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RUNNER'S NICHE
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Vol. 3 No. 11 December, 1998
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NOTES FROM THE EDITOR
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Christmas is coming, and so the annual pursuit of the perfect Christmas
present for your loved ones begins. Just what should you get for the
runner in your life?
There are many high-tech options, like heart rate monitors,
chronographs, computer running log programs and even body fat measuring
equipment. These are pretty cool toys, especially if your runner likes
gizmos. They can be pricey, though.
Books are usually a safe bet. Relatively new books like "Road Racing
for the Serious Runner" by Pete Pfitzinger and Scott Douglas, or
"Daniels Running Formula" by Jack Daniels would be a good bet for
scientifically oriented runners. Those more bent toward literary
pursuit might enjoy one of the new running related novels like "Slinger
Sanchez Running Gun" by Bruce Gilkin or "Pain" by Dan Middleman. The
true classic among running novels has to be "Once A Runner" by John L
Parker, and this is a sure winner under the Christmas tree. A great
book which details the careers and life stories of many great runners
is "Running With the Legends" by Michael Sandrock. This is another
"must have" in a runner's library.
Clothing can be a good choice. What runner doesn't need another pair of
shorts or a new wind jacket? Speaking of clothing, what about socks?
No, not the kind with your name on it hung from the hearth. Wild
running and cycling socks might make a great present. Some of the best
can be found from the DeFeet sock company. Look for them on line at:
http://www.defeet.com. They have socks with peace symbols, smiley
faces, rubber duckies, Mercury's feet, goldfish and tons of other fun
designs.
Presents are certainly fun, and an important part of the season. Still,
the best gifts are the free ones, like a five-mile run on a trail
through freshly fallen snow or a nighttime jog to look at the Christmas
lights and decorations in your neighborhood. Taking some time to relax
and enjoy yourself can be the best part of the season.
Runner's Niche would like to wish you and yours a Merry Christmas and
many healthy miles in the New Year!
-WG
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!!!TAKE A LOOK AT THE RUNNER'S NICHE BOOKSTORE!!!
Point your browser to: http://home.netone.com/~woodyg3/bookstore.html
MANY GREAT RUNNING TITLES LISTED! PLUS YOU CAN SEARCH FOR ANY BOOK
TITLE IN PRINT WITH UP TO 40% DISCOUNTS!
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MARATHON & BEYOND MAGAZINE - THE RUNNING PERIODICAL THAT GOES THE EXTRA
MILE.
Visit their web site at: http://www.marathonandbeyond.com
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RUNNER'S NICHE / MARATHON & BEYOND TRIVIA CONTEST
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Congratulations to last month's trivia winner, Dan Pierce of Boulder,
Colorado. Dan receives a free issue of Marathon & Beyond Magazine and
FAME!
This month's winner will also get a free issue of the running
periodical that goes the extra mile - Marathon & Beyond Magazine.
Trivia contest entrants are limited to one prize per calendar year.
When answering, email your answers with the subject "trivia contest"
and answer the questions in the order they appear below. Mail to:
woodyg3@netone.com. The FIRST person to answer all ten questions
correctly wins. Good Luck!
1 - 5 In what city is each of these well-known road races held.
1. Cherry Blossom 10 Mile
2. Peachtree Road Race
3. Bay to Breakers
4. Mardi Gras Marathon
5. Marine Corp Marathon
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6-10 Multiple Choice
6. How many American males have held the world record for the marathon
(26 miles 385yards.)?
a. one
b. two
c. none
7. Where was the Pole Vault WR first set with a fiberglass pole?
a. Eugene
b. Boulder
c. Boston
8. In 1965 Ron Clarke was the first to run under 28 minutes. How many
seconds did he break the old record by?
a: 3 seconds
b. 12 seconds
c. 36 seconds
9. Which of the following have won the Boston Marathon?
a. Frank Shorter
b. Ronald Macdonald
c. Grete Waitz
10. Who was the last American to win a 5000 meter gold medal?
a. Steve Prefontaine
b. Bob Schul
c. Bill Dellinger
Thanks to Conrad Truedson for the last five questions.
Last Month's answers
1 - 5. In what individual event did each of these athletes win an
Olympic gold medal?
