Born Free: ten years of the Nike Free
I once heard someone say that the Nike Free is the best selling running shoe ever and whether or not that is true, this year Nike are celebrating 10 years of their iconic, floppy, flexible friend-of-the-foot. As part of the celebration, Nike brought Sean McDowell, Vice President and Creative…
I get knocked down… and then what
Reading about the fall-out from UK Sport’s decisions about funding for the different governing bodies in this country on the BBC website today, I was sad to hear that some sports – handball, basketball, table tennis and wrestling – have lost all of their central funding up to…
Athletes and Injuries: A journey through London 2012
Another treat from the wonderful Catherine Wilding, who in this post looks at the pattern of athletes and injuries, especially in the run-up to important championship competitions. But it really begs the question: are we all not susceptible to pushing too hard as the ‘big day’ approaches and…
Oh no, Paula
I have spent more time than I care to reveal hoping and wishing that Paula Radcliffe would reach the start line of the marathon at the London Olympic Games, fully fit and ready to race. I am afraid that I think there are women now who are faster,…
Competing or Completing?
I spent a happy hour browsing running related videos online yesterday and one that I watched really struck a chord with me. It was the highlights of the 2010 Chicago marathon. I thought that the video was rather nicely made with sweeping panoramas of the runners and some…
Runner at the Sharp End #2: Richard Gregory
This is the second in a series of interviews with Runners At The Sharp-end (the R.A.T.S). For an explanation of what I am defining as a runner at the sharp end have a read here. Richard, a member of the famous Ranelagh Harriers, is a fierce competitor, especially…
Nike nailing the zeitgeist?
New year: new ambitions or resolutions. That is the way many, many people mark another revolution of our planet around the sun. I have read hundreds of blogs and tweets and facebook updates listing plans for 2012 as well as quite a few people criticising the glut of…
Olympic selection for the marathon
The British Olympic Association has announced three of the athletes who will compete in the marathon in the 2012 Games. The runners with early selection are… wait for it… Paula Radcliffe Mara Yamauchi and for the men Scott Overall You can read all about it here. No real…
Mara Yamauchi adds to selectors’ headaches
Mara Yamauchi has finished third at the Yokahama marathon, in 2:27:24 which is well within the qualifying standard set by UK Athletics for female athletes to be eligible to be considered for the 2012 Olympic marathon. Now Yamauchi joins Paula Radcliffe (2:23:46 in Berlin) and Jo Pavey (2:28:42…
IAAF performs marathon u-turn
In my experience of running marathons, if you are going in the right direction then performing a u-turn is generally a bad idea – you will find yourself running against the tide of people. However if you find yourself running the wrong way then a u-turn might be…