Table of contents for June 2017 in Runner's World

TIME TO CELEBRATE Global Running Day is on June 7, and RW editors and readers around the world will be reveling in the best possible way— going for a run. To join us, visit runnersworld.com/runningday. DAD WANTS GEAR We’ve compiled the best gifts for your running pops on Father’s Day. Forgo the tie and check out our gift guide at runnersworld.com/dadgifts. CUP ARTISTRY Take a behind-the-scenes look at how coffee artist Michael Breach painted a winged shoe in a cappuccino (“Coffee Perks,” page 29) at runnersworld.com/cappuccino.…

THE INBOX RECOVERY RUN The April 2017 article about America’s drug and heroin epidemic (“The Runner’s High”) hit close to home for me. I live in Ohio, in a county with nearly the highest number of heroin-related deaths in the state. Our coroner can’t keep up. But we are a small, tight rural community full of runners of all ages. I want to motivate others to run, to share in the runner’s high, and to reverse unhealthy habits. I want to welcome more people to the running world. This article has inspired me to do it. I plan to begin running programs at our rehab and detox centers as a means to run away from addiction. We cannot eradicate this epidemic, but maybe we can keep one less person from…

SPEED Add 1–2 miles warmup (plus strides and dynamic stretches), 1–2 miles cooldown. Do reps at roughly 5K goal pace. Recover by jogging half the distance of the previous repeat. HILLS Add 1–2 miles warmup (plus strides and dynamic stretches), 1–2 miles cooldown. STRIDES Roughly 100-meter pickups, peaking around 5K pace. Recover fully between each. LONG Intermediate runners run shorter; advanced go longer. TEMPO Start after 1–2 miles jogging. Run at “comfortably hard” pace (slightly faster than half marathon pace).…

If you reach the halfway point of a 5K race feeling calm, comfortable, and confident that you can maintain your pace to the finish line, then you’re doing it wrong. Physiologically, 5Ks are short enough to run them faster than your “critical pace,” a demarcation that separates relatively comfortable paces that you can sustain for longer than about 30 minutes from faster ones where discomfort rises rapidly. Halfway through the race, if you’re chasing a PR, you should seriously wonder whether you’ll make it to the finish. Of course, this makes the urge to slow down—just a little, of course—almost irresistible. One of the best ways to fight that urge, it turns out, is to tell yourself that you don’t need to. “Motivational self-talk” is a tool that sports psychologists…

Counter Culture, Forty-Six This chocolaty, organic dark roast tastes great hot but makes an even better cold brew. Try your grocer, a local coffee shop, or online. $15.25 for 12 oz. beans Runner’s World Marathon Roast Organic Coffee Have a cup of coffee with the RW editors (sort of!) with this organic Peruvian brew. | $16 for 12 oz. | shoprunnersworld.com SToK Cold Brew Steeped at low temps for 10 hours, this bottled blend has no trace of bitterness. Choose from “un-sweet” (0 g sugar) or “not-toosweet” (9 g sugar per 8 oz.). | $4.59 for 48 oz. Starbucks Via, Italian Roast The signature dark roast is almost as good in a justadd- water instant formula. When you’re traveling for a race, these packets are a lifesaver. | $9.95 for…

FOR WOMEN 1. A wide waistband and boy-short liner on the Sugoi Fusion 4" 2-in-1 Short boost long-run comfort and eliminate any tugging or adjusting over the miles. $65 2. The unlined Lululemon Anew Short looks fashion-first, but four-way stretch fabric and drop-in pockets in the waistband add versatility. $64 3. Mesh side panels on the Under Armour Fly-By Printed Shorts keep you cool and covered. The shaped hem won’t inhibit your stride, but also doesn’t give you the track-star, split-shorts look. $30 4. The incredibly lightweight shell on the Icebreaker Comet Shorts has a water-repellent finish to fend off raindrops, while the Merino-and-Tencel-blend liner keeps you cooler than wool alone but is still silky against the skin. $80 5. The buttery soft Tracksmith Session Shorts have a lightweight stretch…