1. Frank Shorter - marathon
2. Joan Benoit - marathon
3. Fermin Cacho - 1500 meters
4. Venuste Niyongabo - 5000 meters
5. Lee Evans - 400 meters
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6. Where will the 1999 US National Track and Field Championships be
held? - Eugene, Oregon
7. What former Villanova miler has recently been hired as the new head
track coach at his alma mater? - Marcus O'Sullivan
8. Who is the only 40-and-over athlete ever to run a sub-4 minute mile?
- Eamonn Coghlan
9. What track did he accomplish his sub-4 on? - Harvard Indoor Track
10. During what meet was this mark set? - Massachusetts High School
Indoor State Meet.
(Thanks to Mike Morrisey for the last three questions.)
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SENSOR DYNAMICS PHOENX
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Product review by Dan Matthews
I have been wearing a heart monitor that I bought from an outfit called
"Health & Fitness Medical" (See web link in the Web Sites sections of
this month's niche) of Mill Valley, California which I am very pleased
with. It is the Sensor Dynamics Phoenix. The wristwatch receiver
features date, time, stopwatch, and lower & upper heart rate limit
alarms. I especially like the illuminated dial - push a button and the
watch face stays lit for 4 seconds with big bright numerals. I've tried
running and holding the little night light button down on my old heart
rate monitor but couldn't easily read my heart rate after dark. That's
a problem here in Seattle where the sun is starting to set at 4:30 in
the afternoon on rainy winter days. The receiver watch and chest band
transmitter both seem to be holding up well in the rain.
Suggested retail price: $99. Mail order prices as low as $79.
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SOME TIPS FOR RUNNING ON SNOW
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1. Freshly fallen snow is a great shock absorber. If you have the
chance to run on a trail or grassy field with three or four inches of
the new stuff your joints will thank you.
2. Better traction can usually be found where the snow is less packed.
Be careful, though, since newly fallen snow can cover a slick sheet of
ice underneath it.
3. Snow can nicely hide roots, sidewalk cracks and fallen objects, too.
A pair of sunglasses with yellow lenses will help you to see the relief
patterns on snow.
4. It's okay to cut your mileage when running through snow. You are
working harder to travel through snow than you ever do running on a dry
surface. Don't overtrain just to jot down the same distances you ran
this summer in your logbook.
5. Remember that running through snow will force stabilizing muscles on
the inner and out part of your legs to work harder than usual. Try to
ease into snow running to avoid injuries to these muscles.
6. Walking may seem like wimping out, but it beats slipping and falling
when you try to dash across a slick stretch of glazed ice.
7. Snow can be used as a tool to give you a good resistance workout.
Try vigorous bounding through deep snow for a great strength workout.
Naturally, be careful of your footing.
8. Snow gives you a couple of great cross-training possibilities. Why
not give Nordic skiing or snowshoeing a try?
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MARATHON: GOING THE DISTANCE
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Review by Woody Green
A nice two cassette tape package has been released by Paul Kennedy and
Olympic marathoner Peter Fonseca that you might want to add to your
running information library. This set of tapes is filled with 90
minutes of advice, stories, history and motivation from some of the
very best and important runners in the sport. Names like Alberto
Salazar, Grete Waitz, Bill Rodgers, Joan Samuelson, Frank Shorter and
Katherine Switzer are just a few of the voices heard on these tapes.
Anecdotes from races like New York, Boston, Chicago and the Olympic
marathon are featured. The tape is more than just big names, though.
The tapes really get into the guts of running. The bond between all
runners, whether elite or recreational, is very clear when listening to
the tapes.
The advantage of a taped format over print is the ability to hear the
tone of voice and so the excitement, disapointmet or humor in the
inflections of the storytellers. These tapes are clearly the work of
people who live and love the sport, and this is no commercial gloss-
over to try to glean cash from the hundreds of thousands of people who
train for and run a marathon each year.
I found that even the stories I had read about many times, like
Katherine Switzer's run in the Boston Marathon before women were
permitted to officially enter, where fresh and interesting when told by
the people who actually lived them. Alberto Salazar's admission that he
trained himself into the ground takes on an interesting ring when your
hear the disappointment in his voice. And Bill Rodger's effervescent,
enthusiastic voice alone is worth the price of the tape.
