Dear readers, let's take a look back at the week in running:
*As reported on Fox12Idaho.com on April 12th, despite the economic downturn that has seen many-a people completely stop spending any currency, Fitness 19, an Idaho based gym, has seen its membership increase by a staggering 30%. The reason? Unlike Equinox, Crunch and the other most widely known gyms, Fitness 19 is a 'no amenities' type gym which does not have the typical gym accouterments like locker rooms and pools. Because of the spartan conditions, a membership at Fitness 19 is, not surprisingly, only $19 a month. Having been a member of a wide variety of different gyms, I must say that I actually have preferred the no frills gyms better and feel that the more serious fitness fanatics always workout there. It would seem that members of Fitness 19 share my sentiments as Darcy Drake, one of their members, was quoted as saying "If you want a place you can work out so you don't have to give up a room in your house, you can't beat ten dollars....A treadmill is a treadmill doesn't matter where it's at".
* As reported on Boston.com on April 13th, Adidas, my favorite maker of running shoes, has just released their limited edition Boston Marathon running shoe which celebrates the 20th anniversary of its partnership with the Boston Athletic Association, the group that organizes the Boston Marathon. Designed to "meet the needs of every runner at every level," the Supernova Sequence 2 will sell for $100. And, like the winners of the Boston Marathons, one will need to be very fast if they hope to purchase their pair of Supernova Sequence 2s as Adidas is only making 800 pairs in total.
* As reported in the Taunton Daily Gazette (Taunton, MA) on April 14th, when Hingham resident Leslie Nordin passes the start line of this year's Boston Marathon on Monday, she won't know it unless her husband tells her. In an effort to raise money for the Perkins School for the Blind, where Nordin's 4-year old son, Sawyer, attends, Leslie Nordin has decided to run the entire 26.2 mile course wearing a blindfold. With the assistance of three sighted guides (her husband, and two friends), Nordin hopes to inspire her son and to give back to a school that has nurtured her son despite his disability "By completing this race, I hope to inspire Sawyer to meet the challenges he faces each and every day, and to raise funds to support the institution that gives him the tools to do so...Because of Perkins, I know that Sawyer is getting the education and training he needs to reach the goals he will set for himself throughout his life". While Nordin has set out to raise a minimum of $3,000, her efforts thusfar have far exceeded those expectations as she has already raised a total of $20,000. While she may not be able to actually see where she will be running, Leslie Nordin's accomplishments and efforts will certainly be visible to everyone she passes over those 26.2 Boston miles. Good luck, Leslie!!
* As reported in the Milwaukee, Wisconsin Journal Sentinel on April 17th, while seemingly affecting all aspects of society, the economic downturn has yet to reach organized running events in the state of Wisconsin. With May 2nd's Wisconsin Marathon and May 3rd's La Crosse Fitness Festival Marathon already having reached their respective capacities, May 17th's Cellcom Green Bay Marathon & Half Marathon are right on their tails with the marathon nearing capacity and the half marathon already exceeding the previous year's numbers. In fact, the numbers in Wisconsin represent the overall trend in marathon registration on a national scale, "The USA Road Running information center reached a similar conclusion on a national scale, based on the 3% growth in marathon participation recorded in 2008. They put the total at 425,000 finishers in 243 marathons in the U.S., up more than 20% from 2000. 'This year also looks promising, with marathon sell-outs and record fields across the country, including the 113th Boston Marathon, which closed its 25,000 plus field on January 26, it’s largest field ever,' the running center reported". In a previous post, I wrote about running's positive effects on the human psyche and how, in these times of downturn, many people have been, and are continuing to, turning to running as a temporary disconnect to the problems around them. Interestingly enough, from what I read and see on tv, it certainly seems that the only areas of the economy that have been truly recession-proof are alcohol, movies and running. What a triumverate!!
Follow-Ups From Previous Weeks' Running Articles
If you'll recall from a past week in running post, U.S. Navy commander Charles Coughlin had been charged with stealing $331,034 from the September 11th victims' compensation fund after claiming he had seriously injured his neck and back on September 11th, 2001 while still working at the Pentagon. In refuting his claim, Justice Department attorney Susan Menzer had introduced evidence showing that Coughlin had run in the 2001 New York City Marathon only weeks after the alleged injuries took place. On April 16th, as reported on the BaltimoreSun.com, U.S. District Judge Henry Kennedy declared a mistrial after the jury acquitted Charles Coughlin of three counts of mail fraud and deadlocked on four more. During the trial, Coughlin's lawyers had acknowledged that he ran in the NYC Marathon but went on to claim that his "injuries" forced him to cut back on athletics. Prosecutors have not decided whether they will seek a retrial but have until May 1st to make such a decision. Having run many marathons myself, I can't understand how anyone with even the slightest injury would be able to run 26.2 miles and, even more so, can't understand how the jurors didn't reach the same conclusion. While I don't know much about all the evidence and arguments presented at trial, I am pretty sure of one thing: none of those jurors have ever run a marathon before!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Next Weekend's Marathons
Dear readers, let's take a look back at the week in running:
*As reported on Fox12Idaho.com on April 12th, despite the economic downturn that has seen many-a people completely stop spending any currency, Fitness 19, an Idaho based gym, has seen its membership increase by a staggering 30%. The reason? Unlike Equinox, Crunch and the other most widely known gyms, Fitness 19 is a 'no amenities' type gym which does not have the typical gym accouterments like locker rooms and pools. Because of the spartan conditions, a membership at Fitness 19 is, not surprisingly, only $19 a month. Having been a member of a wide variety of different gyms, I must say that I actually have preferred the no frills gyms better and feel that the more serious fitness fanatics always workout there. It would seem that members of Fitness 19 share my sentiments as Darcy Drake, one of their members, was quoted as saying "If you want a place you can work out so you don't have to give up a room in your house, you can't beat ten dollars....A treadmill is a treadmill doesn't matter where it's at".
