Table of contents for May 2016 in Runner's World

SELECTS Every Thursday, we’re releasing an enhanced version of a story from our archives at runnersworld.com/selects. Kick back and enjoy epic duels, unsolved mysteries, and inspiring feats. TRAINING VIDEO Check out six moves that will maximize your running efficiency on page 60, then watch them demonstrated at runnersworld.com/plyometricsvideo. NEWSWIRE We’ll have complete coverage of the Boston Marathon on April 18, including race previews, elite interviews, videos, and minute-by-minute updates at runnersworld.com/boston.…

THE INBOX RELATABLE RUNNER Thank heavens for Kathryn Arnold (“Kid Stuff,” The Newbie Chronicles, January/February)! In the daunting midst of stories detailing runners working 60 hours and still squeezing in 90 weekly miles, her struggle as a newbie is a refreshing confidence booster. My determination is bolstered by her resolve. BECKY LANE, TAMPA SPEED THRILLS Thanks for “Running with the Gods” (March). Reading about these super athletes in the workplace is so fun! It seems that lately all attention has been on slower/overweight runners. They are awesome and encouraging, but speed and endurance is fascinating. AMANDA TUNGETT VIA FACEBOOK PRUDENT PLANNING On the injury-prediction calculator (“Can You Be Injury Free?” March), I scored a 7. Yet I’ve never had a running injury that kept me from missing a day of…

Kobialka runs through this issue’s HR logo. If you saw Adam Kobialka, 30, logging miles near his home in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, you’d never guess that just five years ago, the fit runner carried an extra 50 pounds on his 5-foot-6 frame. Kobialka’s battle with weight began in high school when doctors believed he might have a liver condition caused by poor diet. “So I dropped a lot of weight,” he says. “But I engaged in unhealthy calorie cutting.” He regained it while attending Penn State and then West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine. “I was uncomfortable,” he says. “And I figured that if I was going to be telling people to get healthy, I should get healthy.” One morning, he pulled on old sneakers and ran around the block. The…

I belong to a moms running group and one of my non-mom friends is asking to join. Would it be wrong to exclude her? —Sami H., Denver Full disclosure: I am not a mom myself, so I cannot truly and fully understand what it means to be part of a moms running group. That said, shutting this person out seems wrong to me. You call her a friend, so presumably she’s a decent and pleasant person. It’s not as if a gassy, pustule-covered ogre (ahem—male!) were trying to muscle his way into your group. In the end, you have to ask yourself what’s more important to you: the homogeneity of the club? Or your friendship with this woman? In my own humble experience, you seldom go wrong with inclusion. Can…

Jacob Seilheimer and I ran the 2007 Boston Marathon together. At least, we ran it on the same day. And that, I believed, was all we had in common. ¶ On race day—April 16, 2007—I was 42 years old, in the best shape of my life at 5'7" and 175 pounds, and I ran the race as a qualified, registered entrant into the teeth of a freezing rainstorm in about three hours and 30 minutes. Jacob was 26 years old, 6'2" and 355 pounds, and started out so far behind the last registered entrant he hardly counted as a bandit. His final time? Somewhere north of eight hours—who knows? ¶ Oh, I knew about Jacob, back then, as I tapered for Boston. Somebody pointed me to his website, “What Would…

It’s difficult to pinpoint the exact origin of mobile dining— do you go all the way back to the chuck wagons of the late 1800s? But many date the first taco truck to 1974, when L.A.’s King Taco rolled out a repurposed ice cream van. Today, more than 4,000 food trucks across the U.S. serve up a $1.2 billion industry. If you’re lucky enough to live in L.A., find the Say Fish Taco truck and try chef Mark Alberto’s handmade corn tortillas with blackened salmon or garlic shrimp. Or turn to page 48 to make your own postrun reward. GET FIT, EAT SMART, RUN STRONG…

