And the Winners are...

The lucky winners of the $50 Gift Certificates from RunningCompanyShoes are Becky Thompson of Virgina and Kevin Leathers of Tennessee!

Thanks again to RunningCompanyShoes for providing such an awesome prize. If you haven't already, please be sure to check out their website. Their unique setup will save you a lot on your running shoes! I saved so much that I bought 2 pairs of my favorite shoes!

Be on the look out for details on the next RunnerDude's Blog contest coming soon that's sponsored by Champion USA!

RunnerDude's Runner of the Week: Otto Voss

Welcome to the new weekly feature on RunnerDude's Blog—RunnerDude's Runner of the Week. From all over the US and the world, everyday runners just like you and me will be featured on the blog. Here's a big welcome to our first featured runner, Otto!

Featured Runner: Otto Voss

RD:Where are you from?

Otto: I live in Monterrey, the capital of the State of Nuevo Leon, in México. I was born in Guadalajara, but I have been living in Monterrey for the last 13 years.3.

RD: Share a little about yourself.

Otto: I'm a software engineer working for a big Indian company (yes, engineers do exercise ☺). I'm single and I live with my parents and siblings.

RD: How long have you been running?

Otto: It's been two years now since I really started running.

RD: What got you into running?

Otto: After a break-up with a former girlfriend, I found myself without real hobbies and past-times. Nothing that I did really defined me, so I suffered a little depression. A couple of years before this, I tried to train for a 10K here in Monterrey, and I injured myself, mainly because I did not train correctly and because I had 2 hernias in my back, and I didn't take precautions. So, this time, I thought that I should give running and fitness a try again, so I started loosing weight and running without any specific training. Some months after, my ex-girlfriend and I came back together one more time, and because her father was a marathon runner, we picked running as a common activity to share. That's how I got into my first 5K, and later, the 10K I was training for when I injured my back. I got hooked into running after finishing these 2 races.

RD: What do you enjoy most about running?

Otto: It can sound corny, but running really clears my mind. After all the endorphins generated by a run, problems don't seam too impossible to solve. From being a guy without real hobbies, now, I really enjoy calling myself a runner. Running defines a part of whom I am, and people identify me thanks to this.

RD: What’s the funniest or oddest thing that’s happened to you while on a run?

Otto: It's really weird that I usually find the same people in the street (I'm running and they in their cars) in the same spot but at different hours of the day. Morning runs or afternoon runs, it doesn't matter, they seem to fing me running in the same spot. It's like they are waiting for me to go out for a run to pass. Another funny thing is that I have formed a really great group of runner dudes thanks to Twitter and Nike+. We trained together for the Monterrey Marathon. Social Networking really helps!

RD: What’s your biggest running accomplishment? Why?

Otto: Running the Monterrey Marathon 2009 this past December. 42.195 kms is an experience that I won't ever forget. It makes me aware that 42 Kms is not THAT far after all. I can do it!

RD: Do you have a favorite brand of running shoe? Which model? Why?

Otto: I usually go for Nike's. Currently I'm running with LunarGlide+ and I really like them. Maybe, they are a little soft for my taste. The main reason is thanks to the Nike+ system. This little gadget makes me aware of how much I've run. It's addictive.

RD: What’s your favorite race distance?

Otto: I really enjoy 10Ks, and I run these more than any other race. But I would like to specialize for the Half-Marathon. It's the perfect distance for me. Speed and endurance. Monterrey is full of races, almost every weekend, really!

RD: If you were speaking to a group of non-runners or runner wannabes and trying to encourage them to run, what would you say?

Otto: Running is perhaps the cheapest psychiatrist that you would ever find. If you want to feel good with yourself, physically and emotionally, running is one of the best ways to go. Try one organized 5K or 10K, and the energy that all the participants emanate, will make it impossible for you to leave this amazing sport.

RD: Share anything you‘d like about your running experiences, past accomplishments, goals, dreams….anything you haven’t previously shared.

Otto: I really like running for lots of reasons. One is that it keeps you motivated because there are always new challenges waiting when you conquer one. First, you run a 5K, then a 10K, later half-marathon, and before you notice, you are training for a Marathon. 2009 was the year of my first half and complete marathon, so 2010 has to be even better. On April I'm planning to do my first Olympic Triathlon (1.5k swim/40k bike/15k run) and improve my PR in the Marathon. Running really is a spiritual thing to me and thanks to running, I feel like a defined man.

Thanks Otto!

