Running Shorts

In trying to capture the running spirit of days past, I've been especially interested in reading about some of the historic greats. Ah who am I kidding? I'm always interested in learning about running history, but allow me to indulge myself a bit. My interest in doing this particular one was piqued after reading a thread on the r/running  subreddit (yes, I'm a redditor) that was about New Balance shoes. New Balance recently launched a new line of shoes named " Vazee ," and the poster mentioned he had no idea where that name came from. Turns out the name is in reference to a French slang term, " vas-y ," which essentially means "Go!" or "Go for it!" Having worked at a running store, I'd heard this spiel before, but I had to learn more. Not only is the name a fancy French word, but it is also a reference to a popular cheer for former mile world record-holder Michel Jazy (the rhyme really is catchy, it's easy to see why it be...

For those of you deep in the running industry, you may have heard the story that's rocking the US domestic track and field scene. For those of you who haven't read about it, Nike is suing 800m runner Boris Berian for breach of contract. Letsrun has great coverage of the story; here's a link to it. (Sidebar: When is there not  some off-track story rocking the track world? Jeez.) I'm not going to go into my opinions on the story or rehash any of the details here, but I think it brings up an important issue in the sport that everyone wants but no one actually talks about: sponsorship . Every athlete enters to the post-collegiate world wanting some sort of sponsorship, even though just the word "sponsorship" has a nebulous definition. Does it mean a full, professional-scale salary? Gear and a small stipend? Performance bonuses? A pair of free shoes here and there? A logo on a jersey? The real definition is all of the above, which is incredibly confusing. E...

GEAR CHECK is another semi-regular-when-I'm-feeling-it series like the WORKOUT OF THE WEEK and various race recaps. There's a ton of different products out there marketed towards runners, so I wanted to highlight some of the things that I use and what I think about them. It might also be telling the stuff I don't use, but that's a whole 'nother topic. The New Balance 1400v3  (in the pictured colorway, too!) is the shoe I'll be racing in during the Olympic Trials Marathon. I've worn this particular shoe in one previous race and a few workouts as well.  This is my review of the shoe, but it's going to be a little different that most shoe reviews: I'm not going to talk about manufacturer specs or product details or anything like that ; instead, I'm going to talk about how it fits, how it feels, and who it's for. In my opinion, that's the truly important stuff, anyway. How does it fit? This shoe fits like a cross between a pure racin...

Stepping Down in Distance This evening is the Little Kings Mile here in Cincinnati. It's the second leg of the beer series (a series of three races all sponsored by Christian Moerlein brewing) and the first event of Flying Pig weekend . It's also sweet because it's one of the few races in town with an elite element and prize money to boot. I haven't raced a mile in two years, when I competed in the inaugural Little Kings Mile. That, though, was three weeks after my Boston Marathon...so I followed up the longest road race with the shortest. Not an ideal situation, but considering that I still ran decent (4:31 for 4th place). This year I'm not in peak mile shape, but I am in much better than post-marathon shape. I've been getting in some real good base training, with lots of hills and threshold running. While the mile will be a bit of a shock to the system, it'll still be fun to see what I can do. But, if I'm ultimately training for half and full...