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Boston Marathon: Kosgei Wins, Goucher Takes Third

FitSugar — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 12:30:00 -0700

It was a dramatic finish for the women running the Boston Marathon today, and the official results are in. Crossing the finish line first was Kenyan runner Salina Kosgei, with a time of 2:32:16. Congratulations to the champ! Just one second behind Kosgei was Dire Tune of Ethiopia, who collapsed soon after finishing the race and had to be carried out on a stretcher. I sincerely hope she is OK; stay tuned for updates.

Meanwhile, third place went to one of my favorite runners, Kara Goucher, who had a time of 2:32:25. She was one of just two American women to finish in the top 10. Pretty amazing considering the Olympic middle-distance runner just started marathoning last Fall!

To see who won the men's marathon and the amount of prize money the winners receive, read more.

American Ryan Hall came in third as well, with a time of 2:09:40. He was a little over a minute behind Deriba Merga of Ethiopia (2:08:42) who won the marathon. Second place winner is Kenyan Daniel Rono with a time of 2:09:32. The prize money for men and women is the same and the winner takes home $150,000, while second place wins $75,000, and the third place purse is $40,000.

Are you watching (or running) any marathons this year? . . . Oh, I'm sorry, can you repeat that? I missed your answer because I was too busy coveting these runners' quadriceps.

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Why Lance Runs

FitSugar — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 02:00:00 -0700

The prestigious and tough Boston Marathon is a week from today. And my man Lance (who seems to be everywhere these days – is there a product he isn't the spokesperson for?) will be running in it.

When you're an elite athlete, other elite athletes give you advice. Winner of the 2007 NYC marathon Paula Radcliffe told Lance to practice his on-the-run hydration to help keep his finishing time low; but Lance replied that he was just hoping to finish the race. Oh Lance, we have so much in common, because I would respond the same way to any advice on running a marathon.

So why does Lance run after winning the ultimate cycling endurance race seven times? To find out read more.

For starters, he feels retirement shouldn't exclude fitness, since fitness is part of a healthy and enjoyable life. And running is more efficient way to workout compared to cycling, which is why Lance started running. You get the same benefits from running with a shorter time commitment. Plus running doesn't require much gear unlike cycling, and this makes running a great form of exercise if you are traveling a lot like Mr. Armstrong. He finds it easier to fit in a run than to fit in a ride.

The question remains, why compete in marathons during retirement? Lance explained it to Runner's World like this:

I have to have something that essentially forces me out the door. I can sit around for a year and do a 10k, no problem, even a half-marathon. But the marathon is scary and intimidating enough that you can't just phone that in. You have to train.

Once again, I must say, "Oh Lance, we are so much alike." But to be honest, the races that get me out the door are considerably shorter than 26.2 miles. I must say, I do like the reasons he runs.

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Get Motivated: If He Can Finish the Boston Marathon, So Can You!

FitSugar — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 13:30:00 -0700

I love a good motivational story. It was pretty cool to see an astronaut running the Boston Marathon, but this lesser known participant takes the cake in my eyes...

Jacob finished the Boston Marathon. You may think, so what? Big deal, lots of people complete marathons. However Jacob is different, he was the last place finisher. Weighing in at just under 400 pounds when he ran the race (though he was over 400 pounds when he decided to run the race), Jacob finished the marathon in 9 hours and 40 minutes (the winner finished in 2:29:18).

Point is, he finished, which is more than most people can say they did. I, for one, am proud of Jacob as I pride myself on fitness and have yet to complete a full marathon myself. He retells his tale on his own blog here and I've got to say, Jacob is hilarious.

Fit's Tip: Overweight individuals should talk to their doctor before taking on such a task like running a marathon.

Boston Marathon: And the Winner is...

FitSugar — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 11:17:31 -0700

Lidiya Grigoryeva, 33, from Russia was the first woman to cross the finish line of the Boston Marathon, becoming the first non-Kenyan woman to win in 8 years and first Russian to take the top prize in 14 years.

Her unofficial time was 2 hours, 29 minutes, 18 seconds. For a woman, that is incredibly impressive considering that Robert Cheruiyot, the first man to cross the finish line had an unofficial time of 2 hours, 14 minutes, 13 seconds. She was running and average of just under 6 minute miles!! Holy moly that's fast!