It isn’t supposed to work like this: Two runners who’d fallen out of love with the sport meet, fall in love with each other, start a family, and then become elite athletes. In 2004, the newly bonded pair discovered that going off the beaten path— literally—could be a formula for success: Slower, lower-impact mountain running mitigated injury issues that both had suffered, souring them on road running. Last year Kim, 37, placed second among women at the Mount Washington Road Race and was the top American at the World Mountain Running Championships, and Ethan, 44, won his third consecutive age-group title at the Obstacle Course Racing World Championships. Now with a 10-year-old, an 8-year-old, and a German shorthaired pointer named Scout in tow, the Nedeaus have settled in Leverett, Massachusetts,…

BACK OFF It’s true for all, but especially older runners: When something hurts, rest and recover. “Runners tend to be both tough and obsessive,” says former elite marathoner turned physical therapist Clint Verran. “They keep going when they shouldn’t, and then come back too soon. You shouldn’t run until you’ve had a few days completely free of pain.” MIND YOUR FEET Plantar fasciitis becomes more prevalent as we get older, in part because our cushioned, supportive shoes can weaken the muscles in our feet, says Irene Davis, Ph.D., director of the Spaulding National Running Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts. To strengthen them, put a towel down and use your toes to scrunch it closer to you. Do two sets of 20 scrunches per foot per day. HIT THE DIRT While there’s…

RUNNER SINCE 2001 MILES PER WEEK 25 “I HAVE BETTER TIMES THAN A LOT OF PEOPLEWHOARE 20 YEARS YOUNGER THAN ME. AGE IS NOT A FACTOR IN RUNNING.” Navarrete’s marathon tally is 127, just 23 shy of his goal of completing 150. Since he started running at age 52, he’s run 26.2 all over the world—from China to Germany and Mexico. He grew up playing baseball and then softball, but eventually decided that he wanted to be more active. Navarrete initially targeted a 5K, but after watching the 2001 New York City Marathon, he felt inspired to go longer; he ran the first of his 13 New York City Marathons in 2003. “My friends and family ask if I’m crazy,” he says. “And I tell them, ‘If marathons were easy,…

RUNNER SINCE 1958 MILES PERWEEKWHATEVER SHE FEELS LIKE! “IF I FEEL LIKE TRYING SOMETHING, I TRY IT. AGE SHOULDN’T BE A HANDICAP.” When she turned 80, Obera thought, I can do anything I want. So the lifelong sprinter learned how to hurdle. “I was nervous. I kept thinking, Up and over, up and over,” says Obera. “I was like a bird trying to fly.” And fly she did. The retired teacher living in Fremont, California, holds the agegroup world record in the 80meter hurdles. She also has masters world titles in the 100, 200, and 400 meters, and was named USA Track & Field Masters Female Athlete of the Year in 2016. In fact, she’s been pretty damn fast most of her life; Obera twice competed in the Olympic Trials,…

When I got back into running after a break in college, I took on half marathons, then fulls, running a PR of 3:31 in the 2014 Chicago Marathon. I trained with the North Brooklyn Runners, and most of my teammates were marathoners. But a coach who ran the 800 in college always said a fast 5K was more impressive than a marathon finish. This stuck in my head, and two weeks after completing the 2016 Boston Marathon, I tested my speed in a 5K, where I ran 20:40—a PR by two seconds. With the right preparation, I thought to myself, I could probably break 20 minutes! As a new employee at Runner’s World, I targeted the 5K at our Half & Festival in October. Using RW’s “Break 20” plan as…

A plan that involves only running can carry you through 3.1 miles—but for a strong, speedy performance, you need to build springiness, or what experts call “reactive strength.” “When your foot hits the ground, the more elastic or reactive you are, the better you’re able to spring off without losing any energy,” says strength and conditioning coach Kris Beattie, Ph.D., from Limerick, Ireland. In a new study, he put runners through a 40- week program incorporating reactive strength exercises. The result? Increased running economy, or the ability to use oxygen efficiently and therefore run faster. Reactivestrength training also protects against injury, but requires ongoing maintenance—the study’s control group, which did run training only, lost reactive strength over the same period of time. Fortunately, you don’t need a complex program of…

