Believe it or not, ORB is officially 1 year old. Time has gone by so fast that it’s actually 1 week and 1 year!!! Who would have thought that 1) I would have found time to keep providing content to this website (181 posts) and 2) have enough things to write about!!!

What originally started as a place to write down the many random thoughts that passed thru my brain while running has now taken on many forms:

• Spirituality – After reading “Running the Spiritual Path” by Roger D. Joslin, I committed my time running to giving that time back to God. What better way to spend hours of solitude than sharing that time praying and meditating?
• Runner Safety – Finding myself running early in the mornings, I saw many runner’s in danger on our roadways. It has been a goal of mine to share what I’ve learned and read so that many more runner’s will be more visible while running. It went so far as Troy’s post on “Dexting” getting him interviewed in Runner’s World for Liz Robbins’ article Collision Course.
• Encouraging Others towards Fitness – With the creation of the Fargo Fitness Challenge, I’ve now embarked on another passion, encouraging others to take up running. I know what running has done for my health and if I can get one person off the coach and back into fitness, I’ll consider this one a success.

I would personally like to thank the nearly 3,500 people who have come to this site from over 50 countries and every U.S. state. To the many friends that I have met here, I’m glad that this site has been a conduit for some really great stories and friendships that span the globe.

Who knows what the future holds but if it’s anything like the last year, it’s anybody’s guess!!!

RMFR (also another thing that came about over the last year and my proudest accomplishment)

Like most of you, I tear thru my Runner’s World magazine the second I pull it from the mailbox. In the January 2010 issue was a article on runner safety that you just have to read. Runner safety is one of the things we try to stress here at One Runner’s Brain and if we can influence just one runner to be safer on nations roadways, we’ll consider it a success.

In fact, our own Troy Schrenk was quoted in the article (p. 87) and you can read the post that got him quoted by clicking here.

Collision Course by Liz Robbins paints a picture of what we face as runners and many ways to Be A.W.A.R.E. of our surroundings and stay safe while running. You can read the whole article online but I wanted to stress some of the “Rules of the Road” mentioned in the article.

Rules of the Road

• Don’t assume a driver sees you. In fact, imagine that a driver can’t see you.
• Run against traffic so as to view (and react to) any mistake an advancing motorist may make.
• At a stop sign or light, wait for the driver to wave you through – then acknowledge with your own wave.
• Allow at least three feet between you and a passing vehicle.
• Be prepared to jump onto the sidewalk or shoulder of the road.
• During group runs, go single file when cars need to pass.
• Use hand signals to show which way you plan to run.
• Respect drivers’ right to the road.
• Run with proper I.D., and carry a cell phone with emergency contacts taped to the back.
• Check with the police for local traffic rules.

RMFR

A lot of runners (myself included) are gearing up for our last race of the year. This means we’re putting together our last long runs of our training and being the end of the year, we’ve put on a lot of miles!!! With all the time spent on the road and trails your body can be wearing down. When you wear down, you’re more prone to injury. When you’re injured, you can’t run/race to your full potential. Herein lies the question: When is it time to push thru pain and when you should you stop and get medical help?

As runners, we’re all had to suck it up on a run when we haven’t felt our best – developed a cramp or run on sore/tight muscles. Some of us can suck up the pain and work thru it – benefitting from our “don’t quit” work ethic. But what if the pain is something more serious such as stress fractures? It’s a fine line and one that only you can answer. For me, I lean on the side of caution. Any sharp pain is a warning sign and something to be closely examined.

Liz Robbins recently wrote an article on this subject: Marathon Runners Mull the ‘D Word’ (you have to love real writers that our runners. It makes what I write look like something you scrap off the bottom of your shoe).

I’m not a medical professional and would never pass myself off as someone with any medical knowledge whatsoever. The only advice I can give you is thru experience. Push yourself but listen to your body. If you can make it thru a grueling workout you’ll be better off in the long haul. If it’s a pain that just doesn’t feel right, stop. If it turns out it’s something minor, there’s always tomorrow’s run.

There’s a book out that I can’t wait to read. The title is “A Race Like No Other” by Liz Robbins and the paperback hits the shelves September 22nd.

When you think of iconic marathons, the New York City Marathon and Boston Marathon have to be right on the top of your list. Since it’s pretty much a given that I will never qualify for the Boston Marathon, that only leaves me one option. I’ve never really thought about running in New York and to be brutally honest with myself, I’ve never really thought of myself as worthy enough to run in the race.

After reading the reviews on Amazon and reading Liz’s blog on the book, I think this might be the very thing I need to kick start my dreaming for running New York.

I love reading about running but I hate reading about the technical side of running. I enjoy the human interest stories that relate to running. When I get my Runner’s World every month, I skip to the feature story towards the back. Sure, I’ll take a peak at nutrition, running tips and shoe reviews but it’s the inspiring stories that I’m thinking about when I run.

That’s what’s so intriguing about this book. Not only does it look like to capture the spirit of the New York City Marathon but it also takes a look thru the eyes of regular runners like you and I that have stories to tell. Time will only tell if I ever run in New York but until that time, I’ll have to rely on Liz’s account.