Several new Maryland laws take effect today that benefit cyclists.

• The 3-Foot passing law requires motorists to give cyclists a three foot buffer when passing.

• Cyclists are no longer required to ride on the shoulder of the road.

• Maryland is required to construct sidewalks or bike paths in areas where their absence is a public safety risk or impediment to public access.

• The state is also required to provide a balance of funding for pedestrian and cycling projects alongside new highway construction in transit oriented areas.

These new laws will help make Maryland a safer place to ride. But, the law I see making the biggest difference for everyone who uses Maryland roads is the ban on handheld cell phones. The law is only a secondary offense, but as a cyclist, I will feel a little safer sharing the road with a smaller percentage of distracted drivers.

Posted by Jerry Jackson at 6:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Bicycling, Politics
        

Mike Dresser over at the Getting There blog has written about a 5k run/walk that will be held Oct. 17 on the Intercounty Connector.

The event will be a fundraiser for Special Olympics Maryland.

Check out Mike's post for more information.

Posted by Anica Butler at 3:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

On Tuesday, I admitted that I don't run when it's raining outside.

But after getting so many encouraging and inspirational replies, I decided that I'd give running in the rain a shot today, when I was scheduled to run 5 miles.

But once I saw that the forecast called for heavy rain, flooding, and the possibility of tornadoes and/or hail, I again stayed in bed, and packed my gym bag for hitting the treadmill later.

So, for those of you who regularly run in the rain, did you brave today's weather? I'm curious about other people's cutoff -- at what point is there just too much rain/snow/cold/hazardous weather conditions?

UPDATE: I'm especially curious about those training for one of the Baltimore Running Festival races. It's making me nervous that my schedule is getting thrown off so close to the race!

photo by Sun photographer Jed Kirschbaum

Posted by Anica Butler at 12:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
Categories: Running
        

Three time Tour de France winner, Alberto Contador, was suspended today after it was announced that he tested positive for a banned substance on the last rest day of this year's tour. The Spaniard tested positive for the anabolic agent clenbuterol. He claims that the positive test came from eating bad meat.

This comes a day after an exercise physiologist for Lance Armstrong’s Team RadioShack testified before a federal grand jury about doping in cycling.

Reuters photo by Lionel Bonaventure

Posted by Jerry Jackson at 10:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Bicycling
        

It's been a long time since high school in Michigan. That's the last time I was injured seriously: Specifically, a pulled muscle in the ninth grade that stalled cross country training for a month.

Now, however, I'm starting to feel creaky again. Ligaments don't fit together quite right while I'm going down stairs. An ankle that always feels like it wants to pop takes longer to warm up when I'm running. I've started using a lower gear when I occasionally bike to work, in the hope that I can keep my left hip happy.

None of these issues seem to have been serious, mainly because I'm cautious (and lazy) enough to stop running for up to a month at a time when it seems prudent -- something this story discusses in detail.

With Philadelphia approaching, I feel like I'm running out of time for caution, but if my choice is between a slower marathon and a permanent injury, I'll take the former.

Share your injury stories. They're probably more interesting than mine.

Posted by Patrick Maynard at 10:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Injuries, Philadelphia
        

While other runners measure their success based on minutes per mile, I've always based my feelings of accomplishment on whether I could run from my house to Druid Hill Park, around the lake and back without stopping for anything but traffic. While biking, it's not the miles per hour, but how far I go past Monkton on the NCR trail. In the pool, I'm not trying to keep up with the masters swimmers in the lanes next to me. I'm trying to get as close to a mile as a I can before I reward myself with time in the hot tub.

A few years ago, while training for a sprint triathlon, everyone's first question was, "what finish time are you hoping for?" I was just hoping to finish. My goal was to cross the finish line at a pace still considered at least a jog.

It's not that I don't push myself. I do. I get my heart rate up. I get good and sweaty. But my lack of speed does keep me from doing certain things. I'm reluctant to join a running group or even run with neighbors and friends. I don't want to hold them back. And I really don't want to be the last one to finish a training run. But I also don't want to try to shave 3 minutes off my per-mile time. That sounds too ambitious and painful. I haven't joined masters swimming because I don't want to be the bottleneck in the lane or, worse yet, have people trying to swim over me. For now, I can still beat my six-year-old in a bike race. That's good enough for me.

Posted by Leeann Adams at 2:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
Categories: Running
        

One Less Car celebrates bicycling in Baltimore this Sunday with the annual Tour du Port. Starting in Canton, five routes ranging from 13 to 65 miles will explore waterfront communities in Baltimore. 

Online registration is still open today and bike-in registration will be available Sunday morning.

A post ride celebration with live music and lunch will be held from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm. in Canton's Waterfront Park at the Korean War Memorial. 

top: Baltimore Sun photo by Algerina Perna

Posted by Jerry Jackson at 11:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Bicycling, City of Baltimore
        

The 2011 Maryland Half-Marathon will be held in Howard County after previous being held in Timonium.

