Northwest Running and Triathlon Calendar!

Well, we're just a couple days out from the Newport Marathon, so tonight we hit the meal of choice for Boston Marathon champions from days of yore to present: First Burger.

Seriously, these guys have the best veggie burger I've ever eaten. Ever. Give it a try - it will cure what ails ya!

Let's Race!

-Green Text for Trail Runs
-Red Text for Marathons and Half Marathons
-Blue Text for Triathlons and Duathlons
-Orange Text for everything else, the normal 5k, 10k, etc

RACES FOR WEEK OF JUNE 18th TO JUNE 24th

June 23rd / Race for the Animals Trail Run 10k and 5k / Portland, OR

June 23rd / Taylor Mt. Trail Run 50k, Marathon, Half Marathon and 5m / Issaquah, WA

June 23rd / Pacific Crest Marathon and Half Marathon / Sunriver, OR

June 23rd / Bald Hill Peak Half Marathon / Hillsboro, OR

June 23rd / Rock 'n' Roll Seattle Marathon and Half Marathon / Seattle, WA

June 23rd / Pacific Crest Long Course Triathlon and Duathlon / Sunriver, OR

June 23rd / Padden Triathlon Super-Sprint and Sprint / Bellingham, WA

June 24th / Pacific Crest Olympic Triathlon and Duathlon / Sunriver, OR

June 20th / Summer Solstice 5k / Springfield, OR (Wednesday Night Race!)

June 21st / Summer Solstice Sundowner 5k / Portland, OR (Thursday Night Race)

June 21st / Salem Summer Solstice 6.21k / Salem, OR (Thursday Night Race!)

June 21st / Get Healthy 10k and 5k / Eugene, OR (Thursday Night Race!)

June 23rd / Summer Solstice 6m and 3m / Vancouver, WA

June 23rd / Kootenai River Run 10k and 5k / Bonners Ferry, ID

June 23rd / Running of the Trolls 5.75m and 3m / Astoria, OR

June 23rd / Carlton Fun Race 5k / Carlton, OR

June 23rd / Pink Buffalo Stampede 10k and 5k / Eugene, OR

June 23rd / Deputy Saul Gallegos Memorial Run 10k and 5k / Manson, WA

June 23rd / Twilight Run 5k / Tigard, OR

June 23rd / Henry Lake 10.4 Mile Run for a Cause 10.4m, 10k and 5k / Gaston, OR

June 24th / Pacific Crest 10k and 5k / Sunriver, OR

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First Burger photo from Willamette Food Adventures blog.

Running and Triathlon Links Wednesday!

Well...because we sort of missed Monday. Long weekend and all.

So let's get to it. Study up and learn something already.

The first article is about the number of deferments granted at the Boston Marathon - unfortunately, it turned it to not be the whole story

And here's The Rest of the Story on the Boston Marathon deferments - and yes, these people will be taking spots in next year's race

The misadventures of the Australian Olympic Triathlon Selection Committee - once again, why don't they just let them decide it in a race?

Another barefoot running equals injury article - I'll just be over here...keeping my mouth shut

Meet the five US Olympic Triathletes - they earned their spots out on the race course

Komen Race for the Cure news not getting better - numbers are even worse than first estimates

Turn your marathon training into PR's in shorter races - turns out that training can do wonders for your 5k's and 10k's as well

How to be a faster triathlete...on a budget - in my opinion, it's the most difficult thing about tri...being poor

The man, the business: Usain Bolt - I don't talk much about sprinters, but it's a good read

Nice photo gallery of the Cap Tex Triathlon - Hunter Kemper and Andy Potts fighting it out

Tips for happy feet and healthy running - hey, you've got to trust NPR

Interested in tubeless tires for your tri bike? - check out a comparison

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New RaceCenter, New Article

Yeppers, the new issue of RaceCenter Northwest Magazine is out! And if you can't make it to a Jamba Juice or a running store, like, immediately, then just check out the totally awesome online version.

And as usual, let's take a look at this month's goodies, because, again as usual, this issue is chock-a-block full of great stuff!

