In the loopy world of blogs, this is the first post you'll see. For us, it's the last.

From the time this blog launched with several contributors, it has always been in a bit of a gerrymandered space between the sports and health worlds, with some transportation and food thrown in.

We've lost some voices in the year since then, so it's with some relief that those of us still active move to Picture of Health this month. We hope you'll come with us so we won't have to miss you.

It's been fun. Thanks for all the comments!

Photo credit: Getty Images

Posted by Patrick Maynard at 6:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
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Two years ago, Seun Adebiyi was an Olympic hopeful from Nigeria. Those plans were abruptly derailed by preventable medical problems, taking Adebiyi from athletics to activism.

Now, he's one of three people featured in a documentary on the arguably rather unsexy topic of bone marrow compatibility testing. It will be showing in Philadelphia this October. (See the trailer after the jump.)

Continue reading "Coming soon to the Mid-Atlantic region" »

Posted by Patrick Maynard at 11:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Philadelphia
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A WTOP article this morning about Metro being a non-option for athletes at tomorrow's National Marathon left me wondering: How frequently does this kind of logjam occur?

(For what it's worth, spectators can still use the system.)

Continue reading "Comparing marathon start times" »

Posted by Patrick Maynard at 12:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
Categories: Baltimore Running Festival, Marine Corps Marathon, National Marathon, Philadelphia, Running, Traffic, Washington
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A couple weekends ago, my wife and I packed up our dog and headed to Philadelphia. I ran a race, but we also spent some time checking out the tunnel system under the city, known as the Philadelphia Concourse. I was reminded of that yesterday evening on my way home, as I wished for a tunnel that would take me under certain still-icy stretches of Baltimore's street grid.

I won't get that wish anytime soon, but I can at least write about what I learned in the concourse.

When walking in the tunnels on our Philly trip, I initially posited that they might form an interesting route for people seeking winter exercise -- sort of like mall walking. Here's a map of some key spots where we stopped on our walk (with direction of travel roughly clockwise, starting in the south -- you might have to zoom in):

Continue reading "Enclosed walkways for working out: Hit and miss" »

Posted by Patrick Maynard at 1:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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What I’m doing: The Olney Country Road Race looks viable, if I'm up for a Sunday event.

Why: Last weekend's race started a bit late for my taste, at just after 10 a.m.. While I'm normally a big fan of the HCS afternoon runs, I like the Olney race's 8 a.m. start time.

What else I recommend: The GW marathon is a bit out-of-the-way for me, but it looks exciting: It's in its 50th year, so they must be doing something right.

Other options:

Continue reading "Weekly walking/running roundup" »

Posted by Patrick Maynard at 2:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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An area along the river-facing side of Philadelphia's Kelly Drive is known as Boathouse Row, and right on cue, a crew of men glided by as I did a belated warmup this morning for the Cupid's Chase 5K.

I was warming up at the last minute because, like the majority of my preregistered race-mates, I stood in line for a good 25 minutes before getting my race number. That's somewhat forgivable, since this was the event's first year, and the turnout was significantly higher than the slightly green organizers had expected.

Continue reading "Participant's perspective: Cupid's Chase 5K, Philadelphia" »

Posted by Patrick Maynard at 12:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
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In a nearly-dark room, a crowd of people perspire over their labors, feeding the metal machines around them. A taskmaster stands in front of the group, illuminated by a glowing screen that displays their collective output in watts, constantly egging them toward a more productive work session.

It's not a Fritz Lang dystopia or an Apple commercial: It's a Howard County spinning class on a Saturday morning, and the people seem to be enjoying it quite a bit, thank you.

We'll be publishing more details in a day or two, but for now, the basics are that the Columbia Athletic Club installed more than two dozen new bikes in November. Those bikes were then modified by a Connecticut company, which added generators to the mix, along with an inverter -- a file cabinet-sized device that allows the bikes to feed energy back into the public grid.

Continue reading "More fun than blowing at windmills" »

Posted by Patrick Maynard at 4:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
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The expo for the Philadelphia Marathon was pretty packed this morning, but I'm happy to say my packet pickup went smoothly.

Ironically, the presence of a not-so-smooth commuting obstacle for Philadelphia drivers may contribute to an equally fluid experience for those of us racing tomorrow, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. The paper quotes the race's executive director, who says that construction work has eliminated Lemon Hill from the route. That theoretically should make the race easier for me and the other 11,000 runners expected on the marathon course.

I've never run this race before, so while I can safely say that the route is a bit flatter this year, I don't really know the details of what that means -- and to be frank, I'm not going to dwell on it, since I signed up for the purpose of running this race rather than covering it.

Update: Searchable results for this year's events are available here.

Continue reading "Hoping my Philly Marathon time benefits from construction" »

Posted by Patrick Maynard at 10:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Events, Media, Philadelphia, Running, Weekend, Working
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Last year, I asked two of my colleagues to put together a list of advice for first-time marathoners. Although, these thoughtful tips from marathon veterans Liz F. Kay and Andy Green are useful for half-marathoners and 5-k runners as well. I'll post Andy's tips tomorrow.

Here are Liz Kay's suggestions:

I had already won the most important race of the day long before I took a single step in the Philadelphia Marathon last year.

Minutes before I crossed the starting line, I successfully made it to the front of the throng of runners waiting to use the port-a-potties.

 This need to use the facilities added some unexpected excitement to that first marathon — my first race since gym class — but thankfully I had been advised to allot enough time before the race got underway for just such a situation.

 Here are some more tips that experienced runners shared with me before my inaugural athletic event:

Don’t do anything new: Use your training runs to determine what kind of routine works best for you, and try to mimic those conditions on the day of the race.

Your first race is not the time to break out new clothes or to taste-test some new energy bars. You don’t want to discover at mile 11 or 20 that the seams on your new shorts cut into your skin or that your digestive system protests against a certain brand of energy gels. Instead, practice with different forms of nutrition while training so you know how your system will respond.

The same thing applies to your routine the night before a race. Again, test out different meals before your training runs, and the day before your long run, eat what you normally would — hopefully a balanced meal with some protein, carbohydrates and of course some vegetation. Not too much, however (remember the digestive system factor).

Don’t take ibuprofen. Talk to your doctor about any medication you’re taking regularly, but the experts seem to agree that non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs will overstress your system and may actually slow muscle healing.

Continue reading "Baltimore Marathon: Advice for newbies" »

Posted by Anica Butler at 7:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Baltimore Running Festival, Philadelphia
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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.

Continue reading "Are you hurt?" »

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