TRAINING ADVICE FOR PEAK PERFORMANCE Unlike Kenya or Ethiopia, Japan isn’t widely considered a running powerhouse. But since 1991, Japanese marathoners have earned 19 Olympic and world championships medals, compared with four for Americans. Japan also had the most 26.2 finishes in the world in 2015 (559,991). Growing up in Osaka doesn’t offer any advantages compared with growing up in, say, Milwaukee—so what can we learn from Japan’s success? TAKE THE LONG ROAD While there’s no single Japanese way to train, a common theme is high mileage, sometimes more than 200 miles per week for elites. Two-time Olympic medalist Yuko Arimori recalls doing two 20K time trials, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, with a 31-mile run the next day during one of her Olympic buildups. Along…

How can I prevent shin splints? Avoid running on concrete, don’t overstride (aim for 160 to 190 steps per minute), and consider adding inserts to your shoes to make them more supportive. It may also help to stretch your calves and hamstrings after you run. —Stephen Pribut, D.P.M., is a past president of the American Academy of Podiatric Sports Medicine. Does faster running burn more calories? Yes, because as your pace quickens, your muscles must work harder to process oxygen, which requires more energy. Even better than steady, slightly faster runs are intervals, which boost your metabolism and keep it elevated for up to 24 hours afterward, adding 10 to 15 percent to the workout’s calorie burn. Try six to eight 400-meter repeats at 5K pace, jogging 200 meters between…

WITH LITTLE mayo and loads of cabbage, fiber-rich slaw is a surprisingly nutritious powerhouse, offering vitamins C and K, folate, and minerals like calcium and iron. “The tang reminds me of pickles I’ve loved since I was a boy,” says Swedish-born chef Marcus Samuelsson, who owns Red Rooster Harlem. Samuelsson, 44, finished the 2015 New York City Marathon in 3:36. For more, see marcussamuelsson.com. RAINBOW SLAW ¼ head red cabbage ¼ head Napa cabbage 1 red onion, halved 2 Tbsp. olive oil Segments and juice of 1 grapefruit Segments and juice of 1 orange Juice of 1 lemon 1 Tbsp. cottage cheese 1 Tbsp. mayonnaise 1 Tbsp. raisins Chili powder Celery salt Kosher salt Heat grill to medium-high. Brush cabbages and onion with olive oil, and grill, turning to cook…

SPEED VS. ENDURANCE WHAT YOU’LL LEARN Genes influence your balance of fast- and slowtwitch fibers, which plays a role in whether you’ll excel at 100 meters or 26.2 miles. For instance, most elite sprinters do not have a particular variation of a gene called ACTN3, which hurts sprint performance. BUT IS IT HELPFUL? Having this variation only tells you that you won’t challenge Usain Bolt, not whether you’ll qualify for Boston—and certainly not how to best train for it, says University of Maryland geneticist Stephen Roth, Ph.D. INJURY RISK YOU’LL LEARN A certain copy of a gene called COL1A is linked to ACL ruptures. And 67 snippets of DNA influence your odds of developing fractures. Your genes likely explain part of your propensity for injury, says Stanford University scientist Stuart…

Logging miles regularly is the surest way to reap the benefits of running (see “Science Says: Running Is the Best!” page 80). However, overdoing it can lead to injury or burnout. Janet Hamilton, who coaches in Atlanta and online at runningstrong.com, gives her newbies these training guidelines. WALK FIRST New runners—as well as those coming back after a long break—should ease in with walking. Work up to walking 10 miles per week before beginning to run. Add 30- to 60-second bursts of slow jogging for every two or three minutes of walking, then shift toward more running as you progress. STAY CONTROLLED Move at an easy pace that allows you to hold a conversation. A base of a few months of easy miles will help you stay injury-free and prepare…

NO MARATHONER HAS EVER BEEN LESS WELL PREPARED THAN ROBERTA GIBB— not even Pheidippides, is my guess. After rising early on April 19, 1966, Gibb, then 23, had no clue what to eat, how to dress, or how she would get from her parents’ home in Winchester, Massachusetts, to the Boston Marathon starting line in Hopkinton. After eating “something light” (she can’t remember what), she scrounged through the laundry room to find a navy-blue hooded sweatshirt and a pair of her brother’s Bermuda shorts. She pulled these over her normal running gear—a black one-piece bathing suit. The shorts drifted south, so she cinched them around her waist with a length of—no kidding—twine. When her father stormed from the house declaring her “delusional,” Gibb had to cajole her only slightly less…

