With two weeks to go until the Boston Marathon, it is a good time to reflect on one of Boston’s greatest runners – Bill Rodgers. Few runners have matched the running success of “Boston Billy.” Between 1975-1980, Bill won the Boston and New York Marathons four times each. He is the only runner to have […]
High Mileage and Ultra Marathoners – A Case Study
The Western States Endurance Race took place last weekend. The race, which is run on trails of California’s Sierra Nevada mountains, is 100 miles long and runners climb a cumulative total of 18000 feet. It is one of the most famous ultra marathons in the world and one of the most challenging tests for any […]
The Chasquis – The Runners Who Supported An Empire
It is easy to take for granted the speed at which we can send letters and packages in today’s world. Even more amazing is the speed at which an e-mail can be sent to the far corners of the Earth. However, we are not the only culture that has had a rapid postal system. Surprisingly, […]
History of the Marathon
The marathon is one of the most popular running race distances in the world. Most runners know where the term “marathon” comes from – it’s the story of the ancient Greek runner Pheidippides. In 490 B.C., Pheidippides ran 24.85 miles from the town of Marathon to Athens to tell the Athenians of the incredible victory […]
Cross Country in the Olympics
Watching the Olympic Opening Ceremonies tonight reminded me of the fact that cross country running is not an Olympic sport. With the shear number of sports that are now in the games, the obvious question is why not cross country? Surprisingly, cross country has been run at the Olympics in the past. There were cross […]
