Sunday, I was running the bike and bridle trail at Umstead when I came upon a sizable obstacle: a phalanx of hikers bearing backpacks spanned the width of the trail, spilling over onto the shoulders. The trail is quiet generous, a converted fire road that should be capable of handling boatloads of trail users without conflict. Provided those trail users are cognizant of other trails. Which brings us to today’s…
Jeff in Portland, Ore., writes: “Arrgghh . . . And just when I thought my 3 to 4 times per week of hitting the gym was an extraordinary feat. The recommendations from this study seem to support a growing consensus among researchers that ‘more is better’ when it comes to exercise.” The study Jeff refers to is the latest finding to emerge from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory scientist Paul Williams’…
Raleigh will break ground in April on one of its most anticipated stretches of greenway: the 3-mile House Creek Greenway. Runners, bikers, distance walkers and other greenway enthusiasts have been especially interested in the greenway because it will link the 11 miles of completed Crabtree Creek Greenway to the east with about 14 miles of greenway running from Meredith College, over I-440 to the N.C. Museum of Art, then along…
Jill Malley knows more about competition than she thinks. “You’re doing great,” she said over my shoulder as I pedaled hamsterlike on the stationary bike. Then, leaning in, she added confidentially, “You’ve gone farther than anyone I’ve seen so far.” Nothing like a well-timed stroke to keep a guy from dialing back the stationary bike just when he thinks he’s had all he can take of going nowhere fast. So…
There’s nothing like good news from the scientific community to spur interest in a given exercise: We’re all open to the latest magic bullet when it comes to getting in shape or improving performance. We’re even more susceptible when that magic bullet includes the promise of health minus hurt. Which is why a study appearing last week in the journal Nature suggesting that running barefoot may help prevent injury has…
In the midst of Saturday’s snow and ice storm, Jon Hayden of Holly Springs went for an 18-mile run wearing a pair of $5 water shoes from Walmart. The water shoes, a thin glove of rubber and mesh intended for a hot summer day at the beach, were a concession: Hayden, a marathoner, prefers to run in his bare feet. Why? It’s easier on his body. To non-runners that may…
I wanted to surf, but grew up a thousand miles from the nearest ocean. I wanted to be a synchronized swimmer, but the only guys who did it were these two. I wanted to play pro football, but my hair hurt when I took off the helmet. So I did other things. Things that a 12-year-old didn’t have to hitchhike a thousand miles to do. Things it was socially acceptable…
I love carrots, crave them. Couldn’t press on without ‘em. If I can’t envision a carrot in the distance, I’m hard pressed to roll out of bed and go for an early morning run or ride, let alone in 20-degree weather. So today, a few carrots to motivate you through the cold challenge of winter. Tame the Tyger River Race and Festival 7.75-mile race/recreational float on Class II water April…
The emailroom here at GGNC gets inundated with enewsletters, and frankly, most are enews in ename only: most are eblabla. The staff is instructed to throw most in the circular efile. The January 2010 enewsletter from the Friends of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail is an exception, chock full of news on several fronts. We’ll get to those fronts in a moment, but for the benefit of those of you not familiar…
On this morning’s ride at Umstead with Alan and Tim, the conversation ranged, as it will on a good ride, from “Avatar,” to dinosaur dung http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coprolite to, of course, biking. Alan and Tim are strong riders, and you might expect their end of the discussion to focus on training, technique, gear. And there was some of that. But what really got Tim going was a 25-mile Carolina Tarwheels group ride…