First, we've got my main man, Brook Gardner, the RaceCenter editor, writing the editorial titled "The Tools for Success." Mainly about running on trails...and Brook is 6'2" and 185, in case you were wondering.

Then, we've got some short tid-bits: Cover Girl Meghan Arbogast, from Corvallis, breaks women's 50+ world record for 100k, new all women Cosmo 7k in Vancouver (Seven K?????), Thursday runs in Portland, Warrior Dash comes to North Bend, Lake Chelan Marathon, Disneyland's Tinker Bell Half Marathon, Fit Right opens new store in Hillsboro, Summer Sprint Series is back in Portland, Wahine All-Women's Tri, Alpenrose Velodrome gets a remodel, and the Yellowstone Alpine Klimb ride. Whew...

The man's man, Max King, writes an article on how to balance trail and road training. Dude, when Max talks, you take notes. Lots and lots of notes.

Then someone named Donna, with way more degrees after her name than she really needs, talks about nutrition during 24-hour relay events. My plan during my only 24-hour relay was 7-Eleven corn dogs. I'm guessing that's not Donna's plan.

After that, we've got some USATF Northwest notes.

Jeff Browning, trail superduperstar, talks about getting on the trail and "Going Long." Not my thing, but maybe someday. I think 26.2 will be my limit for a few more years still.

Tri Pro Chris Bagg talks about racing in the heat. Most of the country has had a really tough, HOT, spring already. Those of us in the Northwest are like, "What?" It's hardly been overly hot here, but maybe soon.

Then we've got "Enjoy the Run." Interviews with some top Northwest runners and triathletes talking about their long and winding roads.

A Trail Shoe Review. Way too much minimalist crap.

Finally! The new article from the R's workshop: "A Rising Tide: Handbuilt bicycles in the Northwest." Brook grabbed some nice photos for this one - they show off the nice work that these guys, and gals, are producing by hand. A bit out of my price range, but some of these handbuilt bikes are just beautiful.

Then the Event Calendar.

And the last photo is of the Boston Marathon. Hmmm...

Five days until the Newport Marathon.

Go team.

Northwest Running and Triathlon Calendar!

We're really getting into summer now...the triathlons and trail runs are ramping up and the marathons are fading away for a few months.

Let's Race!

-Green Text for Trail Runs
-Red Text for Marathons and Half Marathons
-Blue Text for Triathlons and Duathlons
-Orange Text for everything else, the normal 5k, 10k, etc

RACES FOR WEEK OF JUNE 11th TO JUNE 17th

June 16th / 3:33 Run for Hope Timed Three Hour and 33 Minute Trail Run / Bend, OR

June 16th / Granite Man 10m Mtn Trail Run / Jackson County, OR

June 16th / Cape Mountain Trail Run 10m / Florence, OR

June 16th / Echo Valley Trail 50m, 50k, Half Marathon and 10k / Chelan, WA

June 16th / Scott Cougar Mountain Trail Run 8m / Newcastle, WA

June 16th / White Salmon Backyard Half Marathon Trail Run / White Salmon, WA

June 17th / Beacon Rock 50k and 25k / North Bonneville, WA

June 17th / Mt. Hood Scramble Trail Run 8k / Mt. Hood, OR

June 16th / See Jane Run Half Marathon and 5k / Boise, ID

June 16th / Jennifer's Catching Slough Classic Half Marathon, 12k and 5k / Coos Bay, OR

June 17th / Vancouver USA Marathon and Half Marathon / Vancouver, WA

June 15th / Raise the Bar Friday Night Swim Race Open Water 2.4m, 1.2m and .5m / Kent, WA (Friday Night Race!)