* As reported on Boston.com on April 13th, Adidas, my favorite maker of running shoes, has just released their limited edition Boston Marathon running shoe which celebrates the 20th anniversary of its partnership with the Boston Athletic Association, the group that organizes the Boston Marathon. Designed to "meet the needs of every runner at every level," the Supernova Sequence 2 will sell for $100. And, like the winners of the Boston Marathons, one will need to be very fast if they hope to purchase their pair of Supernova Sequence 2s as Adidas is only making 800 pairs in total.
* As reported in the Taunton Daily Gazette (Taunton, MA) on April 14th, when Hingham resident Leslie Nordin passes the start line of this year's Boston Marathon on Monday, she won't know it unless her husband tells her. In an effort to raise money for the Perkins School for the Blind, where Nordin's 4-year old son, Sawyer, attends, Leslie Nordin has decided to run the entire 26.2 mile course wearing a blindfold. With the assistance of three sighted guides (her husband, and two friends), Nordin hopes to inspire her son and to give back to a school that has nurtured her son despite his disability "By completing this race, I hope to inspire Sawyer to meet the challenges he faces each and every day, and to raise funds to support the institution that gives him the tools to do so...Because of Perkins, I know that Sawyer is getting the education and training he needs to reach the goals he will set for himself throughout his life". While Nordin has set out to raise a minimum of $3,000, her efforts thusfar have far exceeded those expectations as she has already raised a total of $20,000. While she may not be able to actually see where she will be running, Leslie Nordin's accomplishments and efforts will certainly be visible to everyone she passes over those 26.2 Boston miles. Good luck, Leslie!!
* As reported in the Milwaukee, Wisconsin Journal Sentinel on April 17th, while seemingly affecting all aspects of society, the economic downturn has yet to reach organized running events in the state of Wisconsin. With May 2nd's Wisconsin Marathon and May 3rd's La Crosse Fitness Festival Marathon already having reached their respective capacities, May 17th's Cellcom Green Bay Marathon & Half Marathon are right on their tails with the marathon nearing capacity and the half marathon already exceeding the previous year's numbers. In fact, the numbers in Wisconsin represent the overall trend in marathon registration on a national scale, "The USA Road Running information center reached a similar conclusion on a national scale, based on the 3% growth in marathon participation recorded in 2008. They put the total at 425,000 finishers in 243 marathons in the U.S., up more than 20% from 2000. 'This year also looks promising, with marathon sell-outs and record fields across the country, including the 113th Boston Marathon, which closed its 25,000 plus field on January 26, it’s largest field ever,' the running center reported". In a previous post, I wrote about running's positive effects on the human psyche and how, in these times of downturn, many people have been, and are continuing to, turning to running as a temporary disconnect to the problems around them. Interestingly enough, from what I read and see on tv, it certainly seems that the only areas of the economy that have been truly recession-proof are alcohol, movies and running. What a triumverate!!
Follow-Ups From Previous Weeks' Running Articles
If you'll recall from a past week in running post, U.S. Navy
commander Charles Coughlin had been charged with stealing $331,034 from the September 11th victims' compensation fund after claiming he had seriously injured his neck and back on September 11th, 2001 while still working at the Pentagon. In refuting his claim, Justice Department attorney Susan Menzer had introduced evidence showing that Coughlin had run in the 2001 New York City Marathon only weeks after the alleged injuries took place. On April 16th, as reported on the BaltimoreSun.com, U.S. District Judge Henry Kennedy declared a mistrial after the jury acquitted Charles Coughlin of three counts of mail fraud and deadlocked on four more. During the trial, Coughlin's lawyers had acknowledged that he ran in the NYC Marathon but went on to claim that his "injuries" forced him to cut back on athletics. Prosecutors have not decided whether they will seek a retrial but have until May 1st to make such a decision. Having run many marathons myself, I can't understand how anyone with even the slightest injury would be able to run 26.2 miles and, even more so, can't understand how the jurors didn't reach the same conclusion. While I don't know much about all the evidence and arguments presented at trial, I am pretty sure of one thing: none of those jurors have ever run a marathon before!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Next Weekend's Marathons
Friday, April 24th
Vancouver Discovery Walk Marathons (Vancouver, WA)
Saturday, April 25th
Country Music Marathon (Nashville, TN)
Vasque Free State Trial Marathon (Lawrence, KS)
Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon (Louisville, KY)
Labor Of Love Marathon Lovell Canyon (Las Vegas, NV)
Pine Line Trail Marathon (Medford, WI)
ING Trestle Valley Marathon (Minot, ND)
Head Of Christiana Presby. Church Triple Crown Trail Marathon (Newark, DE)
Sunday, April 26th
Big Sur International Marathon (Carmel, CA)
RRCA Ohio Marathon Championship Glass City Marathon (Toledo, OH)
More Magazine More Marathon (New York, NY)
Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon (Oklahoma City, OK)
St. John Ambulance Marathon (Waterloo, ON)
Running Fit Trail Marathon (Pinckneym MI)