Nike: The Human Race 10k

What are you doing this Sunday? Feel like joining a million runners for a worldwide 10k?

That's right, on August 31, 2008 you can run 10k (6.2 miles) with the rest of the world thanks to the Nike: The Human Race 10k. There are 24 Official Race Cities where Nike will be holding official organized runs: Austin, Bogota, Buenos Aries, Caracas, Chicago, Istanbul, Lima, London, Los Angeles, Madrid, Melbourne, Mexico City, Mt. Fuji, Munich, New York City, Paris, Quito, Rome, Sao Paulo, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, Taipei, and Vancouver. Not only is this a global event where millions of runners will participate, it helps raise money and awareness for several charities, including: livestrong.org, ninemillion.org, and WWF.org. 

For those of us not able to travel to those cities, we can be a part of the event and run on our own. Here is a list of stores that are participating by holding organized runs. I'll be participating at the Niketown in San Francisco located near Union Square.

Here is a rundown for the Niketown in San Francisco:

• Doors open at 8am; you can store your bags, stretch, mingle, etc.

• Race starts at 8:31am

• There will be no water stops, but you can carry your own bottle.

• There will be no official chip or timing devices handed out, but there will be a running clock that starts at the beginning of the race.

• There will be food, water, coffee, and music playing afterwards along with giveaways and a special discount at the store for the participants.

• Everyone is welcome to run, if you'd like to register (free) or donate (optional) you are more than welcome to, however it is not necessary.

Hope to see you there. I'll be posting a blog Sunday night as recap of the event and if you email me that you participated or your finishing time, I'd love to feature you on the post.

Nike: Run Club

There are some perks to working in San Francisco. One of them is being so close to the Niketown located near Union Square. During the week, Nike holds a night where runners can meet and run together usually anywhere between 3-7 miles.  Typically 20-40 runners will meet around 6:00 pm and start the run as a group at 6:30 pm. Nike usually has 2-3 employees join the running group with one in the front to middle and a second from the middle to back to make sure everyone stays with the course and to help if someone needs assistance. Afterwards Nike supplies some water or sports drinks along with general snacks such as bagels, fruit, etc. to all the runners to round out the night's event.

Occasionally there are Nike shoe trials. Nike will select 2-3 pairs of running shoes and if you'd like, you can try running in them for the night. It's a cool experience because A. You're not putting extra miles on your shoes. B. If you are interested in buying a new pair of shoes, you can try them out first. and C. You start to learn the difference between various kinds of shoes and support. Afterwards you fill out a quick survey on what you thought and return the shoes. Pretty good deal if you ask me.

Also, every week you can put your name into a raffle for a free pair of running shoes ($130 value) at the end of the month (must be present to win). So if you show up every week for a month, you get 4 entries. Not too shabby. Bonus: They also have weekly trivia questions every once and awhile where the winner will receive a small gift. 

And as if mapping out a course, supplying running shoes, providing snacks and refreshments, allowing you to sample their shoes (for Free) wasn't enough... they usually offer a discount after the run around 30% or give away some Nike schwag. It isn't every week, but it's a nice surprise when it happens.

Here is a link to find the nearest Niketown Run Club. Maybe I'll see you out there.

26.2 Miles to the Bird Nest

If you didn't get a chance to watch the 2008 Olympic Women's Marathon... then you missed one hell-of-a-race. Romania's Constantina Tomescu-Dita raced 26.2 miles triumphantly through the streets of Beijing, past Tienanmen Gate and into the Bird's Nest to win the Gold Medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics in 2 hours, 22 mins. and 44 seconds.

Tomescu-Dita made her move a little past the half-way point and never looked back. Don't get me wrong, towards the end she did look back a couple times to see where the "chase pack" was behind her, but by then it was too late. With thousands lining the streets, the 38-year old Romanian made her move at the half-way mark in hopes to build a lead that the other runner's would not be able to conquer.

In most marathons, the lead pack usually stays together for the majority of the race until the last few miles where they will separate. However, true to her past, Tomescu-Dita made her move early and it paid off. With no one having the energy to catch up to the leader in the late miles it became a race for the Silver as the Tomescu-Dita went on to win by 22 seconds ahead of Catherine Ndereba (Kenya) and Zhou Chunxiu (China).

Quick Side Notes:

2004 Athens Bronze Medalist Deena Kastor (USA) pulled out after 3 miles when she felt a pop in her foot. With a sore foot for the past few weeks and thinking it was hypersensitive tendons Deena was the medal hopeful for the US. It would later be reported that she broke her foot.

Running icon Paula Radcliffe (Great Britain) responded to reports that labeled her a 'quitter' for dropping out late in the 2004 Athens Marathon due to stomach issues by running through a stress fracture diagnosed in May. Radcliffe finished in 23rd place with tears of joy and pain to the applause of many, including me.

Project One-Four-Five

Project Name: One-Four-Five

Objective: To complete the San Jose Rock N Roll 1/2 Marathon in 1 Hour, 45 mins

Course of Action: Hills, Speed Work, Strength Training, Core Workout

That's right — myself and that guy over to the right (Paul Razo) are going to attempt to set PRs in our half marathon time by about 15 mins. Sounds easy right? 

Let's think about this, a half marathon is 13.1 miles... that means we are attempting to shave off over a minute per mile in two months time. Can we do it? We're about to find out. Over the next two months we are dedicating ourselves to shift our training up to the next level. It is going to be a daunting task, but without pain... wait that sounds bad... without extraordinary effort there can be no glory. That sounds better.

Any words of wisdom? Leave them as a comment below. Any advice you may have could make the difference.

Congratulations!

Sunday, August 3rd in San Francisco over 14,000 runners participated in the RunSF Full Marathon (26.2 miles), first and second Half-Marathon (13.1 miles) and the 5k (3.1 miles). It was an amazing day to run and I would like to congratulate a few of our fellow runners:

Half-Marathon (first half)

Lori Lefkowitz: 1:54:56

Manny: 2:11 (PR)

Half-Marathon (second half)

JD: 1:56:03 (PR)

Tom Murray: 1:56:37 (PR)

Full Marathon:

Patrick Letellier: 4:12:14 (PR) Shaved 25 mins off Florence Full Marathon time — thanks to all of you and the kick a** training. Yeeeeeeha.

B. Kelley: 5:09:28 (PR) 10 mins off Florence Full Marathon time

If you would would like to send me your finishing time to be added to the list, please email me.

Also, if you would like to offer a few words of congratulations, click the comment button below. They would love to hear what you have to say.