June 16th / Tri for Life Sprint Triathlon / Albany, OR

June 16th / Granite Man Off Road Sprint Triathlon / Jackson County, OR

June 16th / Dilettante Women's Sprint Triathlon / Federal Way, WA

June 16th / Lake Wilderness Olympic and Sprint Triathlon / Maple Valley, WA

June 16th / Tri Monroe Sprint Triathlon / Monroe, WA

June 16th / Cottage Lake Tri and Tri Again Sprint Triathlon / Woodinville, WA

June 16th / Deception Pass Challenge Sprint Triathlon / Oak Harbor, WA

June 16th / Freedom 5k / Vancouver, WA

June 16th / Elkton Butterfly Run 10k and 5k / Elkton, OR

June 16th / Run, Walk, Ride for Habitat 10k and 5k / McMinnville, OR

June 16th / East Oregonian River Run 15k and 5k / Pendleton, OR

June 16th / White River 5k / Buckley, WA

June 16th / Foam Fest 5k / North Bend, WA

June 16th / Swede Days 10k and 5k / Rochester, WA

June 16th / The Dirty Dash 10k and 5k / Spokane, WA

June 16th / Reality 5k / Tacoma, WA

June 16th / Spartan Sprint Race 3m / Washougal, WA

June 16th / Pioneer Dam Run 10k and 5k / Brownsville, OR

June 16th / A Midsummer Night's Run 10k and 5k / Corvallis, OR

June 16th / Dam Run 5k / Sweet Home, OR

June 16th / Longest Day Run 5k / Medford, OR

June 16th / Run for Compassion 10k and 5k / Salem, OR

June 16th / Beyond Borders 5k / Salem, OR

June 16th / Dry Canyon Run 10k and 5k / Redmond, OR

June 17th / Run Eugene Run 8k and 5k / Eugene, OR

June 17th / Run and Walk with Pride 10k / Seattle, WA

June 17th / Prost8k Run 8k / Springfield, OR

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Want to Run Faster? Get New Socks!

Crazy, right?

Crazy like a fox!

So, I'm working on a new theory here. Over the last 25 years, the sport of running has gone through some unbelievable technological changes. And while running sock technology is hardly at the forefront of anyone's mind, they too have gone through a number of changes. I mean, just look at those three-stripe monsters.

Since then, running socks have become shorter and shorter, stopped using cotton and started using man-made wicking materials, and have become thinner and thinner.

I'm good with the short socks and I'm all about the poly materials (cotton just doesn't do the trick). However, I have an issue with the thinner part. I actually think that a newish pair of socks (not too thick, but not too thin!) can make your feet and legs feel as fresh and ready to run as a new pair of shoes.

I know, I know, you're thinking, "the R's has really gone off the deep end this time - he needs to lay off the bananas. The potassium is building up in his brain."

Maybe you're right.

But do a little test. Before your next training run, in your old, worn-out running shoes, put on a brand new pair of high quality running socks and see how your feet feel at the end of the run.

Then let me know if I'm crazy.

Top sock photo from Dave-Sensei's Blog...for the love of God Dave, get some new socks!

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Looking for Cheap Running Shoes...Fast?

Who isn't?

Well, I needed a new pair of Nike Pegasus sneaks desperately, for Newport. I didn't want to pay full price and I didn't want that boring white and blue color scheme that I already have twice over! Plus, Newport is June 2nd, so I can't wait around for the Pegasus 29. Give me the 28!

And just out of sheer luck, after almost giving in to an unworthy site, I happened upon runningwarehouse.com.

Dude, I love these guys.

They had the Nike Pegasus 28 about $30 less than anyone else. They have free shipping. They got to my door two days after I ordered. And I got them in a sweet color!

Plus the bright orange tech tee from Asics for $9.99! What more can you ask for?!? (they run big, order a size down)

And no, they didn't pay me to say any of this, but when you buy shoes as often as I do, it's amazing to find a great new Running Shoe Store that you hadn't heard of before.

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Running and Triathlon Links Monday!

Good links here - read up and get yourself inspired for your next race!

