Scott Fauble Training Log

Congratulations to Scott Fauble for a fantastic sub 2:10 Boston marathon! Scott runs for Northern Arizona Elite coached by Ben Rosario. Scott is one of the few elites that post their workouts online for everyone to see. I love the transparency at NAZ Elite!. Scott and Ben also collaborated to document their preparation that led to a 7th place finish at the New York City Marathon last fall. Inside A Marathon.

Dathan Ritzenhein's is Sharing His Build-up for Boston at Competitor Running!

It's rare that professional runners share their training, but 3-time Olympian Dathan Ritzenhein is doing just that at Competitor Running.

Interesting to note that 2 of his workouts last week included 5 x 1.5 miles and 4 x 2 miles @ marathon goal pace.

Free Boston Marathon Webinar Series!

Check out the free Boston Marathon webinar by running coach Greg McMillan. They kicked off on Jan 15 but each session is recorded and available at McMillan Running.

Ryan Hall Impressive Tempo Run 3 Weeks Before His 2:04:58 at Boston in 2011

Nice workout, but I was shocked to see Hall's apparent reliance on sports supplements. Hopefully he was just going over the top to endorse his sponsors and doesn't actually eat that way. Unfortunately, Hall hasn't finished a marathon since the 2012 Olympic Trials.

Slow Motion Video of Boston Marathon Winners

Note the foot plant of Boston Marathon winner Geoffrey Mutai and second place finisher Moses Mosop. No heel first striking for these guys!

Next, take a look at the women, in particular 2nd place finisher Desiree Devila. When I was watching the race live, I couldn't believe all the wasted upper body movement by the Kenyan women. Looking at this clip, it's clear that Devila, who I thought had beautiful upper body running form, is a very prominent heel striker. It makes me wonder if this isn't something she could work on changing.

BOSTON!

I didn't plan it, but woke up right at 11 pm and flipped on the TV- surprised to find coverage of the Boston Marathon just starting.

AMAZING! I'll admit right here- I've been critical of Ryan Hall in the past for not racing more frequently, but this was simply unbelievable! Could he have run faster had he not jumped into the lead so early and run a more tactical race? I'll say probably, but how can you knock a guy that just ran the fastest time ever by an American (2:04:58)?

Kenyan Geoffrey Matai won the race in 2:03:02, the fastest marathon ever (this will not count as a WR since Boston is a downhill course)

And believe it or not, the women's race was even better. Underappreciated Desiree Davila , who was never even #1 on her team at Arizona State, showed the world what hard work can do. During the last 5 kilometers, it was clear that Davila held her form much better than her Kenyan rivals-to me it looked like they were all over the place with their arm swing. I thought all the way that Davila looked like she had a real shot at winning- just a gutsy performance. If you saw winner Caroline Kilel sprawled on the pavement after the finish, it was clear that Desiree did what she could to make her earn the victory.

Do not overlook the effort by Kara Goucher, who finished 5th in 2:24:52 less than 7 months after the birh of her son!

Tailwind or not, this was an amazing marathon. Results

Strong Tailwind Predicted at Boston

Just like 1994! I was 40 at the time and remember seeing the cups blowing by me at aid stations! Everybody ran fast that year, including me! I finished in 2:34, a time occasionally fast enough to sneak into the top 10 in the masters division. Turns out 10th was something like 2:25, with Doug Kurtis's 2:15 leading the way.

Up front, Cosmas Ndeti set the course record in 2:07:15 and Uta Pippig did the same as top female in 2:21:45. Heinz Frei set a world record in the wheelchair division in 1:21:23 as did Jean Driscoll in 1:34:22 (Boston Marathon winners)

If this weather holds, we could be in store for another record-breaking day. Good luck everyone!

Boston Marathon- CLOSED in One Day!

Time to tighten up on those qualifying standards. Plenty of very disappointed runners out there- wow.

Boston Athletic Association"... is concerned about maintaining quality not quantity"

Masters Legend Doug Kurtis Running Marathon Number 200

Lots of people (i.e. Marathon Manics) have run 200 marathons, but if you calculated his average finish time, I doubt anybody who has run 200 comes close to Doug Kurtis. Headsweats ambassador and marathon running legend, Doug Kurtis, is getting ready to run his 200th marathon on October 17th at the Detroit Free Press Marathon. Kurtis, 58, was a former director of the marathon

I have a couple of Doug Kurtis stories. Years ago I was on a 17 mile run in Stuart Florida and spotted a runner up ahead as I ran the Hutchinson Island stretch between Stuart Beach and Jensen Beach. I caught the guy and recognized him immediately- turns out his parents had a condo. We had a nice chat about training, etc. Cranking out a sub 2:20 marathon a month as he was doing back in those days, his long workouts were easy 7 min miles. As I recall he normally did one interval session a week but that was a long time ago.

At the 1994 Boston Marathon, I was 40 and looking for a masters PR. We had a tailwind, and I had an exceptional race finishing 2 hr 34, which I felt put me in the hunt for a top 10 finish. I went to the awards ceremony and 10th Masters Men was announced- 2 hr 25! Kurtis won that year in a masters course record of 2:15. I was 19th.

The Boston Marathon ATT Athlete Alert Program

Nice feature- go to baa.org, look up a runner's bib number, then text runner to 31901 for instructions- you can get splits at 10K, half marathon, 30K and finish. ATT Athlete Alert Program.

Volcano Erupts Boston Marathon Plans for up to 600 Runners

"Just when you thought you've dealt with everything, now you can throw volcanoes into the mix," Guy Morse, Executive Director of the Boston Athletic Association, said. "we are preparing the best that we can to accommodate those athletes when they arrive, be it Sunday night or whenever it is. The situation will play out over the coming days. It's too early yet to tell exactly how many athletes will be impacted by this travel situation."

"It took me nine tries and 13 years to qualify for Boston, which I finally did. When I got the news yesterday about the volcano, I just laughed. Qualifying for Boston is a lot like finally marrying the girl you dreamed about all of your life only to learn that you make yourself miserable. Oh well. If I can't make it in I'll just hope for better luck next year." -American runner stranded in London


-Volcano making travel a pain in the ash

12 Year Old Leukemia Patient Running Boston

Jimmy Fund clinic patient Ronald Agostinelli, 12, of West Roxbury, is participating in the 114th Boston Marathon as part of the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge Patient Partner program. -wickedlocal.com

MY COMMENT: Stay strong Ronald! Be sure to check out the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge website- impressive!

A Must Read -Especially If You Are Running Boston

Boston is a downhill course!

...that a series of eccentric strength exercises done two weeks before a downhill run reduced both DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) and the amount of strength loss. The researchers believe that the prior training does two things to help your muscles adapt to the stress of downhill running. It builds more sarcomeres which build a longer, stronger muscle. The prior training also teaches your neuromuscular system to dole out the force more equally among your muscle fibers reducing the chances of damage to one motor unit. -runningtheplanet.com

It's not too late to make a huge difference- if your legs are not prepared for the downhills I guarantee you will be very sore after this one. According to this article just one or two hard eccentric workouts will help.

See the Entire Boston Marathon Course in 8 Minutes