BEST COMMUNITY SPACE When Salt Lake Running Co. moved to a new location in 2010, they knew they needed more space, but not just for more products. “We wanted an area that could be used, free of charge,” says owner Guy Perry. “We needed a place for runners to gather.” The Salt Lake City store’s 1,250-square-foot Community Room is a place for race packet pickup, free yoga, banquets, and form and nutrition clinics. But that’s not all. The room has a small stage, theater lighting, and full audiovisual capabilities, which makes the noboys-allowed “Ladies Night Fashion Show” its most popular event. BIGGEST INVENTORY “Twenty-five years ago, the question was, ‘What shoe is good?’ ” says Dave Kozanjain, owner of Whirlaway Sports Center, a specialty running and sports shop in Methuen,…

Calum neff (with his 11-month-old daughter, holland) set the Guinness World record for fastest half marathon pushing a stroller (1:11:27) at the katy half Marathon in texas. on february 12, anna Vess, 17, swam in north Carolina’s state meet in Cary, drove 106 miles, then won the state title in the 3200 meters (10:57.71) in Winston-salem. Chandi Moore, 30, set a personal record by 30 minutes to win the austin Marathon in 3:02:17. it was only her second marathon—her first was in 2009.…

MY FOLKS WERE runners, so I assumed everyone ran. They had me on the track from a young age, probably shortly after I got my first Lego set at age 5. The fact that we lived just outside Eugene, Oregon, was a bonus. I REMEMBER being 8 or 9 years old and meeting Alberto Salazar. It was right after one of his New York City Marathon wins in the early ’80s. I asked to take a picture with him, and I got the photo blown up to put on my bedroom wall, framed. IN HIGH SCHOOL I ran cross country and track. I loved the 200-and 400-meter distances. They were just long enough for me to stride out and take the field. I WAS RECRUITED by New York University for…

THE BOSTON MARATHON’S legacy began in 1897—well before Runner’s World was born. It wasn’t until 71 years later that Distance Running News (our forefather) covered the event for the first time, kicking off a long tradition of Boston- related stories in our pages. Here, we look back at that coverage, from Hopkinton to Boylston and everything in between. FRONT PAGE NEWS MAY 1969 DRN’s first Boston Marathon cover captured a pack at mile 10.5 chasing Japanese runner Yoshiaki Unetani. Yes, that is a car parked on the spectator-light course. INSIDER INFO MAY 2005 We did a mile-by-mile course map, noting landmarks like the Wellesley College cheering section at 12.5. At mile 15, race director Dave McGillivray warned: “The climb over [Route] 128 is the toughest part.” THE REAL WINNER JULY…

Monestime doesn’t have much time to run. Let alone train for the Boston Marathon. But the father of two daughters (7 and 4), who juggles a full-time job with grad school (he’s getting a master’s in urban planning), manages to get in his 18-milers. “Running is the glue that holds it all together,” says Monestime, who has done three marathons and two ultras and is running Boston for the Samaritans charity. He started running three years ago, when he moved from Brooklyn back to his hometown. “I had a successful career in New York, but I wasn’t happy on the inside,” he says. “Running changed everything. It got me out of my rut, helped me lose 55 pounds, and taught me that in life, you should give more than you…

JODY AND ERIN MANDEVILLE Supporting the hospital that saved their son Over her 15-year career as a DJ for Boston’s Mix 104.1, Erin O’Malley Mandeville participated in several fundraising drives for Boston Children’s Hospital (BCH). She had no idea that her efforts would one day benefit her very own family. She and her husband, Jody, credit the doctors at BCH with saving their son Gabe’s life— twice. And now the couple is running the Boston Marathon to raise $17,000 for the facility. Gabe suffered a nearly fatal stroke during birth in 2013. Then when he was 5 months old, he started experiencing seizures. In 2014, BCH doctors performed a very rare surgery in which they disconnected the left side of Gabe’s brain. The 3-year-old is now seizure-free. “When he was…

