Running Shorts

I've been on a real nutrition kick lately. I mean, not like actually eating well (yet), but more learning about how to properly fuel the body for athletic performance. Consider it the precursor to better eating habits. For most of my running career I haven't been too concerned with nutrition. And, quite frankly, for 5k and 10k performance it's not really that  important. Your body can run a decent 5k off of cookies and candy. As I've been getting into marathon training, however, I'm starting to realize that everyday nutrition is much more important to your performance. Like I've told some of my friends who've also gotten into marathons, you can gut out a quality 10k, but you can't fake a marathon. Even though I'm not running a marathon in the near future, I'm certainly doing marathon training...hence the nutrition kick. So what's the difference between a 5-10k and a marathon? Without getting too scientific and complicated, it's actual...

Ross Park hosts one of Cincinnati's hidden gems: a crushed gravel track. When it comes to an extensive, linked trail system for soft-surface running, Cincinnati is pretty lacking. There are lots of small trails that are really good for little snippets of a run, but not a whole lot in the way of trails for the full distance of a run. Enter Ross Park. Now, every track is by default a soft surface, but there's just something more natural and primal about running on dirt and gravel. I think it's the steady crunch of the rocks underneath each stride that really does it. Ross Park is nestled right at the interchange of I-75 and the Norwood Lateral, in the city of St. Bernard. The track itself is tucked behind a baseball field and tennis courts, held off the highway by a concrete barrier. So it's not the most scenic area...but it's a gravel track! It looks short. Looking at it and running on it, I could swear it's not a full 400 meters; but accordingly to online m...