Gotta Run

It seems Megan Andrews has hardly stopped to take a breath during her entire athletic life. Just hearing about her daily routine is exhausting. But that's why she's a perfect fitness role model.

Her love affair with sports started in childhood. Andrews grew up running track, doing gymnastics, cheerleading, and playing basketball and softball. In college, she played soccer and danced with the Dixie Darlings of University of Southern Mississippi. Even after she earned two degrees and had a full-time job as BREC's marketing manager and director of special events, she couldn't sit still.

"I realized that I LOVE to eat, and the only way I could continue to enjoy that … was to remain active," she said.

The Lost Art of Sleep

Bed is the best place to read Michael McGirr's new book. Also, the worst.

Bed is the best place to read Michael McGirr's new book. Also, the worst. The Lost Art of Sleep is a light-hearted exploration of that third of our lives spent semi-conscious, if we're lucky, that also charts McGirr's experience with three children under two years old. One baby is disruptive enough to sleeping patterns; having twins soon after would seem to be disastrous.The book is more than a five-year journey of interrupted sleep, it is a way for McGirr to lovingly capture the memory of his children at a special time in their lives. The Lost Art of Sleep is also peppered with stories of the sleeping habits, patterns and rituals of some of history's most influential figures, from the God creating rest on the seventh day on. And, while far from a self-help book, there is an examination of sleep disorders, insomnia, sleep apnoea, and the health effects of sleep deprivation.

The Mother of All Running Streaks -- 47 Years and Counting

Ronald "Ron" Hill, MBE, BSc, PhD (born 25 September 1938), is a noted runner and founder of Ron Hill and Hilly Clothing Company. Hill was born in Accrington, Lancashire, England. He was the second man to break 2:10 in the marathon; he set world records at four other distances, but never laid claim to the marathon world record.[nb 1] He has run two Olympic Marathons (Tokyo 1964 and Munich 1972), and has a personal marathon record of 2:09:28. In 1970, Hill won the 74th Boston Marathon in a course record 2:10:30. He also won gold medals for the marathon at the European Championships in 1969 and the Commonwealth Games in 1970.

The Anti-Gravity Treadmill

The anti-gravity developed by NASA to help astronauts stay in shape, an anti-gravity treadmill sounds like something from the pages of a science-fiction novel.

But the technology is now being used to improve the fitness of everyone from the world's top sportsmen and women to ordinary people overcoming injury.

And it's now come to a gym in Scotland, which is pioneering its use to improve people's fitness.

5,000 km Race Around a 1 km Track?

Auckland 'adrenalin junkie' pushed through pain and injury to run a torturous race, from morning to midnight for seven weeks

The following comes with a health warning.

Simply reading about this running event could induce severe pain.

Internal Dialogue is Rarely Helpful

We all have an internal dialogue that can drive us to greater heights or all-time lows. It's called "the little voice in our heads."

All of us engage in self talk. It's what drives us through a tough run such as the Boiler-maker Road Race. Unfortunately, it also can be the reason we rationalize eating that extra treat sitting on the counter.

Not All Addictions are Bad

One of the things I've been learning is that once you make exercise a habit, it's hard on you when you can't exercise for some reason. I think I've become a training addict!

In the beginning of creating any new habit, including the habit of training, it can be difficult. Once you commit to a new program, you have a certain amount of enthusiasm, but that only lasts so long. The hard part is to sustain your motivation beyond that initial period of enthusiasm.

Marathons: Do Slow Runners Disrespect the Event?

The universal symbol of running has always been the winged foot, an embodiment of the pursuit of speed.

But that emblem has begun to give way to a new symbol -- the penguin -- that reflects a growing movement of extremely slow runners who are changing the character of American road racing.

Embracing a kind of slow chic, this new breed of runners emphasizes fun over achievement, rejecting the traditional asceticism of road racing for a more relaxed, noncompetitive ethos. They have cheerfully adopted the penguin for its girth and its waddling gait, and they amble their way through marathons, stopping not only for a drink but to dance or cheer or simply take in the flowers. Many members of this new wave in running will be on display Sunday during the 30th New York City Marathon.

Kelly McGonigal: The Willpower Instinct

This is powerful stuff. Applies to work, family, spousal relations, parenting. Athletics.