Not only did they run 26.2 miles, but they dealt with very strong winds, excessive rains, and flooding from the Nor'Easter.

Remember astronaut Sunita "Suni" Williams? She began running her version of the Boston Marathon 210 miles above the Earth at 10 am. She was strapped to a treadmill in a harness so she wouldn't float away.

Suni qualified for the Boston Marathon before heading up into space by placing among the Top 100 in the women's category in the Houston Marathon! She's running in space to encourage kids to make physical fitness part of their daily routine.

Want to know what else Suni's done? Then read more

Not only that, but once she got into space, she decided to cut her long brown hair off, sent her ponytail back down to Earth, and donated it to Locks of Love to be made into a children's wig. She also set a record for most spacewalking time completed by a woman - 22 hours and 2 minutes.

I don't know about you, but I have no desire to run for over 2 hours straight. Not to mention, it would probably take me twice as long or more! These two woman have definitely astounded and inspired me. If they could run 26.2 miles at one time, I think I could work up to 30 minutes a day.
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Space Run: Boston Marathon from the Space Station

FitSugar — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 09:30:00 -0700

I have never run a marathon. I have never been to space. But when I look up at the sky on Monday, April 16th, it will be with respect and reverence for astronaut Sunita Williams. Even though she is 210 miles above Boston, living in orbit on the space station, she will be running in the Boston Marathon.

I don't know about you, but I think that is just super cool. Astronauts are required to exercise while living on board the space station to prevent muscle and bone density loss. The microgravity of space doesn't tax their muscles or the bones so without regular exercise their muscles would atrophy and their bones would become weak.

Sunita, a Massachusetts native, has been training for the Marathon with 4 weekly runs, divided into 2 short and 2 long runs. On April 16th, she will not only run 26.2 strapped to her space station treadmill, she will also circle earth not once, but twice. Why is she doing this, you might ask? Her answer - to encourage kids to start making physical fitness part of their daily lives.

Well, I am inspired. We may not all be astronauts, or marathoners, but we can make physical fitness part of our daily lives.

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Pop Quiz: From the Boston Marathon to Biking

FitSugar — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 16:30:15 -0700

This week started with a bang, and by "bang" I mean the start gun of the Boston Marathon. And then here at FitSugar, we just kept on going, writing about fitness fun and green tips for Earth Day. Did you catch all the info we covered? Take this short quiz and see.

If you feel like you need a little review, all the answers can be found in this week's posts. Good luck!

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Take the quiz

Operation Jack

Fit Community — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 07:00:26 -0800

This bit of training inspiration comes from jennsteria, part of RunningSugar.

Operation Jack

I remember one of my friends calling me crazy for my whopping 3 marathon (so far) schedule for next year. How about 60 marathons in 2010? Well, that's not something I think I am anywhere close to being able to do, but Sam Felsenfeld sure is. He'll be ending 2009 with four Boston qualifying marathons under his belt while ramping up for next year - crazy right?! His 60 marathons in 2010 plan (with seven marathons in January) is an attempt to raise awareness for a great cause, Train 4 Autism. This is a cause that is near and dear to Sam and his family. The plan is simple: they are basically looking for people to sign up for any of the races that Sam will be running under the running team "Operation Jack." That's it. You can fundraise if you want, but what they're really aiming for is participation. I've already joined the Operation Jack team for three races next year (looking to add at least three more). If you want, I suggest taking a look at Sam's schedule and joining too. Who doesn't love running for a great cause?

What inspires you to run? Join the conversation at RunningSugar. Have a post you want to see featured on FitSugar? Private message me here to pitch your ideas. I can't wait to hear them.

When You're a Pro, What Does Time Off Mean?

FitSugar — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 07:00:49 -0700

Runner Kara Goucher made her marathon debut a year ago in the Big Apple, but she's skipping the New York Marathon this year. At the Nike Running Summit, she explained she wasn't planning on racing again until Boston because she's doing some planning of a different nature - family planning.

When you're an elite runner, skipping an event doesn't go unnoticed, making it difficult to keep it a secret that you're trying to get pregnant. Kara explained to me in a short but sweet interview that she's "taking a few months off to see what happens in her personal life."