Runner's World Talks About How Much Money an Average Pro Runner Brings Home - Don't quit your day job just yet

Video Interview with Chris McCormack about How Tough ITU Triathlon Racing Is - I disagree; ITU seems to come down to the fastest runner, just about every time

The New York Times with a great article on the life, and death, of Born to Run Ultrastar Micah True - Caballo Blanco had his priorities straight

Great Photos of Kara Goucher Preparing for the Olympic Marathon from Her Blog - With her son Colt checking out the Nike track

The Ethiopian Olympic Marathon Team is Announced - Kenya and Ethiopia need to come up with a better plan on how to pick their teams

What Is Your Risk of Dying at Your Next Marathon? - Low...but worse for men than women

Video: Andrew Carlson has the Fargo Half Marathon Wrapped Up...or Does He? - Two camps on this one: 1) Don't celebrate early or 2) Get the Walkers off the Half Marathon finish line!

Can Runners Have Too Many Miles on the Tires? - Which is a different question than, Are you too old to run fast?

Running Starts Heading Down the Swimming "Speedsuit" Road - Let's hope the powers that be nip this kind of thing in the bud

ESPN has a Moving and Somber Investigation into Sammy Wanjiru's Death - But the facts will probably never be known

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Lance Armstrong Crushes Competition at Ironman 70.3 Florida

Lance Armstrong breezed to the win today at the Ironman 70.3 Florida.

Armstrong's bike leg was ten minutes (TEN MINUTES!) faster than the next fastest biker. And his run wasn't too shabby either - a 1:15:56 half marathon.

I know Lance inspires a lot of love...and hate...but like him or not, there's no denying that he's shaking up the Tri World...as a 40 year old!

Seattle Marathon Earlybird Registration

And the Portland Jingle Bell Run too!

So get in now if you want to save a bunch of money at the Seattle Marathon. Same deal with the Portland Jingle Bell Run - sign up early and save some cash.

Let's Race!

-Green Text for Trail Runs
-Red Text for Marathons and Half Marathons
-Blue Text for Triathlons and Duathlons
-Orange Text for everything else, the normal 5k, 10k, etc

RACES FOR WEEK OF JUNE 4th TO JUNE 10th

June 7th / Grand Ridge Solstice Trail Run 10m and 5m / Issaquah, WA (Thursday Night Run!)

June 9th / Lake Youngs Ultra 28.8m / Renton, WA

June 10th / Clear Lake Memorial Trail Half Marathon and 5m / Clear Lake, WA

June 10th / NW Adventure Sports Festiva Trail Run 10k and 5k / Port Gamble, WA

June 10th / Footzone Dirty Half Trail Half Marathon / Bend, OR

June 6th / Three Towers Run ~15m / Olympia, WA (Wednesday Night Race!)

June 9th / Helvetia Half Marathon and Drop Top 10k / Hillsboro, OR

June 9th / Three Sisters Marathon and 5k / Redmond, OR

June 9th / Teton Dam Marathon, Half Marathon, 10k and 5k / Rexburg, ID

June 9th / High Valley Half Marathon / Union, OR

June 10th / Edge to Edge Marathon and Half Marathon / Tolfino, BC

June 10th / Winthrop Marathon and Half Marathon / Winthrop, WA

June 10th / St. Joe River Marathon, Half Marathon and 5k / St. Maries, ID

June 9th / Blue Lake Sprint Triathlon and Duathlon / Fairview, OR

June 9th / Moses Lake Olympic and Sprint Triathlon / Moses Lake, WA

June 10th / Blue Lake Olympic Triathlon and Duathlon / Fairview, OR

June 8th / TRCI Wellness Run 5k / Umatilla, OR (Friday Night Race!)

June 8th / Fremont 5k / Seattle, WA (Friday Night Race!)