DID I MISS A MILE MARKER? I can’t hold this for three more reps. How does tempo pace feel again? The first time you do a workout, you face a number of challenges, from understanding the logistics to knowing your body’s limits. The second time, you start to hit your groove. By the third, your mind and body know what to expect—and you’re ready to crush it. “You’ve put yourself in an uncomfortable situation three times in a row, and now you’ve got a handle on it,” says coach Randy Accetta, Ph.D., of Tucson. That’s the theory behind Introduce, Improve, Perfect, or IIP—the term for threeweek training cycles coined by Accetta and Greg Wenneborg, head coach at Pima Community College, also in Tucson. Physiologically speaking, your body takes about three weeks…

IF THERE’S ONE RULE runners swear by, it’s “Don’t try anything new on race day.” But sometimes that’s the best time to experiment. “When something goes awry during training, you can turn the race into a different kind of opportunity,” says Philadelphia running coach John Goldthorp of fixyourrun.com. If you’re registered for an event but don’t feel fully prepared, you don’t have to skip it. Practicing a new pacing or fueling strategy on race day—when you’re excited and nervous—gives you a better sense of its effectiveness than trying the same thing on a training run. The next time your race prep doesn’t go as well as you had hoped, consider one of these novel tactics when you toe the line. TAKE WALK BREAKS “A good walking strategy may get you…

IF EGGS AREN’T A STAPLE IN YOUR DIET, they should be. One of the purest forms of protein, they contain brain-benefiting choline and muscle-repairing leucine. Each of these quick-and-easy snacks offers more than eight grams of protein, more than eight grams of carbohydrates, and about 200 calories, to help you recover after a run. And while you may have been cautious about eggs due to their high cholesterol content (200 mg), recent U.S. dietary guidelines lifted the 300 mg daily limit, citing research that has shown dietary cholesterol doesn’t increase the risk of heart disease. “Most people can safely have one egg a day,” says Tara Collingwood, R.D.N., C.S.S.D, official nutritionist for runDisney. And be sure to eat the whole package: The yolk carries much of the egg’s protein, all…

RED DRESS RUN New Orleans, LA August 13, 2016 This 21-and-over race hosted by the NOLA Hash House Harriers (the drinking club with a running problem) requires every participant to race in a red dress; more than 7,000 scarlet-clad runners take to the streets of the French Quarter. MEMPHIS SOUL 5K BBQ RUN Somerville, MA August 21, 2016 All finishers can pile their plates with fresh BBQ and listen to live soul music postrace. But the fastest dressed in a full Elvis costume is eligible for a cash prize. MARATHON DU MÉDOC Bordeaux, France September 10, 2016 Ninety percent of the field dresses in costume for this indulgent 26.2-mile course, along which you can sip wine and slurp oysters at the race’s 21 food stations through 23 of France’s famed…

It beefs up your brain. Many human and animal studies have found that exercise boosts brain volume, but a study from earlier this year found that rats who ran long distances produced more new brain cells than rats who did intervals or strength-training. It’s good for your knees. A growing body of research supports this, including a recent study of 2,439 people. Those who were (or had ever been) runners were less likely to have developed knee osteoarthritis than the nonrunners. It keeps you mobile. Walking economy— how efficiently your body uses energy while moving—gets more significant as you age: Lose too much and mobility suffers. A 2014 study looked at three groups of seniors: walkers, runners, and a sedentary control group. The runners had greater walking economy than the…