Interestingly, regular cardiovascular increases your willpower not just to continue exercising, but also to eat better, worker harder, etc.

Dean Karnazes, Lisa Tamati, and Badwater: What Else Do We Need?

Are fish-oil pills really as good as advertised?

A flurry of new research on fish-oil supplements is raising eyebrows as well as questions about just how "miraculous" those omega-3 fatty acids really are. "Live long, stay strong," say the ads for fish-oil pills, touting not only omega-3s' familiar heart-health benefits but also mental and cellular protection. But recent clinical trials have reminded nutrition scientists that, after all, the strongest data linking omega-3s and reduced cardiovascular risk come from observational studies:

All whole grains are not alike

Women younger than 50 need about 25 grams of fiber per day, and men younger than 50 need 38 grams (the daily values are a few grams lower for adults older than 50). But on average, American women get about 13 grams and men 17 grams, according to a 2005 report by the Food and Nutrition Board of the Institute of Medicine.

Have you Tried a Foam Roller Yet?

The foam roller is a lightweight, cylindrical roller designed to help improve balance, flexibility, strength and muscle awareness. As simple as it looks, just one attempt at an abdominal exercise on the roller will convince you of its value.

365 Marathons in 365 Days?

Stefaan Engels (born 7 April 1961, Ghent, Belgium), also known as "marathon man", is a Belgian marathoner and triathlete, the first man who finished 365 consecutive marathons in a single year with 365 marathons completed in 2010.He also holds the record for the most Ironman Triathlons in a year with 20 over 2007 and 2008.

Engels averaged around four hours to complete each marathon with a best time of 2 hours and 56 minutes. He ran 15,401 kilometres (9,570 mi) during his marathons over 2010. Engels said that a slow pace was the key. Before him, the record was held by Ricardo Abad Martínez of Spain with 150 marathons in a row in 2009. Abad is the current world record holder.

Is the Best Shoe No Shoe at All?

UNTIL he met a reclusive tribe of near-mythical athletes at the bottom of a Mexican canyon, the late Micah True, aka Caballo Blanco, could never figure out why his running injuries got worse as his running shoes got better. Then, the Tarahumara Indians taught him a lesson that even Nike is now starting to embrace: the best shoe may be no shoe at all.

True wasn't the only one baffled by the injury mystery. For years kinesiology professors, physical therapists and athletic-shoe designers have been puzzling over the same paradox: if running shoe protection and cushioning have improved, why haven't injuries among joggers decreased?

To crosstrain or not to crosstrain?

When it comes to crosstraining, keep in mind that the ACSM guidelines recommend it for overall health--not for sport-specific performance. This is crucial because it reconciles what sometimes seems like conflicting evidence.

After Losing a Leg, New Races to Be Won

Jarryd Wallace came home from church on a springtime Sunday in 2008 to an afternoon any runner would find inviting, especially a middle-distance high school state champion like him who was passionate about his sport.

Wallace laced up his shoes and took off into the sunlight, only to feel the pain that had long nestled in his right leg gripping tighter than ever, forcing him to stop.

It's Never too late to Start

Barb Wnek counts herself as an example of what older people can be if they keep in shape doing something they like. Soon to be 61, Wnek is on the front end of the generation often called "aging baby boomers."

Memory formation and sleep deprivation

There may be a link between the way memories are formed and the adverse effects of sleep deprivation

SLEEP deprivation is an uncomfortable experience. In drivers and workers it can lead to fatal accidents. In those under interrogation it can lead to confession. But why it does what it does is mysterious--as, indeed, is the purpose of sleep itself.

Dave Brewer: Addicted to Running?

Dave Brewer likes to run. He ran yesterday. If he’s alive and not in traction, he ran today. He ran every day last month, and every day last year, too, and on April 16, 2011, he will celebrate one quarter of a century without missing a single day of covering at least two miles. In the running world, people like him are called streakers, but Brewer, a 56-year-old financial manager from Herndon, Va., says “the technical term is ‘idiot.’ ” Brewer is also modest. I learned about the streak only because I was bragging to him—he’s an old friend—about jogging six days a week for a year, and he casually mentioned it.