If you'd like to be featured as a weekly runner or you know of someone that would make a good candidate, email me at runnerdudeblog@yahoo.com.

Happy Running!

RunnerDude

Pure Fit Radio...Check It Out!

A month or so ago I posted about a new site for endurance athletes called PURE FIT RADIO. PURE FIT RADIO is based on 51 Reporters from each state and the District of Columbia that report weekly on events. These reporters are called ESR's (Endurance State Reporters). ESR's are athletes, so they are able to give you suggestions and ideas on your next big event because they might have competed in it themselves. RunnerDude was given the privilege to be the ESR for North Carolina. To listen to your state's weekly ESR report [click here].
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A weekly update about the endurance events for your state is pretty cool, but PURE FIT RADIO has even more to offer! The site is growing fast and will continue to add new features over the next few months. Currently you can search events or add your events to PURE FITS's events listing. Free! You can also listen to weekly podcasts with participants such as Bart Yasso (creator of Yasso 800s) and sports nutritionist Pip Taylor. The podcasts are also being broadcast on about 300 radio stations and that's just in 10 states.

So, if you haven't had a chance to check out PURE FIT RADIO, click on one of the links and give it a try!

A Run A Day Keeps the Doctor Away!

If you're a runner, especially one who's been running a while, you've undoubtedly heard, "Why do you do that to your body? Doesn't it hurt your joints or knees?" This often comes from someone eating a double-bacon cheese burger, fries, and a Coke. It's hard not to reply back with a similar set of questions, but replacing "knees" with "heart."

I guess it's not too bizarre of an assumption that running could be bad for your joints, after all your knees do absorb about 8 times your body weight with each stride when running. For me that's 1,104lbs, and I'm a little dude. That sounds like a lot of force/weight, and it is, but you know what, the body is an amazing machine. The human body was actually designed to run and Mother Nature crafted some pretty amazing shock-absorbing mechanisms to handle that force.

It's been fairly common thought that regular running during adolescence as well as involvement in other sports that impact the joints at an early age may lead to osteoarthritis in adulthood. One research study back in the 90s seemed to support this thought. Basically is showed that of the 5000 women involved in the study, the ones who were involved in heavy physical sports as teens or were involved in weight-bearing exercise in middle age had a higher risk of developing osteoarthritis of the hip. Well, that was one study.

Today's research is showing the opposite, especially in respects to running. A long-term study out of Standford shows that there's no connection between running and arthritis. Actually the study shoes that running and other "regular vigorous exercise" may even protect the joints in later life. The study followed a group comprised of 1,000 people (runners and non-runners). None of the participants had arthritis at the beginning of the study. Many of them had arthritis by the end of the study. Interesting finding was that the runners' joints were no more or less healthy than the non-runners in the group. This was true for even the really high-mileage runners in the group (averaging over 2,000 miles a year). Another great finding from the research was that the runners tended to be in better health and they had a 39% lower rate of mortality than the non-runners.

There's other research coming in with similar findings. Together all the research seems to be saying that osteoarthritis is mainly determined by genes and other things like obesity. Research shows that obese individuals are four times more likely to to get arthritis than leaner individuals.
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Going back that what I said about Mother Nature.... James Fries (the leader of the Standford research) says, "Normally functioning joints can withstand and actually flourish under a lot of wear," In a recent Time article, he explains that healthy joints depend on movement because cartilage depends on the "pumping action generated by movement to get its regular dose of oxygen and nutrients. When you bear weight, [the joint] squishes out fluid, and when you release weight, it sucks in fluid." This is why daily exercise (including running) is good for keeping that cartilage healthy. Obese individuals may have an increased risk of arthritis because the added weight they're carrying is putting constant stress on their joints while at the same time, they're probably not very active so their joint cartilage isn't benefiting from that"squish factor."

The key is to avoid overuse injuries. Even though your joints like the exercise, you still need to incorporate rest into your running/exercise program. Your body needs time to regenerate and repair which in return builds up your body making it stronger. Another way to avoid overuse injuries such as stress fractures is to increase muscular strength. "Increasing muscular strength" is a phrase that often scares runners because they think it means adding bulk. However, you can increase muscular strength as well as muscular endurance without bulking up. If you focus on lighter weights and more reps, you're not going to end up with the "Arnold look."

