From footEducation, a very useful site created by board-certified orthopedists specializing in the feet and ankles: 

Hallux rigidus is essentially a progressive arthritis leading to stiffness and pain in the big toe joints [Figure 1A -1st MTP joint]. The loss of cartilage, which occurs first along the top half of this joint, is believed to be the result of repetitive jamming as the big toe joint attempts to move upward with each step. This can take many years to develop, but can become quite symptomatic. In the later stages of this disease process, cartilage covering the remainder of the joint surface also erodes, leading to a progressively worse and more bothersome arthritic joint.

Every year since 2005 the New York State Canal Corporation and Parks & Trails New York have done a sample count of trail users.  This annual count is used to develop a comprehensive estimate of trail use throughout the Canalway Trail System.  Decisions regarding design, funding, operation, maintenance and promotion of the Canalway Trail system are based in large part on understanding the volume and nature of trail use.

Two years ago I wrote a summary piece on barefoot running (Proceed with Caution).  A key study I discussed was the pioneering work of Dan Lieberman, Irene Davis and others published in Nature in 2010.  The Harvard scientists examined the running style of some lifelong barefoot runners who happened to be from the Kalenjin tribe in Kenya.  They found that 90% of the experienced barefoot runners in their study landed first either on the forefoot or midfoot before the heel touched down.  This single study result became the basis for many to conclude that forefoot or midfoot landing was the natural running style.

A new study with a different population of lifelong barefoot runners found much more variation in foot strike patterns and suggests there is not a single natural running style. 

Four Hour Marathon Barrier

The graph below from the Athlinks Facebook page demonstrates the power of an arbitrary time goal to shape behavior.  My hypothesis is that somewhere around 20 miles into the marathon, the runners, especially the guys, start doing some mental math:  “Can I get under four hours?  As long as the answer is “Yes,” the runners, especially the guys, do their best to avoid slowing and stay on pace to finish under four hours.  If the answer is “No,” the runners back off the jets and cruise on in. 

Start Logging Your Workouts in 2013

January 1^st is a great day to start a good habit.  You have goals for the new year… maybe to run a PR in the 5K or run enough RROY races to qualify for the Consistent Participant Awards or maybe to run a marathon.  Runners who log their runs are more likely to stick to their training plans and achieve their goals.

Erie Canalway Trail – Closing the Gaps

The third annual Closing the Gaps: A Progress Report on the Erie Canalway Trail 2012 has been posted.  The report, prepared by Canalway Trails Association New York in collaboration with Parks & Trails New York, notes that 2012 was a year of many accomplishments:

Running in Excess – Take 2

In July I wrote about an important review article identifying potential adverse cardiovascular effects from excessive endurance exercise (e.g., marathons, triathlons, ultramarathons, etc.).  I cited the authoritative blog response of Doctor John Mandrola who looked at the pattern of all the studies, and came to the uncomfortable conclusion that:

In some individuals, extreme exercise causes severe heart abnormalities.

This issue completes ten years that this column has appeared in every issue of the GRTC Newsletter.  Here’s how the column was launched in the January – February 2003 issue when the topic was running books for winter reading.

Armstrong and Real Heroes

Andrea: "Unhappy is the land that breeds no hero."

Galileo: "No, Andrea: Unhappy is the land that needs a hero."

-Bertolt Brecht, The Life of Galileo

By now millions of words have been written about Lance Armstrong... from his rise to super-hero status as a cyclist and cancer fighter to his repeated denials of allegations of doping and finally to his precipitous fall from grace (and corporate sponsorship) as the evidence has become irrefutable. The whole thing is an epic story, a modern version of a Greek tragedy of hubris.

A Time to Every Purpose

Fitness and Health Care

There is plenty of research showing that fitness is a powerful predictor of health. For example, in June I reported on two extensive studies following the health outcomes of groups of men and women. A study of over 25,000 adult men showed that overweight and obese men who are fit have a lower relative risk of death than men of normal weight who are not fit.

And, a large study of female nurses tracked thousands of nurses for years to study various factors affecting health. This study found that overweight women who are physically active had a lower risk of death than lean women who are inactive.