Wonders of Walking

Walking may seem to be putting minimal demand on the body to qualify as an effective endurance exercise, but nothing could be further from the truth.As a matter of fact, walking ranks among the top five aerobics activities in the benefits it can produce in the body."It just takes longer to achieve the same level of fitness with walking than with running or some of the more strenuous activities, " said Kenneth Cooper in his best seller 'Running without fear'.

Midlife Crisis? Start Running!

Paul O’Grady, who recently turned 50, on running with ‘The Bucket Listers’

When did you start running and why?

59 and Still Loving Exercise

Jeanne Sutherland of Memphis was in her 20's and anxious to get in shape when the mother of a friend urged her to just do "something" for 30 minutes each day. "That was so do-able. I wanted to get healthy and shape up. That was a realistic way to begin." It was in early 1970s. Before too long Sutherland was hooked.

"Martha Pipkin was my first teacher. Back in those days (her class) was at Idlewild Presbyterian Church. We would do sit-ups to Martha singing the Lord's prayer."

930 Mile Mountains-to-Sea Trail

Diane Van Deren had never heard of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail, the 930-mile trail that stretches from Clingmans Dome in the Great Smoky Mountains to Jockey's Ridge State Park on the Outer Banks.

She's more intimately familiar with it now.

Strength Training: A Few Thoughts

There are a few general rules when establishing a weight training routine. If you are just starting out or are relatively new to the exercise scene, you would most likely want to follow the guidelines for both strength and endurance, or a "combination program."

Don't let 'I want' defeat 'I will' and 'I won't

Time magazine runs the same kind of article at least once a year - a testament to Americans' endless battle with self-control. But I have seen these themes deftly treated in a very different format: in Dallas Willard's 2002 book, Renovation of the Heart.

Willard is not a brain scientist but a professor of philosophy at USC.

His insights, however, fit well with what current research is revealing.

Kluger quotes Kelly McGonigal of Stanford, author of The Willpower Instinct as saying, "Our brains operate at three levels: I will, I won't, I want. For many of us, the I-want part wins" - even when that means compromising our own well-being.

The Power of Habit

by Charles Duhigg
Random House, $28.00 
274 pages

The basal ganglia is a golf ball-sized lump of tissue in the brain, the importance of which was not well understood until the early 1990s. It was then that a team of scientists at Massachusetts Institute of Technology noticed that rats with impaired basal ganglia developed problems with tasks such as remembering how to open food containers.

By surgically implanting tiny sensors into the test animals' brains, the scientists were able to track the way the brain responded as rats hunted for chocolate in a labyrinth. There were no set patterns of behavior as the rats sniffed out the chocolate. To the casual observer, it appeared as if the animals were idly meandering about. The electronic sensors told a different story, however: the rodents' brains were working furiously as they navigated the maze.

199 Pounds in Less than a Year

It started out as one of those typical New Year's resolutions, a friendly -- but spirited -- bet between spouses that likely would be forgotten once the calendar turned to February or March.

This one, though, was far different.

Peanut Butter is a Quick, Healthy Choice

Here is my case for the perfect get-out of-the-house-quickly breakfast.

As children we knew it intuitively. The much-celebrated and loved peanut butter sandwich, with a few nutritional twists, can send us out into the world with energy and a smile on our faces. The Aztec native Americans first made peanut butter by mashing peanuts, and other nuts, into a gooey paste. George Washington Carver brought care.com. widespread planting and cultivation of the peanut to the South.

Ultras: If You Can't Go Faster, Go Further

THE SPORTING mind has always been seduced by athletic speed, racing, getting from point A to point B as quickly as possible. Human against human, human against the clock, we are a species of racing and records.

A few years ago, a New Zealand biophysicist plotted the progression of the men's mile record over a 70-year period. Extrapolation then led him to predict that on Aug. 1, 2528, the mile will be run in no time, "a feat," he remarked, "which would presumably ruin athletics as a spectator sport." Within the humor of that comment lies an implacable truth: All speed records are moving toward finite limits.

Five Good Fiber Habits

To have proper digestion and a fast metabolism, regular consumption of fibre and water is essential. They are necessary for your system to run efficiently and effectively. Poor food choices speed up the breakdown of body tissues, which leads to the existence of fat in your body. We are, definitely, what we eat.