NYC Marathon Weekend!

This last weekend, I headed out to the East Coast for a slew of reasons- to run The ING New York City Marathon, to attend The SF Marathon and Crowdrise Partnership Launch Party, to spend some time with friends and family, and to run with NYC Ambassador Sean Flynn! With some stroke of fate I'd been able to get into the NYC Marathon and invited my sister along to cheer and sight-see for the weekend. More

City of Roses-Part 2! Portland Race Report

I ended my last post with a recap of the weekend leading up to the Portland Marathon. As you can imagine, Pam and I were exhausted after all of the time we spent at the Race Director's College and Portland Marathon Expo. But when we woke up bleary eyed Sunday morning, we decided there was no turning back. I did my typical Race morning rituals and threw on my Big Sur Marathon Poncho- it was POURING out, and thankfully Wally (Race Director of the Big Sur Marathon) had given Libby and I ponchos to run in. Lifesaver. More

Visiting the City of Roses- Part 1

Last weekend Pam and I flew up to Portland for a handful of festivities surrounding the Portland Marathon.  Pam attended the annual Race Director's College, I worked at the Expo, and we both ran on Sunday morning!  It was a busy- but amazing- trip.  I grew up in Seattle, my sister went to college just outside of Portland, my parents now ... More

Bouncing back from injury

Running is hard. Training is hard work, logging countless miles, testing speed, stamina, endurance. But for me the only thing that's harder is NOT running. For the past 3 weeks I’ve been on the injury list. It’s one I’ve been on before, and I hate to say this time probably won’t be my last. My “injury of choice”? IT Band Syndrome. It flares up every so often and the only thing I’ve found will help me heal is to stop training and just patiently wait for the pain to stop. More

The long road to recovery

It’s been a long time since my last blog post. I guess we have a lot of catching up to do… Back in July we had a couple visitors in town. About 24,000 to be exact. Some brought their families, too, others brought friends, some came alone. Anyway, we had a blast hanging out with everyone, really, but that many visitors can keep a person busy. More

Long Beach Marathon Course Tour!

In preparation for the Long Beach Marathon, I figured I would pay a visit to our friends down at Run Racing. Ironically I arrived exactly 26 days before the big day- and we had 26 miles to cover over the next 2 days! Danica and I had so much fun on her visit to San Francisco, she’s like my “job twin”, we both love Social Media, Marketing, Community Outreach, etc. We’ve had a lot of fun bouncing ideas back and forth since the last trip, so it seemed like a good time to reunite down in her neck of the woods. More

Tapering- Friend or Foe?

Every runner is different, from shoes to pace, nutrition, and training plans.  But almost all marathoners know the importance of tapering before race day.  Whether we hate it or love it, it's a part of our sport that we just accept and adhere to. Since I've become a runner, my relationship with tapering has become more and more ugly.  My ... More

Nutrition and Fuel Tips from Ryan Hall

When I first went to Stanford in the fall of 2001 I knew very little about nutrition. My nutritional plan in high school included eating whatever food my mom put in front of me. Lucky for me, my mom was a healthy cook and her food fueled me to a then state record in the 1600 meters (4:02) and a personal best of 3:42.7 in the 1500 meters (equivalent to a 4:00.5 mile). Once I was in college and eating in the dorms I continued to eat "whatever was put in front of me" but that didn't work out very well for my athletic career (as I am sure you can imagine). Not only did I put on 10 quick pounds but I also was not fueling my body properly to achieve my goals in running. More

The Art of the Snot Rocket

Backed up breathing is an ugly truth with runners, and carrying tissues is not only a silly idea, it will slow you down, and it’s a waste of paper. So, to be more green with your “green,” and to save you valuable time during a race or on a run, I bring to you the not-so-pretty-but-totally necessary instructional guide to the perfect snot rocket. More

Elephants in Golden Gate Park

I generally do my stretching on the lawn in front of the Conservatory of Flowers. Golden Gate Park, on John F. Kennedy Blvd, begins here. Painted white, like a white-painted sand castle, the Conservatory stands in stark contrast to the patches of Crayola Crayon Colored flowers scattered around the lawn. The whole scene is woven with the ... More