Think about it. If you strengthen the muscles not only is this going to protect/support your bones, it's also going to help protect those joints. Your calve muscles are natural shock absorbers for your lower body. You don't need "boulder calves", but if you increase your calf strength, you'll increase their shock-absorbing capabilities at the same time. (Side Note: once during a marathon, my calves blew out. As a result, I ended up with a stress fracture in my heel. I now add calf-strengthening exercises to my weekly routine.) A simple way to to this is by doing body-weight calf-raises or standing calf-raises holding light dumbbells.


Your glutes and hamstrings are also great running muscles not only for power and speed, but for shock absorption as well. The ball-bridge-burnout and dead lifts (using moderate weights) are great ways to strengthen those muscles.

Hamstring Exercises with a Stability Ball -- powered by eHow.com

So the next time, someone says, "You know, running's bad for your joints." Be sure to reply, "Nope, actually it's exactly what the doctor ordered!"

And the Winner Is...

Congratulations to Gene Soboleski, the winner of RunnerDudes's AudioFuel/London Marathon Song Nomination Drawing! For the past several day dozens, the blog's readers have been sending in nominations for their favorite running songs. The song nominations were then forwarded on to MusicandMotivation.com, the joint venture between AudioFuel and the London Marathon. The emails RunnerDude received were numbered (in the ordered received) and yesterday those numbers were entered in The Random Number Generator which picked Gene Soboleski's email as the lucky winner. Gene will receive £20 worth of products from AudioFuel. Go Gene!

Once AudioFuel collects all the submitted songs from around the world, they will take the top 10 songs and publish an iMix as the official playlist for The London Marathon. So, check their website next month to see if your nominated song made the Mix! [Click here] to get a free sample from AudioFuel!

Listed below are the songs nominated by the RunnerDude's Blog readers.

Wake Up (Arcade Fire)

Valerie (Amy Wienhouse)

Innocent (Cook)

Good Life (OneRepublic)

High and Dry (RadioHead)

Flower (Moby)

If Tomorrow Was Your Last Day (Nickelback)

Ride Like the Wind (Michael Mind)

Hit the Ground Running (The Doves)

Fire on the Mountain (Greateful Dead)

Long May You Run (Neil Young)

Don't Go (Yaz)

Foo Fighters (Learn to Fly)

KernKraft (Zombie Nation)

Beautiful Life (Gui Boratto)

Let's Get It Started ( Black Eyed Peas)

The Adventure (Angles and Airways)

The War (Angle and Airways)

Battle Flag (Lo Fidelity Allstars)

Kinghts of Cydonia (Muse)

The Suffering (Coheed and Cambria)

Till I Collapse (Eminem)

Do Fries Come With That Shake

Roadrunner (The Modern Lovers)

Ring the Alarm (Beyonce)

For the Love of the Game (Pillar)

Viva la Vida (Coldplay)

Time to Pretend (MGMT)

I Gotta Feeling (Black Eyed Peas)

Keep Up (Hyper Crush)

Ray of Light (Madonna)

Candy Everybody Wants (10,000 Maniacs)

Night Watchman (Tom Petty)

The Distance (Cake)

10 Ways to Pay It Forward

If you're like me, then sometimes your running becomes a very inward experience. You focus on your training, your eating, your runs, and your cross training or you just use the time to think about work, your family, and money issues, or you just think about absolutely nothing. And there's nothing wrong with that. Nothing at all. Running is probably one of the most therapeutic things (and cheapest forms of therapy) a person can do to help them find balance and stay sane in this hectic world of ours.

However, as a runner, I think it's also good to pay-it-forward. You know, give a little back to your fellow running buddies, to that nice lady you pass on the greenway every Saturday (but don't know her name), to the local running shop that helped you pick out just the right pair of shoes, to various mentors who've inspired you along the way, and to the running community (local or virtual) who have contributed to your running in one way or another.

Listed below are 10 ways during 2010 that you can give back to the running community by paying-it-forward. These are only 10, I'd love to here your ideas too!

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1. Invite that colleague at work, at church, in your civic club that 's asked you about your running, to join you for a run. Go easy and show him/her the ropes.

2. Volunteer to help with a local race. Most will love the help!

3. Take that fellow running buddy who is down in the dumps over his/her training to breakfast or lunch and give him/her a pep talk. Encourage. Inspire. Motivate.

4. Find out the name of that unknown runner you pass each week. Let him/her know how inspiring it is to see him/her on your runs.

5. Listen to your running buddies. Find out more about their running experiences. Did they run in college? Did they just start running last year? A listening ear and a genuine interest can be extremely motivating.