I'm about equidistant from both places, so it won't really affect me much, but I imagine that some of my old Anne Arundel buddies might be more tempted to try it this spring, which makes it a bit more likely that I'll be attempting it.

What about you? Does this make the trip easier, or did you prefer the old location?

Posted by Patrick Maynard at 9:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

In case you missed it... Baltimore was recently named a Bike Friendly Community by the League of American Bicyclists.

After three years of trying Baltimore received a bronze designation joining the ranks of Washington, Philadelphia and New York among others.

What does this mean and where do we go from here? According to the LAB, "A bronze is a much better community for cycling than one that is turned down for an award, but still has a long way to go before becoming platinum."

Posted by Jerry Jackson at 2:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)
Categories: Bicycling, City of Baltimore, Philadelphia
        

I am Jerry Jackson and I am NOT a fitness fanatic. I don’t belong to a gym. I eat fast food too often and have a notorious sweet tooth. I do ride my bike, but not for my health. I ride my bike for fun. Fitness is just a side effect.

I was a runner as a kid and I belonged to a gym several years ago, but each of those forays into a healthy lifestyle ended soon after they became more work than play. Cycling is the one sport that has been a constant in my life for the past 30 years. I figured out that the key is variety. When I start feeling burned out riding a regular route on the road, I head to the trail on my mountain bike and the fun is back.

We have a lot of great places for riding in Maryland both on and off-road. I plan on sharing some of my favorites on this blog and hope to hear about more from you.

Posted by Jerry Jackson at 11:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Bicycling, Introductions
        

My training schedule called for me to run an easy 4 miles this morning. But when my alarm went off, it was not only still dark outside, but damp and rainy too, which made it easy for me to get back under the covers.

Training is a must-do at this point, with only 18 days (eek!) until the Baltimore Running Festival. Which means, I'll packing my gym bag and hitting the treadmill later -- one of my most hated chores.

I know I'm supposed to still run when it's raining. After all, it could pour on race day. But it's the one thing that will almost always keep me inside. So, if anyone has any tips to help me motivate (or keep dry!) I'd love to hear them. Anyone else hitting any bumps in these last few weeks before the big race? If so, I'd love to hear about them.

Posted by Anica Butler at 9:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (15)
Categories: Running
        

... but Portland, which is famous specifically for walkability, came in at number nine. That means I treat this compilation with even more skepticism than the healthy dose usually allotted for this type of ranking. (Laura Vozzella writes a bit more about the frequently shaky nature of these lists in this classic post.)

See some perspective from our sister papers in L.A. and Chicago (ranked 13th and 5th, respectively) here. Full results here.

What do you think they got right? What was off-target? Leave a comment.

Posted by Patrick Maynard at 4:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: City of Baltimore, Media, Walking
        

About this list: By default, I make an effort to list all advertised, publicly accessible Maryland running and walking events within the next week. If you want to highlight a race outside of Maryland (or just want to make sure your race is included), please send me an e-mail with the subject line “Race listings.” The message must include a direct link to your race’s webpage, and it must be submitted at least two weeks before the event.

Posted by Patrick Maynard at 3:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
        

This morning's print edition of the paper included this piece by Andrea Walker, discussing a city campaign for healthier living. Ray Rice is among those helping with the effort.

For those who are interested, the kickoff event starts in about an hour at hour, with the mayor guiding a walk from City Hall to the Harborplace Amphitheater.

To read more about the event and surrounding Healthy City Days initiative, check out the full article.

Posted by Patrick Maynard at 11:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: City of Baltimore, Politics, Walking
        

I’m Patrick Maynard, and I’ll be writing about running and walking for this blog. At 501 N. Calvert Street, I twiddle knobs and switches on the Baltimore Sun’s cluster of related sites. While I have writing experience with other papers and have written a few briefs and short pieces for the Sun, I’ve mainly been a tech and presentation guy during my time here.

I enjoy racing occasionally, but I’m no Maurice Pointer, so if you have a favorite hike, race or other on-foot topic to rave about, there’s a good chance that it’s new and interesting to me: Send me a note about it, or leave a comment. I’m looking forward to hearing from you.

Posted by Patrick Maynard at 8:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Introductions, Running, Technology, Walking, Working
        

Welcome to Exercists, the Sun's new blog about exercise and fitness!

Here, you'll find daily blog posts about running, walking, cycling and swimming, the latest fitness trends and gadgets, tips for getting started and advice on balancing a healthy lifestyle with a busy one.

We'll also have guest posts from nutritionists and trainers, and soon we'll start with regular features, like gadget reviews and profiles of regular people who've made fitness a part of their lives.

And we want to hear from you! If you've got a topic you'd like us to explore, a fitness question we can help answer or a group or event you'd like others to know about, drop us a line or post or comment.

Posted by Anica Butler at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)