TO SAY NEELY SPENCE GRACEY has running in her blood would be an understatement. For starters, her dad, Steve Spence, left his Pennsylvania home to run the 1990 Boston Marathon after his pregnant wife’s doctor assured them she wouldn’t deliver for another week. After he finished the race on that April 16, he found out his wife had given birth to a daughter, Neely, when a reporter asked him, “How does it feel to be a dad, Steve?” Her father would go on to win the 1992 Olympic Marathon Trials (in 2:12:43). Gracey also has an impressive maternal lineage. Her mother, Kirsten, was a 17-minute 5K runner, and her mother’s mother woke up every morning at 5 a.m. to run into her 70s. “Because I’ve had very strong athletic women…

At the hilly Santa Barbara Wine Country Half Marathon, held in the Santa Ynez Valley since 2007, the overall winners earn magnums of wine after conquering 764 feet of climbing. Despite all the inclines, a fast finish is possible, thanks to a 4.5-mile downhill stretch beginning at mile seven. On the way down, participants pass orchards, vineyards, lavender farms, and ranches, including 2,700-acre Sycamore Valley Ranch (better known as the late Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch). On the next page, see why runners love this rural ramble. May 7, Santa Ynez Valley, California, destinationraces.com/runsb CHILL Firestone Walker Brewing Company’s Taproom restaurant offers pizza, tacos, and award-winning craft beer, including the outstanding Velvet Merlin Oatmeal Stout. firestonebeer.com EASY ACCESS “With larger races it can be hard to get there, and you have…

I STILL REMEMBER the first specialty running store I ever visited. It was in suburban Washington, D.C., in the late 1970s. I was a kid, and my dad took me with him to buy new shoes. I don’t recall the store’s name, but I’m pretty sure it included “Attic” or “Roost.” I was smitten by posters of Bill Rodgers and Frank Shorter on the wall, but intimidated by the guys (yes, they were all guys) in the store, all of whom looked a lot like, well, Frank Shorter and Bill Rodgers. Lean and fast. Hardcore. They were probably doing 90-mile weeks, and seemed to possess some secret, hard-won wisdom that felt as unknowable to me as quantum physics. The store was disheveled, with shoeboxes stacked against a wall, and didn’t…

McFadden is on a roll. In 2013, she became the first person ever to win four major marathons in a single year: Boston, London, Chicago, and New York City. She’s done it each year since, and the wheelchair athlete’s mission to go for her fourth consecutive grand slam will start on April 18 in Boston. “You just have to take it race by race,” says McFadden, who is using a break from her graduate studies at the University of Illinois to focus on training for the Summer Paralympics in Rio. “You’re in a titanium chair—one little bump, and you could be wiped out for the race. Boston is the toughest course for me because of all the hills. I’m not very good at going downhill. I’m like a cautious grandma.”…

As a fairly small and weak high school freshman, I ended up on the cross-country team, of course. Lacking power and speed, I found a sport that rewarded determination. ¶ Like most runners, I was subjected to the usual banter about how tough football players were and how running wasn’t a real sport. My homeroom teacher tired of it by season’s end and one day challenged the chief heckler—a classic jock already a starter on the football team—to prove his toughness by racing me on the cross-country course. He accepted. ¶ In a story as old as Aesop, he started fast and powerfully, I caught him before mile one, and he failed to finish. The race won me respect from him and some peace in homeroom, but it didn’t change…

In 2012, Dutch filmmaker and visual artist Guido van der Werve completed a triathlon of his own design: a 17-mile swim, 870-mile bike ride, and 186-mile run over 16 days from Paris to Warsaw, where he visited the site where composer Frédéric Chopin’s heart is buried. He then created a film about his trek. In another performance piece, he gave a lecture at a museum in Queens, New York, and then ran 27 miles to put flowers on the grave of composer Sergei Rachmaninoff. Van der Werve, 39, has finished all six World Major Marathons, and has a PR of 2:57. “I run to quiet the mind,” he says. “Running helps to understand what’s important and what isn’t.” Here, he selects pieces of art that capture the spirit of his…

