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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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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Registration for the Marine Corps Marathon begins tomorrow, Feb. 23, at noon.

The race site's registration page currently links to sister events. While it doesn't have the prize purse of Boston, New York or Chicago -- nor even Baltimore -- the MCM is one of the largest races in the country, and with that in mind, I would plan to sign up quickly if you want a spot.

Continue reading "MCM registration opens tomorrow" »

Posted by Patrick Maynard at 3:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Continue reading "Top marathon finishers" »

Posted by Patrick Maynard at 10:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Marine Corps Marathon, Running, Washington
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Jacob Bradorsky of Centerville, Ohio has won the 35gth Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, DC.

More updates to come.

Posted by Patrick Maynard at 10:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Marine Corps Marathon, Running, Washington
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The 2010 Marine Corps Marathon has now passed the halfway point, with the 10K having been completed.

The male and female winners of that event, Mark Pepple and Alemtsehay Misganaw, respectively, are both originally from other areas: Misganaw was registered as a Howard County resident but labels herself a New Yorker, and Pepple came here from New Mexico, where he recently moved after going to school in Gainesville, Fla.

The differences between the two are rather extreme: Misganaw is a seasoned road runner at distances from the 10K to the half-marathon and is sponsored by Adidas, while this is Pepple's first road 10K. Pepple enjoyed the conditions on the course: Though the last hill was "rough," he said the temperature and running conditions were agreeable.

In the marathon itself, Gurmessa Megerssa, who is also listed as a Howard County resident, is in third place as of the halfway mark. Leading is Alexander McGregor of Woodbridge, Va, followed by Kurt Michaels Bozeman of Montana.

Continue reading "Marine Corps Marathon update" »

Posted by Patrick Maynard at 9:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Marine Corps Marathon, Running, Washington, Weekend
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Karla Bruning, the Washington Times' running blogger, wrote a nice piece today about maintaining perspective when goals get delayed. Specifically interesting was how she compared her own problems to those of Ryan Hall, who's in the area right now for the Marine Corps Marathon expo. From Bruning's post:

My doctor postulated that I had a meniscus tear, tendonitis or a pinched fat pad. First, all I could think was, “What? My knees are fat?” Sheesh! And then, “Oh no! Am I going to be able to run the marathon?”

If a pro like Ryan Hall could pull the plug on the big goal in the big race that he’d been training for his entire career, perhaps I could conceive of missing the marathon.

To find out whether Bruning is still planning to run in New York, read her whole post >>

Posted by Patrick Maynard at 5:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Events, Injuries, Marine Corps Marathon, Running
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While not offering specifics, U.S. Marine Col. Dan Choike called the measures -- being developed in conjunction with the FBI and local authorities -- "robust" and said there would be no delays to the race schedule.

Posted by Patrick Maynard at 4:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Marine Corps Marathon, Politics, Running, Safety, Washington
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I'll be doing sporadic updates from Washington on Sunday, giving a few glimpses of how the big race is going.

We won't exactly go nuts on marathon coverage this week, since the Marine Corps event is much less of a local spectacle than mid-October's Baltimore Running Festival. However, I couldn't resist the idea of going down and watching a few friends as they ran this year's race, with a family visit planned after that. If I'm feeling spunky, there might even be some pictures.

See my twitter feed and check back in our Marine Corps Marathon category for my perspective from the Sunday marathon.

Posted by Patrick Maynard at 12:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Marine Corps Marathon, Running, Washington
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What I’m doing: Probably catching up with some buddies in Anne Arundel County. Maybe interviewing people at a race on Sunday.

Why: Last weekend was the running festival, and next weekend will be the Marine Corps Marathon, so this weekend is the best week to take things easy and meet for a relaxed Saturday run/brunch.

What else I recommend: If you just ran the marathon or half-marathon, I recommend not racing at all. Assuming that's not the case, I like the student-public-hybrid nature of the Raven Classic Cross Country 5K (in list below). I would also be interested in how the Goddard Running and Orienteering Club Fall 10K turns out, especially for anyone using it as an offbeat tune-up for the Marine Corps 10K. For a Friday option, there's the MPRC 5K Walk/Run.

Continue reading "Weekly walking/running roundup" »

Posted by Patrick Maynard at 2:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Events, Marine Corps Marathon, Running, Triathlon, Walking, Weekend, Weekly roundups
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A bunch of fitness-related businesses have started a new trade group, acccording to runnersweb.com.

The two main companies involved in Saturday's running festival -- Under Armour and Corrigan Sports Enterprises -- aren't on the initial members list, but Washington Sports and Event Management shows up, as do a couple other East Coast companies and Competitor Group, one of the Marine Corps Marathon sponsors. From the article:

Continue reading "Some local presence in a new triathlon industry group" »

Posted by Patrick Maynard at 12:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Marine Corps Marathon, Triathlon, Under Armour
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