Category Archives: Running

Christopher McDougall Offers Insights on Running, Caballo Blanco at Penn Museum

He is by no means an elite runner.  He certainly has not invented any revolutionary running technique.  And he most definitely did not engineer any brand new running shoes.  Still, the name of Christopher McDougall is very well known among both recreational and professional running circles.

McDougall, of course, is the author of the 2009 best seller, Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen.  The book sent waves in the running world for its description of the Tarahumara Indians in Mexico and their exploits as some of the world’s best long distance runners.  Soon after publication, Born to Run inspired numerous folks to give barefoot running or minimalist shoes a try.

In honor of the Penn Museum’s current photo exhibition “Run! Super-Athletes of the Sierra Madre,” McDougall stopped by the museum on Wednesday night for a lecture and book signing in front of a sizable audience.  The timing of his speech was especially notable due to the recent passing of Micah True, also known as “Caballo Blanco,” who was the central character of Born to Run.

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GPS Run Tracking: Some Applications Are Better Than Others

 

Recently, I joined the modern age and switched from a BlackBerry to an iPhone 4s.  It has taken some time to adjust to the new operating system, but you can definitely do a lot more with the iPhone.

In addition to its advanced features, the iPhone also provides access to a wealth of applications.  One of my interests was finding a good GPS run tracker.  The App Store happens to offer several free run tracking application options.  Given the choices, I decided to test four different free applications to evaluate which run tracker to use.

 

 

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Attention Sponsors and Elite Runners: Philadelphia Marathon Is a Great Race

This Sunday featured the running of the 2011 Philadelphia Marathon.  While this year’s edition was marked by tragedy of two deaths, it was, by and large, another successful race.  There were over 10,000 finishers in the marathon alone to go along with over 11,000 finishers in the half marathon and Rothman Institute 8K.

The race is a fantastic tour through the city.  Starting off on Benjamin Franklin Parkway, with many runners lining up by the Art Museum, you pass the Parkway museums, turn at Love Park, run by City Hall, go through Chinatown and by the Constitution Center, head south on Columbus Boulevard past Penn’s Landing including the Moshulu and U.S.S. Olympia, come back up South Philadelphia, head west on South Street and past Jim’s Steaks, go north back towards Old City, turn by the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall, pass the throngs in Center City, take a trip through Penn and Drexel, go past the Philadelphia Zoo, climb up Fairmount Park near the Please Touch Museum, head back towards Center City on West River Drive, go back west on Kelly Drive by the river into Manayunk, and head back to finish on the Parkway.  That’s a pretty good sampling of the city.  It’s fast and relatively flat race, and, at least today, the weather definitely cooperated.

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