Monthly Archives: December 2007

Ryan Shay Memorial Fund

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The 2008 US Olympic Team Trials for the men’s marathon will be remembered for record performances and one of the most competitive fields in decades. It captured the hearts and minds of distance running fans and energized the spirit of distance running. Along with the triumphs on November 3, a day of celebration, tragedy struck with the death of Ryan Shay. My heartfelt condolences go out to Ryan’s family and all those whose lives were touched by this incredible athlete and human being.

My friend, Ian Torrence, got to briefly know Ryan and trained with his wife, Alicia, while he lived in Flagstaff. He recently notified me of the Ryan Shay Memorial Fund set up by the Center for High Altitude Training at Northern Arizona University. Continue reading →

Japanese proverb

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My good friend, Don Mukai, has often told me, “Stumble seven times, get up eight times.” This is the Japanese proverb, 七転び八起き, nanakorobi yaoki. Perseverance over defeat.

Life is full of challenges, hard times, lessons. To me, these are our gifts. If we honor these times, we grow. We become stronger.

We all stumble. We all make mistakes. These can be made into our best moments. Continue reading →

Running USA “honorable mention”

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2007 has turned out to be a year with many incredible performances in distance running, a sport which is making leaps forward with continually growing enthusiasm. This is partially due to the resurgence in performances of recent years. If you are a distance running fan, this is a great time for our country. There are many men and women inspiring some of us mortals to get out there, train harder, and live better.

Running USA, a non-profit association “dedicated to serve and facilitate the growth of all aspects and entities of running and its health and fitness benefits,” has been a much needed backbone to the development of the sport since 1999. Every year they recognize great performances. This year there were many! Of which, I’m grateful to receive an honorable mention in “The 10 Best Moments for Distance Running in 2007″ for my Spartathlon victory. (Last year I was honored with a #8 ranking for my win in the same event.) Continue reading →

My favorite shoes

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I have always felt one of the beauties of running is the lack of required gear. Feel inspired, step outside, go. Unless we’re running barefoot and naked, which some of us nuts are, we require only simple clothing and shoes. I’ve commented some in previous posts about shoes I’ve raced with, but I’m frequently asked what shoes I wear for training. I’ll comment again on both. Here’s the scoop.

Most of us don’t have the exact same biomechanics side to side, which is also true for me. I am a strong supinater on one side and a neutral pronater on the other. I alternate a bit from a neutral cushion shoe to a mild stability shoe when training on the roads. For optimal performance on the trails I feel it’s important to run with a lower profile shoe without as much consideration to pronation and supination, unless severe, as the foot and ankle are continually adjusting to the varied terrain. Continue reading →