June 9th / Tough Rhino Mud Run 5k / Benton City, WA

June 9th / Flight for Sight Fun Run 10k and 5k / Everett, WA

June 9th / Run for Your Life 10k and 5k / Moses Lake, WA

June 9th / Tumbleweed Fun Run 5k / Pomeroy, WA

June 9th / Sound to Narrows 12k and 5k / Tacoma, WA

June 9th / Adoption Run 10k and 5k / Snohomish, WA

June 9th / HandsOn Superhero Dash 5k / Salem, OR

June 9th / Sage-n-Sun Fun Run 5m / Ephrata, WA

June 9th / Marysville Strawberry Festival 5k / Marysville, WA

June 9th / Mountain Fun Run 5k / Wildcat Lake, WA

June 9th / Stomp Out Polio 10k and 5k / Richland, WA

June 9th / Run for Ohm 10k and 5k / Roseburg, OR

June 9th / Cancer Crushers 5k / Eugene, OR

June 10th / Furry 5k / Seattle, WA

June 10th / Run Like a Girl 5k / Vancouver, WA

June 10th / Shore Run 10k and 5k / Seattle, WA

June 10th / Run for the Love of Dove 5k / Portland, OR

June 10th / C'mon It's Summer! Fun Run 5k / Cannon Beach, OR

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Kara Goucher Running Rock 'n' Roll Portland

Hey, if you're running the Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon this weekend, be on the lookout for the R's favorite Oregon runner, Kara Goucher. Goucher is using the Half as a little training run as she preps for the London Olympic marathon, so probably a 1:08 or 1:09.

On the boys' side, Oregon speedsters Ryan Bak and Sean Canaday will toe the line. Should be a good race between those two.

If you're not already in...sorry, it's sold out. But hey, head down and cheer on Oregon's fastest anyway.

Fantastic Kara photo by Dylan Coulter. Head over to his website and check out amazing shots of runners and other athletes.

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Running and Triathlon Links Monday!

Tons of great stuff this week - enjoy!

The Story of Alison Delgado - won her first marathon, then nearly killed in a bike/auto accident, then comes back to run again

Another look at Alison Delgado, with very moving video of her at finish of the Flying Pig Marathon in Cincy - her husband was the ER doc on duty when she came into the hospital...you can't make this stuff up

Adidas ad for their new shoe with Formotion - weird stuff...the heel moves - I don't know if that's a good thing

Men's Olympic Tri team is set - Hunter Kemper makes his fourth straight team...absolutely fricking amazing

And the Women's Olympic Tri team is set as well - some drama in this race

Photos of the Men's Tri race in San Diego to set the team - And then photos of the Women's race

Finally, photos of Lance Armstrong and Andy Potts at the 70.3 Ironman in St. Croix - and Facebook photos of my fav Angela Naeth, in St. Croix

Everything you wanted to know about Kinesio tape - I've wondered if it could help my heel bursitis, but I'm a little afraid it might make it worse somehow

Explaining Ultrarunner Micah True's autopsy results - the press loves to throw out "athlete with enlarged heart!!!", but this article explains it in better detail

For Mother Day, here are some amazing Mom Ultrarunners - when it comes to ultra, women are tougher, and moms are toughest

Will cross-training help your running? - well, that depends...

Here are a bunch of photos from last week's Wildflower race - including shots of both OSU Beavers and UO Ducks on the course

Get ready to do your first tri in six weeks - I'd say if you already know how to swim, you could do one tomorrow

Tri Bike Porn - unfortunately, the only kind I link to here...sorry

Nice article on America's number one hope in the Olympic Women's Marathon - yep, it's Oregon's own Shalane Flanagan

Photo of OSU's Blair Bronson by Aaron Hersh.

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Nineteen Days To Newport Marathon

And I had my third, and last, 20 miler today in the Fitz marathon program. As seems to be the theme for my long runs lately, it was hotter than Hades today in Corvallis - we almost hit 90 degrees this afternoon. However, after my horrid experience during my last hot long run, I took a two part strategy to try to improve my run today.

First, I made sure I was out the door and running before 7:30 - I actually tried to hit 7:00, but had to get the kids started on their Mother's Day scones that they were making. Yum!

Second, instead of wandering around the entire stinking town and hitting large shadeless swathes, I plotted out an approximately 6-mile loop, using MapMyRun.com of course, and hit it three times. This loop included the nice shady patches along the river for about half of the loop, which was very welcome toward the end of the three hours out on the roads.

Pay attention to the "Moving Pace" column, since there were a number of stoplights and stops at the water fountain to refill the water bottle. Wore down a little at the end, but still came in around 20 minutes faster than my first two 20 milers in the plan, so...

Yeah, so...