While I found the music to be of the trite, elevator, pop type, this
was easily ignored and I highly recommend this tape to anyone
interested in the marathon. Runner's Niche rating: four and a half out
of five possible winged feet.
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This tape is available from the Run For Your Life web site. Just go to
the Runner's Niche Running Links site at:
http://home.netone.com/~woodyg3/links.html
and click on the link to the Run For Your Life site.
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WORLD ROAD RACE RECORDS FOR WOMEN
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This information came from USATF's ROAD RUNNING INFORMATION CENTER.
5 km 15:05 Rose Cheruiyot KEN at Carlsbad, CA 4/2/95
8 km 24:48:00 Liz McColgan GBR at Nike Women's Race Washington DC
5/10/92
10 km 30:39:00 Liz McColgan GBR at Red Lobster FL 3/11/89
12 km 38:23:00 Delillah Asiago KEN at Examiner Bay to Breakers San
Fransisco,CA 5/21/95
15km 46:57:00 Elana Meyer RSA at Ohlsson's S.A. Champs RSA 11/2/91
10 mi 51:16 Coleen DeReuck RSA at N. Telecom Cherry Blossom Washington
DC 4/5/98
100 mi 13:47:42 Ann Trason USA at Sri Chinmoy NY 5/4/91
Half-mar 1:07:36 Pending Record Elana Meyer RSA at Kyoto, Japan 3/9/97
(ratified record 1:07:59 Elana Meyer at at Ohlsson's S.A. Champs RSA)
Marathon 2:21:06 World Record Ingrid Kristiansen NOR at London 4/21/85
(2:20:47 by Tegla Loroupe KEN at Rotterdam not ratified to "coaching
aid")
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THIS AND THAT
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---HIGH SCHOOL TEAM GOES 250 IN 24 HOURS---
A team of 70 runners from South Jordan, Utah managed to log 250 miles
190 yards in 24 hours. The event, a fund-raiser for the Bingham High
School cross-country team, was staged on November 21-22.
---DRUGS, DRUGS, EVERYWHERE DRUGS!---
Japanese billiards player Junsuke Inoue, 58, has been removed from the
Asian Games billiards team after failing a drug test. He was also
suspended form competition for two years.
Inoue tested positive for and admitted to using methyltestostereone.
---TOURS AVAILABLE---
The American Lung Association Running Club (ALARC) is sponsoring a
four-day, three-night group trip to the Las Vegas Marathon & Half
Marathon Feb 7. Round trip air and three nights at the San Remo Hotel
is available for $325. Then, February 28---the Hong Kong Marathon &
10K---Round trip air from Minneapolis/St. Paul airport, transfers, four
nights hotel, and a half-day sightseeing bus tour will cost $860.
For details contact Ted Esau via email at:
<Tedesau@aol.com>
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WEB SITES OF INTEREST
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---Hoffman's Fitness---
Running physiology and much more at this great new site:
http://northeast.net/~hoffman
---CariFin Cross Country---
Site devoted to a Caribbean cross-country race:
http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/Dugout/5688
---Tons of Links---
Find a ton of great running links at Joe's Running Links:
http://joedom.home.mindspring.com
---Womens Sports Specialties---
Women's sports gear:
http://www.womens-sports.com
---Uta Pippig---
Uta's web site in German and English. Find out her side of her positive
doping test, plus much more on Uta. Nice site.
http://www.uta-pippig.com
--- Health & Fitness Medical---
A good variety of heart rate monitors and other high-tech fun stuff at:
http://www.heartmonitors.com/
AND AS ALWAYS:
RUNNER'S NICHE at:
http://home.netone.com/~woodyg3/runiche.html
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LETTERS FROM OUR READERS
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---IT'S HARD TO BEAT SOMETHING FOR FREE---
Dear Runner's Niche,
I am a student at the University of New Brunswick and a member of the
UNB cross-country and track team. I am writing just to tell you to keep
up the good work. As a student athlete, I am tight on time, and it is
always a pleasure when I find an e-mail from Runner's Niche
in the mess of work related incoming mail. Runner's Niche is quite
possibly the greatest thing I ever got for free! Even better than most
magazines that you have to pay for!
Again I thank you for your service. I am anxiously waiting the next
copy!!
Scott A. Davis
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