Tragedy at the Boston Marathon

As I sat down to write a blog post for this year's running of the Boston Marathon, I thought it would be a great idea to share some of the historical significance of Patriot's Day.

But it seems that a different kind of history was written during this year's Boston Marathon.

Ask any runner and there's only one place that we would want to be on Patriot's Day. And that's in Hopkinton, at the start of the Boston Marathon. Regardless of how fast or far we run, we all think and dream about running Boston.

As the morning unfolded, it seemed like the 117th running of the Boston Marathon was complete. The turn of events that happened that afternoon was not anything that anyone would have expected.

With all the press coverage of these events in the last few weeks, I do not want to continue to rehash the day's events ...so instead I focused on the healing. I've started to gather a few links and images of the race tees and organizations supporting Boston and raising money for the families affected.

Donate Today!

The senseless tragedy of these bombings continues to weigh on the families and the community of
running and our thoughts and prayers are with family, friends and colleagues running and spectating at the Boston Marathon.
And while it is scary to consider such an event happening as you're crossing the finish line, I believe that the runner in each of us will not be deterred from running again.
So keep running.

BOSTON STRONG

Boston Strong from Flying Pig

Cafe Press Long Sleeve T

Celebrating with Green Beer and a 5K

There are a few times during the year, in which runners feel more than capable to run a (5K) road race ...regardless of their training. Among those are a New Year's run, the Fourth of July and St Patrick's Day.

Usually this can be attributed to the knowledge that the reward at the end of the race -- can typically be found not in age group awards or medals; but typically a pint or two at the local pub after a tough run.

So whether your goal was to get out to start your spring training or your goal was to run this morning's #NYCHalf13 to accomplish one of your goals -- Cheers to you!!
and Happy St. Patrick's Day!

My New Year's Resolution to Running Consistently

We all go through highs and lows in our training. And some weeks are DEFINITELY better than others.

But the goal that we all share is to "run more consistently". Not just in the number of days we run in a week or a month, but more consistently in pace/time...which will come naturally if we put it the right amount of time and effort.

It has been a challenging start to the year. And I've found myself traveling for business, a lot more than I have in the last  few years. So much so, that I decided to look at the number of check-ins on Foursquare to validate my assumptions....here's what I discovered:

Great group run!

It can be so challenging to get motivated in the winter months. Rather than running a local 5K or traveling far to get a race in, we decided to check out @CityRunningTour (www.CityRunningTours.com)




They were leading a group run in Hoboken -- our old stomping grounds and the town where both my wife and I were living, when we met. The 5 miler starts and finishes at the Pilsner Haus.

Resolution update: Run More Races....

In an effort to continue to run more consistently AND to run more races (Resolutions #1 and #2), my wife and I took to searching the web for new races....and races that were close by so that we can continue to run at least one race per month.

During our search, we were dismayed to find an increase in race fees, which are not offering anything particularly unique -- and in some cases, not even a t-shirt?! Who wants to pay $45 for a race with no t-shirt, especially when the proceeds are NOT going to charity.

But we did find a unique race event, that while it did not offer t-shirt swag; it did provide you a token for a Free Beer at the Brewery or Beir Garten.

The phenomenon of guided tours is not uncommon. There are walking tours all over the US, so it's not surprising that running groups have taken to a guided running tour of key metropolitan areas, which gives you a different perspective: complete with a workout, some culture and a finish at the local watering hole. This is how we found CityRunningTours.com (@CityRunningTour)

Locally, in NJ and NY there are tours happening every week. So, this month's race challenge may very well be a @CityRunningTour event.

Also check out groups in Austin, Boston, Charleston, Chicago Minneapolis, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle and DC.