What’s New

Mr. Quiggly’s Super Bowl Race

We’re already past the point where Super Bowl commercials are as much of a draw as the game itself. Now we’re getting teasers for TV ads before the game. Skechers already released its running-related Super Bowl ad featuring Mr. Quiggly.

You’ll notice he started slow and ran a negative split.

Navigation: An Overlooked Skill in Racing

Tesfaye Sendeku Alemayehu of Ethiopia had his eyes set on beating the Miami Half Marathon course record of 1:03:46. With about a quarter-mile to go, he seemed to have the win and the record well in hand.

That’s when he mistakenly followed the lead vehicle for the marathon into a right turn and up the street.

“I ran for 1:05 and then I looked at my watch and said, ‘Where is the finish line?’ ’’ Alemayehu recounted later.

James Boitt won in 1:06:41. Alemayehu dropped out.

Morale of the story: Include a sextant in your race day gear.

Sh!t Marathoners Say

Sage Canaday of the Brooks-Hanson team has plenty of time on his hands while recovering from his 2:18 finish in the U.S. Olympics marathon trials. So he put together this video of “Shit Marathoners Say.”

My favorite? “I run for a cause.”

Big News! Prince William and Kate Middleton Are NOT Running the London Mile

I love celebrity running news – or not-news, which is what you call all those stories that come out until an actual reporter checks the facts.

“Kate Middleton to Run the London Mile with Prince William”

“Prince William and Kate Middleton To Run Sports Relief Mile”

“Prince William And Kate Middleton To Jog Through London For Sport Relief”

“Kate Middleton and Prince William set to run Sport Relief 2012 mile”

“Prince William and Kate Middleton ‘set to run London Mile for Sport Relief’”

“Kate Middleton set to run Sport Relief Mile, we anticipate her glam workout wardrobe”

“Kate Middleton and Prince William’s Royal run for Sport Relief”

“Kate Middleton and Prince William to do a charity run for Sport Relief”

Just one problem. No one bothered to check with the Prince or Kate or their representatives at Clarence House, which is where they reside. That is, until royal correspondent Victoria Arbiter did:

Just had confirmation from Clarence House that William + Kate are not participating in #SportRelief and so are not running a mile.

— Victoria Arbiter (@victoriaarbiter) January 19, 2012

Oh well, we all know that Pippa is the runner, anyway.

Starlet Wears Vibrams With Evening Gown at Golden Globe Party

Twenty-year-old actress Shailene Woodley, one of the stars of the acclaimed film The Descendants, is a runner and a jogger. After attending the Golden Globes ceremony in the traditional gown and heels, she changed for an after-party into a black floor-length gown and… Vibram Five Fingers.

This caused the celebrity media to go berserk, as dozens of publications dissected her decision.

Fashionista was generally supportive, but suggested ”a chic flat would have done the job, too.”

Crushable opined: “They don’t look particularly comfortable and they definitely don’t complement fancy gowns.”

Jezebel thought the critics were overreacting, but did refer to the Vibrams as “those hideous ‘barefoot’ running shoe contraptions your dad wears on vacation.”

And, as you might imagine, Twitter also exploded.

Ms. Woodley seems unperturbed by the attention. She posted the accompanying photo on her personal web site.

A ballsier move would have been to wear a pair of Brooks Beasts.

The Amazing Wardian

The elite runners who made our 2012 Olympic marathon team deserve all the accolades they get, but one marathoner who didn’t come close to making the team deserves a moment in the spotlight as well.

Michael Wardian is a talented distance runner, but he is better known on these pages as the guy who holds the world record for the fastest marathon run in a superhero costume (a 2:34:56 dressed as Spiderman), and the former record-holder for the fastest marathon while pushing a stroller (occupied by his son, Grant).

This weekend Wardian did something worthy of a superhero. On Saturday, he ran in the Olympic marathon trials, finishing in 62nd place with a 2:21:50. On Sunday, he ran in the Chevron Houston Marathon, finishing in 16th place with a 2:31:17.

“I just like to show people you can do more than you think you can do,” Wardian said. “That’s a pretty neat thing. I have all the responsibilities that everyone who’s not a professional runner has. I have to go to work in the morning. I have a family. And I can still come out on the weekend and make a good effort and run a marathon.”

Still Flogging the Nog Story

Upset about being scooped by Channel 3 on the egg nog jog story, Channel 8 in Cleveland went to the streets and the Internet to provide its own take on this crucial local issue:

 
Once this all blows over, you can use that nog to wash down some doughnuts.