6. Share your favorite running routes and in the process you'll probably learn a few new ones yourself!

7. Volunteer your time with a local youth running and/or track team. See if your local Parks and Recreation Department has a youth running program. If not, maybe you can organize one. Or see if there are any non-profit organizations in your community related to helping get our youth fit, such as GOFAR.

8. Be the debater in your running group. There's nothing like runners talking about "runner stuff." Start up a lively (but intelligent) discussion about the latest new running theory, injury-prevention technique, or the best running form. You'll be surprised how much you and your buddies will learn. Even if you don't all agree, if you all go back and investigate a little further the topics you've discussed while on the run, then you'll all be the better for it.

9. Give back to the community. Hold a shoe drive! You can donate the shoes to your local Goodwill Industries or send them to Soles4Souls who will distribute them to the shoeless around the world.

10. Run for a cause. Whether it's for organized groups like Team in Training and Joints in Motion or just your neighbor down the street that's hit some obstacle in their life, sometimes running for something other than the sake of running can bring a whole new element to your sport while at the same time helping others in need.

Whoever Said All You Need to Run is a Pair of Shoes Was Lying

"Garmin - ✔. Water - ✔. Gatorade - ✔. Dry clothes - ✔. Coffee mug - ✔. Headband-✔. Gloves - ✔. Cell phone - ✔. Gu - ✔. (Whoever said all you need to run is a pair of shoes was lying...)" This was posted on Facebook this morning by a running/blogging buddy of mine, Dena just before heading out on her 20-mile run. I couldn't help but chuckle when I read it.

You do often hear (especially by non-runners), "Well, you picked a good sport because all you need are your shoes." I guess maybe that's true if you live in a nudist camp in South Florida. (The closest I've come to that was the Take Pride in Your Hide 5K, but that's a different story.) Anywho...if you're a runner, especially a distance runner, you're well aware that you'll need more than those shoes. (Funny, my barefoot running buddy, Josh, will tell you, you need everything, but those shoes.)

Even if you're a shorter distance runner, you're going to need some basic attire and equipment. In the summer you're going to need moisture-wicking, technical-fabric shorts and tops. In the winter you'll also need moisture-wicking clothing, but in the running tights, and long-sleeve variety. Plus you'll probably need some additional layers for warmth. Ca-ching, Ca-ching....

And summer or winter, don't forget that hat. You'll need a visor to keep the sun off your face and out of your eyes in the summer, and during the winter you'll need a hat with more head coverage to keep all your heat from escaping out your noggin. 100% UV protection shades are a must for the eyes as well as sunscreen for the ole bod (year round). Ca-ching, Ca-ching....

And don't forget those socks! They're not cheap either! Ca-ching....

If you're running less than an hour you probably won't need a lot in the way of hydration or energy supplements (depending on the temp). But if you're going those longer distances, you'll need to add the expense of a sports drink and probably some sports gels. And for those longer runs you'll probably want one of those hydration belts to carry all those goodies. Ca-ching, Ca-ching....

If you're a gadget hound or someone who likes to keep track of all your training statistics, you've probably doled out a few hundred dollars for a GPS such as a Garmin or Nike's version. Oh and then there are heart-rate monitors that are just as popular. Ca-ching, Ca-ching.... And what about those rainy days? Are you one of the thousands who spent thousands on a treadmill last year? Ca-ching, Ca-ching...

Do you race? I remember the days of $10 and $15 registration fees for 10Ks! (Okay, so I'm old.) Today expect to pay $25, $30, $40+ and for a half or whole marathon expect to pay $60-$100+ then add in the travel and lodging expenses, if the races are any distance from where you live. Ca-ching, Ca-ching....

Now back to those darn shoes....even if you rebel and insist on wearing your short gym shorts from the 70s with the white piping, your cotton tube socks with the color bands at the top that go all the way to your knees (thinking that will count as a sunscreen), and a stretchy terry-cloth headband to keep the sweat out of your eyes, you're still going to end up shelling out quite a chunk of change for those shoes (well, unless you're my friend Barefoot Josh).

Okay, so running isn't the cheapest sport. That's okay. We love it anyway. Heck, most of us are addicted to checking out the latest shoes or testing out the latest nutrition, energy, and hydration products on the market. Chances are that you make a monthly if not weekly visit to the local sporting goods or running shop to check out all the new gear (don't worry, I won't tell). And we look forward to the next race for which we're training even though we might have to take out a home equity loan to pay for the registration, air fare, hotel, and food for the trip.

So, they next time someone says, "Well at least with running all you need is a good pair of shoes." just pat them on the shoulder and say, "Bless your heart."