But what does "time off" mean after running 120 miles a week? For Kara it means only running 30 miles a week, a number I would love to have as my hard-core weekly mileage. Although she does admit to getting a little softer now that she's only running a quarter of what she's used to, Kara's relationship with food hasn't changed, since she has always been "a healthy eater." Body fat is an issue for runners, but her attitude is pretty simple: "It is just weight and it will come off." Which is great since this runner, a proclaimed "queen of the 30-minute meal," is spending her newly found free time cooking, mostly Italian, and making sauces from scratch.

To see how Kara answered when I asked her if she could be an elite athlete in another sport, what would it be, just read more.

She admitted that this was a tough question, but that she has always leaned toward tennis. Kara finds the combination of individual strength and one-on-one competition quite compelling. Then there's the fashion side of things: "They wear cool outfits."

Kara's long-term goal: racing in the London Olympics in 2012 and bringing home the gold. Go Kara!

Suri and Katie Play Track and Field, Tom and Cameron Work

PopSugar — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 06:00:00 -0700

Katie Holmes and a precious pigtailed Suri Cruise spent the afternoon at a track in Boston yesterday. The girls jogged a little bit and even ran the stairs - with Suri's baby doll and at a three-year-old's pace of course. We've seen Suri loving her ice cream and cupcakes in New England, but apparently she's keeping up with her pint-sized fitness as well. Katie's a marathoner and with kids as young as Suri participating in triathlons it looks like she's got a competitor on her hands. According to reports, Tom and Katie are trying to work out where to send Suri to school, but it seems like the whole family agrees on their love of running.

Meanwhile, Cameron Diaz and Tom Cruise were back at work on the set of Wichita yesterday. Cameron was back in her yellow dress and combat boots, which isn't quite one of her usual enviable looks. Tom took a breather between takes biding his time filming before joining his girls for more family fun.

LOTS more of Cameron and Tom on set and Katie and Suri so read more.

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Kara Goucher: Heartbroken but Happy and Ready For 2012

FitSugar — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 06:00:00 -0700

I had the pleasure of speaking with marathoner Kara Goucher, 30, yesterday, and she is one sweet runner. Kara placed third in the Boston Marathon on Monday, coming in just nine seconds behind the winner. Her frustration was visible as she crossed the finish line. When I asked her which part of her body hurt most the day after the marathon, Kara said, "Honestly, still my heart just hurts the most."

Although heartbroken, Kara explained that her body didn't feel that beat up from the race - explaining that this race was like an easy 20 miles followed by a really hard 10k - so just her hip flexors felt tight from the running downhill. Her disappointment with not winning combined with a lack of aches and pains led her to consider running the London Marathon next week. She wanted to put the tactical lessons learned in Boston to work immediately, but ultimately decided racing a marathon again that soon wouldn't help with her long-range goal: competing in the 2012 London Olympic marathon to win.

To learn Kara's favorite Pilates exercise, the last movie she saw in a theater, and what she did after finishing the marathon, read more.

Kara switched coaches about three years ago and began working with former marathon star Alberto Salazar, and with this change came regular cross training. Salazar, who also coaches her husband Adam Goucher, wanted the running couple to become better all-around athletes, and to do so, Kara started Pilates. Although she hates them while doing them, Kara loves the ab series of Pilates, including the 100s, as well as the back stretch saw off your toe. Her favorite core exercises: "I like plank and lunges. In the plank position lifting up one leg is good core work. I like basic stuff that you could do anywhere: in a hotel room, at the gym, on the sidewalk if you needed to."

After running the Boston marathon, Kara went out to dinner with a group of family and friends. Although the party drank many bottles of wine, they are waiting to pop the champagne cork when either she or Adam wins. She admitted that it was nice to "act like normal people" for the evening, not having to worry if the food might upset her stomach and interfere with running or if she should be getting to bed. Speaking of "normal," I also asked Kara the last movie she saw in a theater. "I saw The Curious Case of Benjamin Button around New Year's, but I have no idea of what I saw before that," she told me.

Kara is one busy runner. She trains hard, loves racing, and won't be giving up track events anytime soon. She and her husband have both publicly stated that they would like to start a family - just think how fast those little Gouchers could be. I for one am looking forward to seeing Kara run in London, be it next week or in three years!

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