Can I hold pace for 26.2? I'm not sure. It shouldn't be as hot in Newport as it was here today for sure, but that's probably not my only issue.

Am I ready to run a 3:25:00 for a BQ at Newport? I really don't know. But I'm ready to give it a shot.

Nineteen days to go...

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Fastest Known Time at a Trail Near You

I love this site - Fastest Known Time.

Want to know the fastest running time for weird trails and routes like Rim 2 Rim at the Grand Canyon, or the Wonderland Trail around Mt. Rainier, or the entire Pacific Coast Trail down the West Coast? Well, Fastest Known Time is the website for you.

Let's race!

-Green Text for Trail Runs
-Red Text for Marathons and Half Marathons
-Blue Text for Triathlons and Duathlons
-Orange Text for everything else, the normal 5k, 10k, etc

RACES FOR WEEK OF MAY 29th TO JUNE 3rd

June 2nd / Timberline Trail Marathon and Half Marathon / Government Camp, OR

June 2nd / Silver Falls Challenge Trail 5k / Silverton, OR

June 2nd / Rainier to Ruston Trail 50m, 50k, Marathon and Half Marathon / Tacoma, WA

June 2nd / XTERRA Lord Hill Trail Half Marathon and 10k / Snohomish, WA

June 3rd / Red Devil Challenge Trail 20k / Cashmere, WA

June 3rd / Run for the Hills Trail 8k / Corvallis, OR

June 2nd / Sun Valley Half Marathon / Sun Valley, ID

June 2nd / Spirit of Magic Valley Half Marathon and 5k / Twin Falls, ID

June 2nd / Three Rivers Race Half Marathon, 10k and 5k / La Grande, OR

June 2nd / Newport Marathon / Newport, OR

June 3rd / North Olympic Discovery Marathon, Half Marathon, 10k and 5k / Port Angeles, WA

June 3rd / San Juan Island Marathon, Half Marathon and 10k / Friday Harbor, WA

June 2nd / Duel in the Desert Road and Mtn Bike Duathlon / Bend, OR

June 2nd / Issaquah Sprint Triathlon, Duathlon 10k and 5k / Issaquah, WA

June 3rd / Pine Hollow Olympic and Sprint Triathlon / Wamic, OR

June 3rd / Hagg Lake Open Water Swim 4000m, 2000m and 800m / Forest Grove, OR

June 2nd / Linear Trail Brave Run 10k and 5k / Banks, OR

June 2nd / Soles2Souls 10k and 5k / Portland, OR

June 2nd / Starlight Run 5k / Portland, OR

June 2nd / Santiam Fun Run 8k and 5k / Stayton, OR

June 2nd / Moonlight Five 5m / Springfield, OR

June 2nd / Run for Kyron 10k and 5k / Tigard, OR

June 2nd / Run for the Son 5k / Liberty Lake, WA

June 2nd / Woodburn Run 10k and 5k / Woodburn, OR

June 2nd / Ironheart Classic 8m, 4m and 1m / Redmond, WA

June 2nd / Lebanon Strawberry Festival Run 5k / Lebanon, OR

June 3rd / Hockinson 5k / Brush Prairie, WA

June 3rd / Duvall 10k and 5k / Duvall, WA

June 3rd / Push America 5k / Eugene, OR

June 3rd / Chum Run 5k / Langley, WA

June 3rd / Fallen Trooper Memorial Run 33k, 10k and 5k / St. Paul, OR

June 3rd / Cougar Prowl 5k / Silverdale, WA

June 3rd / Stoller Vineyards 5k / Dayton, OR

June 3rd / Komen Race for the Cure 5k / Seattle, WA

June 3rd / Heaven Can Wait 5k / Bend, OR

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Best Running Song for May - Tiesto vs. Diplo - C'mon!

I'm not usually big into dance music, but let me tell you, this song right here was the song from my iPod playlist that got me going during the Corvallis Half. There's just amazing energy in this song. It's "C'Mon" by Tiesto vs. Diplo (featuring Busta Rhymes). I know, right?

Good dance moves in this video, although the whole snake thing at the end is just...odd.

