I started out this year experimenting with HD video but as the year has progressed, my time for shooting and editing video has digressed.

This is a really cool video that was sent to me by Michael Chu. It’s a time-lapse video of the 2010 Chicago Marathon filmed with an HD camera strapped to his head. The photos were taken every two seconds throughout the race. The perfect “pick-me-up” with this year’s race right around the corner.

To view more of Michael’s work, visit www.mikesrightbrain.com. No, the websites are of no relation. Check out this bad ass shot of the marathon – Running Man.

Charles Krupa/AP

The 2011 Boston Marathon was one of the more historic races in recent history. The men’s wheelchair division was decided by a mere 1 second, the woman’s marathon by 2 seconds and the men’s marathon by 4 seconds. Are you serious?

The men’s marathon champion, Geoffrey Mutai, shattered the course record and shaved :58 seconds off the marathon world record (Haile Gebrselassie in Berlin 2008) there is now a storm brewing.

The Boston Marathon is not considered a a world record qualifying course because the marathon route is “downhill” and too “straight.” Throw it a predomently tailwind and all hell has broken loose. The Boston Athletic Association (BAA) is asking the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) to certify Mutai’s performance as the world record.

As fellow Lobe, Troy Schrenk can attest, Boston is no walk/run in the park. Besides the net loss of elevation, there are many rolling hills that make the race one of the more difficult marathons on the major marathon circuit.

There’s a reason that elite marathoners opt for races like the Berlin Marathon, Chicago Marathon and London Marathon to attack world records. They’re easier. Also, Boston (along with the New York City Marathon) don’t allow pace setters. This means that the athlete has to actually get the record based on their own talent and determination.

TANGENT ALERT!!! I don’t have any problem with pace setters. They make for a less tactical race and make the elites throw it down from the start. What I do have a problem with is the fact that the pace setters are contractual obligated to bow out at a specific point of the race. If a pace setter can lead a pack out on record pace and then hold that pace for the entire race…I say let them go for it!!! During the Rotterdam Marathon, Sammy Kitwara set the pace for the marathon field. He was constantly egging the field to keep up with him during his reign at the front of the pack. He should have been allowed to throw down the hammer and finish the race. From the look of it, he could have wiped the rest of the elites out that day.

The majority of the running community is standing by Mutai’s record and I for one hope that the IAAF certify’s it as one of runnings great accomplishments.

RMFR

PRESS RELEASE

Off ‘N Running Tours to start training LA Runners in March for the Athens Classic Marathon this Fall to commemorate the original marathon’s 2,500 year anniversary.

January 29, 2010, Los Angeles, CA – Off ‘N Running Tours, a company dedicated to helping individuals improve their athletic performance, today announced a marathon training program designed to prepare California runners for the Athens Classic Marathon in October. The company will be training and sending hundreds of runners to Athens this Fall so they can take part in this historical yet challenging event along with thousands of other runners.

“We’ve been getting calls from runners all over Southern California who are excited about and interested in running the Athens race, but are concerned about whether they are ready. The Athens Classic Marathon is widely considered to be a difficult race. Runners will need to train for more than they normally would in order to finish this one and is the reason why we are offering a 33-week training program,” said Cheryl Anker, President & CEO of Off ‘N Running Tours.

The annual Athens Classic combines the past with the present, a past that gave rise to the concept of distance marathon races as we know them today. On October 31, 2010, approximately over 10 thousand runners from all over the world will run this event. They are attracted to the experience of running the world’s first marathon course, as well as the opportunity to see historical sites and experience Greek culture.

Starting in March and lasting for 33 weeks, Off ‘N Running Tours will be preparing hundreds of beginning and intermediate runners for this event through their Athens Marathon Training Program. The group will meet on weekend mornings in West Los Angeles/Beverly Hills. In addition to weekly runs, the program fee includes monthly training schedules, scenic training courses for group runs, along with supplementary articles to keep runners “in the know” about current trends in performance, nutrition and running.