TIPS FOR BEGINNERS FROM AN EASYGOING COACH The climate-controlled convenience of the treadmill is especially appealing in winter. But as days grow longer and more temperate, consider it time to venture outside. Fresh air is more invigorating, and if you’re planning to race, you must learn to deal with weather and terrain. That said, outdoor miles involve more variables. These safety and etiquette rules will help you make a smooth transition to… ROADS Run on the shoulder of lightly driven roads against the flow of traffic so you can see oncoming vehicles. (The exception: When approaching a blind curve on a narrow shoulder, cross to the right side a few hundred feet in advance, then cross back once you’ve rounded the bend.) Use the sidewalk on narrow or heavily trafficked…

IAN BURRELL, a 2:13:26 marathoner and full-time lawyer in Colorado Springs, was pleased to finish 25th at last year’s world championships marathon in Beijing. He was ready to retire from running, opting out of February’s U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials. Then his agent called with an offer to run Boston on April 18. Racing there would give his 4-year-old daughter, Shaylee, the chance to see him compete, so he accepted. “I want to see if I can conjure up the magic one more time,” Burrell says. The magic has lasted more than a decade for the Colorado Springs native, now 31. He had a ferocious high school rivalry in the early 2000s with Brent Vaughn, who became the 2011 USATF cross-country champion. Both runners earned multiple state titles. Burrell then competed…

NUTRITION ADVICE FOR HEALTHY, HUNGRY RUNNERS As an overweight runner, how can I balance my diet with fueling up for a race? Running your best on race day and watching calories seems like a catch-22. To meet both goals, you need to eat balanced, well-timed meals the day before your race (see “Eat Up, Slim Down, Run Strong,” below). On the morning of a race 10K or longer, fuel your muscles and liver with 100 grams of carbs (about 400 calories). Try a cup of oatmeal with raisins and fresh fruit or four small (4-inch) pancakes. Skipping a meal on race day leads to low energy and low blood sugar levels, and will hurt your performance. I’ve run more than 100 marathons, and I don’t eat while running. But if…

MUNA LEE KNOWS her strength lies in running short distances—after all, she’s competed at the Olympics twice, in both the 100 and 200 meters. But sprinters need more than speed to succeed. As Lee prepares for the 2016 Olympic Track & Field Trials in July, she’s putting a greater focus on building endurance and devoting more time to recovery, thanks to results from DNA testing. Two years ago, Lee submitted a swab of saliva to the Canadian company Athletigen. The analysis she received back provided training suggestions based on several genotypes, including HIF1A (indicates how much oxygen the body delivers to muscles). This knowledge, she believes, may offer the edge she needs to make her third Olympic team. Already, she feels stronger and better rested. “I wish I would’ve done…

FOR EVERYONE CAP 1 / MOUNTAIN HARDWEAR CHILLER BALL CAP, $30 Broad mesh panels release heat, and little blue circles in the sweatband’s material are embedded with a cooling agent that accelerates sweat evaporation. The brim proved handy in sun and storms, when it kept rain off testers’ faces. JACKET 2 / OUTDOOR RESEARCH TANTRUM HOODED JACKET, $110 When rain clouds threaten, take this convertible jacket: Packed, it’s like a fanny pouch with an integrated waist belt that keeps the fabric stowed tidily on your sacrum. When showers erupt, you can deploy the wind- and water-resistant nylon, which features a stretchy weave that doesn’t bind. FOR HER COOLING SHIRT 3 / UNDER ARMOUR COOLSWITCH TANK, $35 The crossback design kept this tank’s straps from slipping off testers’ shoulders, and UA’s…

Once you have a solid base, it’s smart to mix in more challenging workouts. “If you’ve been doing the same thing day-in and day-out for weeks and weeks, your body has probably fully adapted to that since there’s no demand to do more,” says coach Janet Hamilton. “If your goal is to get fitter and faster, then eventually you’re going to have to push your body a little bit.” Try one of these each week—in addition to a couple easy runs and a long run—to develop speed and strength. HILL REPEATS Pick a hill in the middle of your running route that takes about 30 to 60 seconds to cover at an easy effort. After 10 minutes of easy jogging, run the hill two to four times. Go up at…