I think my favorite thing about this song, besides the fact that Diplo takes his DJ name from a dinosaur (Diplodocus), is that Busta Rhymes is still out there, well...busting rhymes. I mean, this guy has got to be up there in years. I remember him from my UW days with Tribe Called Quest and "Scenario." Another great song to run to, by the way. Man, that was way back in 1991. Damn, me and Busta are old...

Anyway, old school coming at you!



Plus, check out Spike Lee at the 1:18 mark. It's gotta be the shoes, Mike!

Rock that Run!

Past Best Running Songs:
April: Grouplove / "Tongue Tied"
March: Foxy Shazam / "I Like It"
February: Foster the People / "Don't Stop"
January: Hot Hot Heat / "Bandages"
December: Camp Lo / "Luchini aka This Is It"
November: Wolfmother / "Joker and the Thief"
October: Phoenix / "1901"
September: Matt and Kim / "Daylight"
August: Collie Buddz / "Holiday"
July: Pretenders / "Tattooed Love Boys"
June: The Wombats / "Moving to New York"
May: Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros / "40 Day Dream"
April: Foxy Shazam / "Unstoppable"
March: Pharrell / "Fun Fun Fun"
February: Puff Daddy / "Come With Me"
January: We Are Scientists / "The Great Escape"
December: Cee Lo Green / "F**k You"
November: Tokyo Police Club / "Breakneck Speed"
October: Two Door Cinema Club / "Something Good Can Work"
September: Stone Temple Pilots / "Cinnamon"
August: Louis XIV / "Guilt by Association"
July: Devo / "Fresh"
June: Saliva / "Your Disease"
May: Metric / "Gold Guns Girls"
April: OK Go / "This Too Shall Pass"
March: The Hours / "Ali In The Jungle"
February: Los Fabulosos Cadillacs / "El Matador"
January: White Rabbits / "Percussion Gun"
December: Deftones / "Knife Prty"
November: The Kooks / "Always Where I Need To Be"
October: At the Drive In / "One Armed Scissor"
September: Silversun Pickups / "Lazy Eye"
August: Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros / "Johnny Appleseed"
July: Deathray / "I Wanna Lose Control (Uh Oh)"
June: Raconteurs / "Salute Your Solution"
May: Tea Party / "Save Me"
April: Bloc Party / "Like Eating Glass"
Ever: The English Beat / "I Confess"

Running and Triathlon Links Monday!

As usual, lots and lots of good stuff here. Get reading and by next Monday, you'll be setting PR's like nobody's business!

Lance Armstrong takes third at Ironman 70.3 St. Croix - Losing to Andy Potts is not something to be ashamed of

How to be a lifelong runner - hey, I'm halfway there and still running

Runners and what they eat - should you be a vegan...or a pescatarian? Go pescatarians!

Jesse Thomas and tatted-up Heather Jackson win Wildflower - Oregon represent!

A little photo album from Wildflower - And another one

How to race strong through your "go zone" - that zone is usually the third quarter of races...where most runners fall apart

Megan Goethals turns her life, and her running, around - the UW cross country star was "near self-destruction"

Study shows jogging can extend lifespan by six years - yes, jogging, not necessarily full-out running/racing training

Favorite local races of seven triathlon pros - including Linsey Corbin and Oregon homeboy and Wildflower winner, Jesse Thomas

"Float" workouts to build strength for midrace attacks - personally, I'm only attacking my so-called "love of running" midrace

Inspiring article on Liberia's first marathon - trying to put a 14-year old civil war behind them

Do you have $1500 burning a hole in your pocket? - if you don't, you should get out of triathlon now

Off-season workout plans from superstar triathlete Miranda Carfrae - she's pretty damn fast...you should probably pay attention

Top three new running shoes for men and women - these seem like pretty random picks, but what do you expect from Yahoo?

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Wildflower Results and Bloomsday Results!

Yes, it was the big weekend down at the Wildflower Triathlon. OSU's Blair Bronson was fourth overall in the collegiate division. Nice job.

Wildflower Results Here.

And Here.