For over 15 years, Off ‘N Running Tours has trained California runners for marathons all over the world, such as the LA Marathon, the New York Marathon, the Chicago Marathon, the BMO Vancouver Marathon, the San Francisco Marathon, the Mardi Gras Marathon and the Honolulu Marathon. In addition to marathon training, the company creates and manages convention races nationwide and guided running tours of California. For the association who wants to offer their convention attendees an energizing activity, the traveler who wants to see the Los Angeles area or the local runner who wants to prepare for their next marathon, Off ‘N Running Tours offers something for everyone.

The cost to participate in the training program is $300 for 33 weeks. To register or for more information, visit http://www.offnrunningtours.com/athens-marathon-training.html.

I’m halfway thru the ING NYC Marathon (I recorded it) and wanted to share my notes. What a GREAT day for U.S. distance running!!! These notes are in chronological order so some of it may seem out of place since the race was run nearly 12 hours ago.

• 42,000 runners? Waves of runners starting an hour after the initial gun? In the words of my fellow Norwegians…UFFDA!!!
• Abdi Abdirahman has the coolest nickname (The Black Cactus).
• Meb Keflezighi in the U.S.A. singlet…very cool.
• Looking at Paula Radcliffe run by fast food joints was the ultimate paradox.
• The coolest running scene has to be the mass of running humanity crossing the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge
• I love the fact their were no pace setters. That’s one thing that drove me nuts about the Chicago Marathon. Another thing is that New York separated the women elite from the rest of the pack. I hated the fact that the women in Chicago were running with other runners.
• Kudos to Universal Sports. Without them, running wouldn’t get nearly the coverage it now gets.
• The fluorescent yellow and black that some of the elites were wearing really stood out. Remind me to never to wear fluorescent yellow and black.
• Anybody else wish Kara Goucher was in the race?
• I’m amazed at how efficiently the elites run. Ryan Hall looks like he isn’t even trying.
• Is orange the new black?
• Thought it was funny when the announcers said the women’s time of 1:14:04 at the halfway point was pedestrian. Yeah right!!!
• The fall that Yuri Kano took at the beginning was brutal. Talk about wrong time wrong place.
• Was anybody else trying to will Magdalena Lewy Boulet back into the lead pack when she fell behind?
• The 59th Street bridge looks like a beast.
• How cool was it to see 5 Americans in the 13 runner lead pack at the beginning? Sign of times to come?
• Maybe it was because of the fall but Salina Kosgei runs like she’s falling forward.
• I need to run New York just to experience 1st Avenue in Manhattan. It sounds awesome.
• The slower pace in the middle of the race made for great finishes for the women and men.
• When the pace picked up, the U.S. men (except for Meb) got squashed.
• Central Park looks like a great setting for running. Great backdrop for television.
• What was Ludmila Petrova looking for in the drink cups with a couple miles to go? She grabbed two cups, looked inside them and thru them away. The third one she finally drank from.
• Derartu Tulu ran a great race. She never stuck out the whole race but was always in the pack. You could tell at the end she was going to turn it on and win.
• I haven’t seen the interviews yet but what happened to Paula? She fell off the pace hard.
• Meb had me at full attention at the end when he finally put the move on Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot.
• I get really nervous for the runners with all the motorcycles and media towards the end of races. I just waiting for one of them to clip a runner.
• Meb Keflezighi crosses the finish line in 2:09:15. It’s a GREAT day for U.S. distance running. Now that 1982 has been buried, let’s see if we can roll this into a winning streak.
• Ryan Hall was strong to the end finishing in 4th. Like a lot of people, I was looking for him to break out today. He’ll have his day…no doubt.
• My last note is to Nike. I WANT A U.S.A. SINGLET!!!

Since most of us don’t have Monday off I’ve set the DVR to record the 113th Boston Marathon. For those of you that would like to do the same, it’s being broadcast on NBC’s Universal Sports.

There site has a bunch of interviews and support pieces. I suggest checking it out when you have time. Click here for the Boston Marathon site.

Big running events need to be broadcast nationally. Here’s to hoping that the big five (Boston, Chicago, NYC, London and Berlin) will all be on for us to celebrate in the achievements of our sports best.

RMFR