Who Shelby Houlihan, 5,000-meter Olympian What 14 miles, with 4 at tempo pace and 4 getting progressively faster Why It taxes two different systems in one workout by combining the grind of tempo pace with speed intervals, and it allows you to practice hard running on tired legs. When Every two or three weeks until you start tapering for your goal race How Warm up for 3 miles, run 4 miles at tempo pace (5:20 pace for Houlihan), and recover for 6 to 8 minutes. Then run 4 x 1 mile progressively faster (5:15, 5:10, 5:05, and 5:00 for Houlihan) with 90 seconds to 2 minutes recovery in between. Cool down for 3 miles.…

1. Shrimp, Grits, and Collard Greens Ten medium shrimp have 20 grams of protein. Makes 4 servings (Pictured on previous page) ⅔ cup quick-cooking grits (not instant) ½ cup thawed corn 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, divided 1 tsp. kosher salt, divided ½ tsp. each paprika, garlic powder 24 raw medium peeled and deveined shrimp 2 cups collard greens or kale, chopped ¼-½ tsp. red pepper flakes (optional) In a medium saucepan, boil 2 cups water over high heat. Add grits, lower heat, and stir often. As grits thicken, stir in corn, 1 Tbsp. butter, and ½ tsp. salt. Cook until grits are smooth and creamy, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix paprika, garlic powder, and ½ tsp. salt. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, melt 1…

MOMENTOUS STOP! FRIVOLOUS GO! An earbud-wearing trail runner assaults a passing mountain biker after the runner fails to hear the biker’s pass requests on a crowded trail. Mother and daughter sue Bank of America and the Chicago Marathon for allowing only six wheelchair-runner duos into the race. Kenyan-born American trackand- field athlete Sam Chelanga faces heat after tweeting out that he “wouldn’t recommend racing in Africa.” He later deletes his Twitter profile. Footage of an oblivious race official wandering ahead of the lead pack and being trampled by 1500-meter runners at the Stanford Invitational makes its rounds on the internet as a hall-of-fameworthy race snafu. A contestant on the British TV game show Tipping Point gains internet notoriety by bungling a question about Mo Farah: Despite correctly surmising that Farah…

RUNNER SINCE 1956 MILES PERWEEK 20 “THERE ISN’T A DAY THAT I DON’T APPRECIATE HOW LUCKY I’VE BEEN TO STILL BE FIT AND HEALTHY.” Every year, Reisinger packs up his silver 2003 Sportsmobile and sets out with his wife, Nancy, from their condo in Bend, Oregon, to go “anywhere interesting.” And that often means state and national parks. “The adventure of finding a new place to run every day excites me,” says Reisinger. “Being 76, Nancy and I don’t encounter too many of our peers on the trails.” These nomadic excursions have been an annual, months-long event since he retired from his work as a counselor 23 years ago, and about 95 percent of the trip is unplanned. A competitive runner most of his life, Reisinger says his priority now…

“I think a 5K would be fun. Those are easy, right? They’re hardly any miles.” In middle school I set the mile record, which was like 7:11, because I was the only one running it. But I didn’t get into running until my mid-20s, when I was living in Brooklyn and started going to Prospect Park. I started my career doing stand-up in New York. I won an award at the HBO Comedy Festival in 2006, and got onto Flight of the Conchords not long after that, which was a big get for me. Will Forte, my costar on The Last Man on Earth, always runs after work alone at night, along the beach. I’m so jealous because it must be nice, but as a woman I can’t really do…

BY THE TIME you read this, one or more Nike-sponsored runners may have broken the two-hour marathon barrier, or will be on the brink of trying. We’ve been covering the Breaking2 quest from behind the scenes for five months, and I think it’s the most exciting, ambitious, and innovative (and, yes, controversial) initiative in the sport right now. Chairman and CEO Mark Parker, who began working at Nike in 1979 as a shoe designer, helped hatch the plan in 2014. Fittingly, Parker is a runner. In early March, I sat down with him at Nike headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon, to talk about the “moonshot.” His office is in a corner overlooking a lake, and there are a few things you’d expect to find (a conference table, a sitting area), as…

Runners rightfully celebrate the milestone of finishing their first race, but lining up to do it again is just as important. If your first 5K was a success, you may feel more motivated than ever to train so you can enjoy the race-day experience again and again (and accumulate a collection of race T’s, medals, and other swag). But if your debut didn’t go as you hoped, here’s the upside: You can learn more from a crummy run than a great one. Either way, choose one of these goals to make your second 5K a race to remember. 1. Avoid a Slowdown If your first race involved a too-fast start, you probably crashed at the end, which can be demoralizing. To decrease the likelihood a flameout will happen again, try…