Plus, we've got the biggest race in the Northwest, literally. Bloomsday was run today and won by Allan Kiprono from Kenya in a time of 34.29. Yeah, that's a 4:37 pace. Holy moly.

Also, congrats to Carlos Trujillo from Idaho as the first US finisher and Mike Sayenko as the first Washington finisher and Ryan Bak from Bend as the first Oregon finisher. Plus Uli Steidl in 25th place overall just a few weeks after his amazing performance at the Boston Marathon.

Bloomsday Results Here.

Top Finishers Here.

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Memorial Day Races!

Yep, it's that time...at last! Our first official holiday since freaking January! Woot!

Those are always tough months - the dry desert known as the bleak 18-week span between the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday and Memorial Day. It's a struggle to make it to the other side.

You're almost there! Keep fighting!

Let's Race!

-Green Text for Trail Runs
-Red Text for Marathons and Half Marathons
-Blue Text for Triathlons and Duathlons
-Orange Text for everything else, the normal 5k, 10k, etc

RACES FOR WEEK OF MAY 21st TO MAY 28th

May 26th / Ridgeline Ramble Trail Run 20k and 10k / Eugene, OR

May 26th / Jim Bridger Mountain Man Trail 5k / Portland, OR

May 26th / Soaring Eagle Trail 50k, Marathon, 10m and 5m / Sammamish, WA

May 28th / TrailFactor Trail Run 50k and Half Marathon / Portland, OR

May 26th / Happy Girls Run Half Marathon and 5k / Bend, OR

May 26th / Eastern Oregon Half Marathon / Spray, OR

May 27th / Coeur d'Alene Marathon, Half Marathon and 5k / Coeur d'Alene, ID

May 27th / Run for Water Marathon, Half Marathon, 10k and 5k / Abbotsford, BC

May 28th / Memorial Day Marathon, Half Marathon, 10m, 10k and 5k / Elma, WA

May 26th / YMCA Camels Back Sprint Duathlon / Boise, ID

May 27th / Onion Man Olympic Triathlon / Walla Walla, WA

May 28th / Spring Festival Sprint Triathlon and Duathlon / Moses Lake, WA

May 28th / Heart of the Valley Sprint Triathlon and Duathlon / Corvallis, OR

May 28th / Memorial Day Sprint Triathlon and Duathlon / Elma, WA

May 26th / Walking with Angels 5k / Albany, OR

May 26th / RiverFest 10k and 5k / Maupin, OR

May 26th / Life365 Run 10k and 5k / Salem, OR

May 26th / Run to the Village 5k / Battle Ground, WA

May 26th / Spring Festival 10k and 5k / Moses Lake, WA

May 26th / Terrain Mud Run 5m and 5k / Enumclaw, WA

May 26th / Magnuson Run Series 15k, 10k and 5k / Seattle, WA

May 27th / Good Karma 5k / Seattle, WA

May 27th / 10k Rum Run / Tualatin, OR

May 28th / ORRC Up the Lazy River 10k / West Linn, OR

May 28th / Camp Gilead River Run 5k / Carnation, WA

May 28th / Run 4 the Memorial 4m / Eugene, OR

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Komen Race for the Cure Takes a Hit

The saying "any press is good press" definitely isn't true in all cases. Komen and Race for the Cure have received loads of press over the past year, not much of it good, and apparently it's having an effect. Not a good effect.

The New York Times is reporting that registered attendance and donations at early 2012 Komen races is down by more than 25 percent.

And judging by the comments I've seen here and there on the web, somehow Komen has managed to offend both sides with their Planned Parenthood decision and backtracking. PP supporters are angry that Komen tried to take away funding from PP while PP opponents are upset with Komen for reversing course and reinstating the funding.

There's no one to blame for this but the Komen organization themselves, but they're really in a no-win situation now.

Personally, I say run the races you want to run. If the race happens to be tied to a cause you support, that's great. But even better would be to get out your checkbook and cut a check directly to your favorite charity. Then the whole amount goes to where it's needed.

And you can still pick and choose any race you want.

Crafty art by Lian Amaris.

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