day for a runner, and so the whole buildup to the New York City Marathon is indeed our holiday season. So we generally have a shakeout run together the Saturday before the marathon downtown. That’s when you’re gonna have Black Roses NYC come together with Bridge Runners and Resident Runners; it might be hosted by Orchard Street Runners. It’s a chance for everyone to put aside all their particular training practices and their crew culture and kind of come together and celebrate everybody who’s near the end of their marathon journey.” —Knox Robinson

Step Three: Support Your Club or Crew

“The expectation is that if you’re not racing, you’re gonna cheer.” —Jessica Zapotechne

“We have two spots where we see our runners. The first is the 8-mile mark in front of BAM—Brooklyn Academy of Music. Then we all get on the train and we race over to 24 miles, just over the entrance on east 90th Street and 5th Avenue, and we have what we call ‘the wall of orange,’ because our colors are orange and blue. It’s a nice spot because you’re running on fumes and emotion, so it’s a nice little lift for them, plus you’ve got that big hill that you’re climbing on 5th Avenue as you enter the park. They always look forward to seeing us there.” —Tony Ruiz

“We have a cheer section, confetti canon and noisemaking at mile 10 in Bedford Avenue in Williamsburg—in convenient and not-entirely-arbitrary proximity to a coffee shop.” —Knox Robinson

“We join forces for the cheer squad with Black Roses. We get there super early and hold down a spot. We have music and everyone there is dancing. Part of our crew will leave and go to a second spot at mile 21. Unless people are running for a time, people will stop and get lots of hugs and cheers from everyone.” —Eric Blevens, co-founder, Resident Runners run crew

“We set up a table and cheering station at 114th St on 1st Ave. Members bring oranges, bananas, pretzels, Gatorade, and other snacks that we offer to anyone who runs by the table! We can also be found with posters and cowbells cheering everyone on.” —Jess Spar, The Reservoir Dogs running club

Step Four: Throw an after-party

“We host it at West NYC (our home base on Thursday night runs), on 72nd street, close to the finish. Next door there’s a spot called Communal. Everybody comes by, you pay $25 and get all-you-can-drink beer and pizza slices. We turned it into a long-running after-party that usually goes till 9 or 10 o’clock. We also have a masseuse come by for free 10-minute massages. All the crews come by and we party it up. It’s one of those high-energy days where it’s cool to have everybody in the same room.” —Eric Blevens

“After the race we meet up usually at a bar. After it’s all done they really get their drinks on! That party can go on till the next day. They’re definitely in celebratory mode after the races. It’s very emotional, all that hard work, it’s like the final expression of a long training cycle, so I come ready for a lot of emotional stuff like tears, and emotional parents that come to support them. It’s one I look forward to every year.” —Tony Ruiz

Step Five: Stay out all night

“After the party, there tends to be people who will go out clubbing all night long. That’s something unique to this scene—they like to train hard, and they like to party. So they go to the after-party, eat, shower, do whatever they need to do, come back out and go out in the Little Italy/Chinatown area.” —Jessica Zapotechne

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Published on October 19, 2015 12:05

Photos: 2015 Nike Women’s Half Marathon in San Francisco

The 12th consecutive running of the Nike Women’s Half Marathon in San Francisco kicked off at 6:30 a.m. on Oct. 18 with more than 25,000 runners, including Olympic athletes and celebrities, gathered at the start line in Union Square. This year’s race followed the same new route established last year in which runners experienced a speedy and climatic finish along the Marina Green—instead of the 2004 to 2013 Ocean Beach finish—after grueling hill-climbs through Golden Gate Park.

Elite athletes that participated in the race include 1984 Olympic women’s marathon champion Joanie Benoit Samuelson, paratriathlete Sarah Reinertsen, Olympian and San Francisco native Shannon Rowbury, and American distance runners Jordan Hasay and Alexis Pappas who both crossed the finish line hand-in-hand for first place in 1:21:53. A few celebrities also made an appearance on race day to take on 13.1 miles such as actresses Eloise Mumford (Lone Star) and Aimee Teegarden (Friday Night Lights) and recording artist RaVaughn.

A part of the Nike Women’s Event Series, which started in March of this year with the Nagoya Women’s Marathon and NTC Tour Shanghai, the half marathon in San Francisco marks the end of the 2015 series.

Photos: Courtesy of Nike

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