Boosts Performance Two to three cups of a robust brew, like Starbucks Pike Place, can reduce perceived exertion in athletes and increase endurance performance by an average of 24 percent, giving you an extra push, according to a 2016 review. Preserves Your Memory Moderate, longterm coffee consumption was associated with a 27 percent reduced risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, in a 2016 study. Other research suggests that those who drink three to five cups a day get the most protection. Keeps You Happy A 2011 study found that women who drank two to three cups a day were 15 percent less likely to develop depression, compared with those who had one cup or less per day. This may be due to how caffeine binds to mood receptors. Promotes Health Studies…

MEN’S WOMEN’S 1. Skechers Performance GOmeb Razor Meb Keflezighi’s training shoe delivers a little more protection underfoot than his race-day choice, the GOmeb Speed. But it’s still light and firm. The flat knit upper is secure (it won’t stretch) and breathable. The outsole is a thin web of rubber for a mix of durability and flexibility. $110 2. New Balance RC 1400V5 This longtime favorite racing flat is versatile enough for everything from a road mile to the marathon. A single, full-length block of foam delivers a responsive ride when you turn on the speed. This version gets an engineered mesh upper, reducing seams and locking the foot firmly in place. $100 3. Asics FuzeX Rush This new lightweight shoe has a gel-and-foam-blend midsole for a fairly soft ride from…

News, Trends, and Regular Runners Doing Amazing Things After he crossed the finish line of the Chicago Marathon last October, Diego Estrada couldn’t walk. Near the 10K mark, he had slipped on a water bottle, fallen, and twisted his ankle. Estrada, 27, considered stopping. But he’d already dropped out of two 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials races, including his marathon debut in February. He knew another DNF would prove devastating—possibly even career-ending. His Achilles throbbing, Estrada powered through on adrenaline. Much to his surprise, he caught up to the lead pack briefly around the seven-mile mark. He finished in 2:13:56, for eighth overall and first American. “When I got past the finish line, I went to my knees,” he says. “I’ve never been that emotional. The officials were trying to congratulate…

It takes a certain kind of passion to move your home closer to a racecourse. That’s just what Meghan Arbogast, 56, did when she packed up and settled in Cool, California, to live what she calls “The Western States Life.” From her front door, the trails of the iconic 100-mile race are just three miles away. “I love it,” she says. “The heat, the hills, the challenge of the terrain, all the people I run with on the trail—it’s a blast.” Arbogast started running when she was 25, after the birth of her daughter. She gradually added more miles and eventually tackled the marathon, where she whittled her time down to 2:45:43. She’s competed in four U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials and represented the United States for the last eight years…

Standing on the sweeping bend of the infamous Curva Parabolica, three of the greatest distance runners in history shiver in the late-afternoon breeze, awaiting the signal to begin. Around them, an uncanny silence prevails. The Autodromo Nazionale Monza, a historic Formula One racetrack nestled in the woodlands of a former royal park northeast of Milan, can seat 115,000 spectators. Since its construction back in 1922, the “Temple of Speed,” as it’s affectionately known, has echoed with the high-octane roar of epic races, hosted countless speed records (at 231.523 mph, which Colombian driver Juan Pablo Montoya reached in the 2005 Italian Grand Prix, a marathon would take less than seven minutes), and mourned the deaths of more than 50 drivers and 40 spectators, mostly in the freewheeling early days of motorsport. On this bright day…

RUNNER SINCE 1968 MILES PERWEEK 20–30 “RUNNING IS BETTER SINCE I RETIRED. IT GIVES ME A SENSE OF FREEDOMTHAT I DIDN’T HAVEWHEN I WORKED.” “Of the 13 people in my family, health issues have taken away all but two of us before the age of 60,” says Gilbert, a retired nutritionist and aerobics instructor. “I could have just sat around, but this is how I chose to live my life. I run for survival.” Gilbert, who grew up running solo on country roads in Kentucky, credits her seven-days-a-week running routine for her health. She’s run five marathons, and at press time was doing weekly hill repeats as part of her training to best her 2016 half marathon time of 3:17. In fact, she has three half marathons scheduled this year…