Sick Care or Disease Prevention?

10^th Annual Can Lake 50 Ultras

Reversing the Obesity Epidemic

In June I wrote a piece on the epidemic of obesity that has developed in the United States over the last 50 years.  Recently I was pointed to a thought-provoking talk on YouTube analyzing the root causes of the epidemic and pointing toward how the epidemic will be reversed.

Film:  On The Run

Time for something inspiring and amazing… On one of the ultrarunning lists I learned about a fantastic short film about running, Arthur Lydiard’s training methods, the brilliant New Zealand runners of thirty years ago, and the pure joy of running.  The film is professional quality; it won some Film Festival awards.  The scenery will make you want to fly to New Zealand and go for a run.  And you will learn something about how to become a better runner. 

Watch it when you have 20 minutes to spare.  Be sure you watch it to the end.  The clip of the great Jack Foster running down a mountainside at the end has to be seen to be believed.

Sports Drink Industry and Dubious Science

The authoritative British Medical Journal (BMJ) recently published seven important articles concluding that sports drinks are being marketed on the basis on bad science funded by the food industry.  Below are links to the articles and a brief synopsis:

1.     Research: The evidence underpinning sports performance products: a systematic assessment.  There is no compelling scientific evidence that sports drinks improve athletic performance. When the cited literature from websites of sports products were critically analyzed, researchers found 143 of 146 articles were either absent or scientifically worthless. The 3 articles that were scientifically valid each found no benefit to sports drinks.

Shoes Get Their Day in Court

If a company advertises that a product produces a health benefit and cannot prove it does, the company may be accused of false and deceptive advertising  by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) or by a class action suit.  If there isn’t strong evidence to support their claims, the company may have to pay millions to settle the case. 

Shoes that Tone or Not?

Two years ago I wrote an article about shoes from Skechers and Reebok with a rocker bottom design that were claimed to tone the body just by walking or running in them. 

According to the Federal Trade Commission complaint, Reebok made unsupported claims in ads that walking in its EasyTone shoes and running in its RunTone running shoes strengthen and tone key leg and buttock muscles more than regular shoes.  The FTC’s complaint also alleges that Reebok falsely claimed that walking in EasyTone footwear had been proven to lead to 28% more strength and tone in the buttock muscles, 11% more strength and tone in the hamstring muscles, and 11% more strength and tone in the calf muscles than regular walking shoes.

Rochester Marathons - 1964 to Present

1964 Rochester Aqua Festival Marathon

GRTC member Jim Ferris recently sent me some photos and scans from the early days of the Rochester Track Club.  Among the items now posted as RTC Photo Scrapbook in our Newsletter Archive was a clipping from the August 26, 1964 Democrat & Chronicle documenting what may have been the first marathon held in Rochester.  The 1964 marathon may have been a one-time event.  The Rochester Track Club Newsletters in the Newsletter Archive don’t mention other local marathons before 1972.

State Bike Routes in our Region

You’ve probably wondered what’s with the funny little green bike signs along Howard Road in Gates, Elmwood in Brighton, Monroe Avenue in Pittsford and Route 31 in Perinton.The marked route doesn’t seem very scenic and has too much traffic to be a recreational route.Is it just a commuter route to the University of Rochester? Nope!  The big picture is something far more compelling. 

The Association of Road Racing Statisticians (ARRS) has reached a significant milestone in its research of the development and history of the marathon.  In December 2011, the ranking list for 1911 was posted, completing a unique set of historical marathon data going back 100 years.  The yearly data sets are organized by individual runner rankings and by marathon finisher rankings.

The table below shows how the marathon was basically a side-show through the 1950s.  Then, perhaps thanks to Wide World of Sports coverage of the Olympic marathon, interest in the long race began to grow rapidly in the 1960s.  Runners of a certain age can remember watching Frank Shorter win the Olympic Marathon in 1972.  The American domination of the marathon in Munich (Shorter – Gold Medalist in 2:12:19, Kenny Moore – 4^th in 2:15:39, Jack Bacheler – 9^th in 2:17:38) lit the afterburners on the running boom that was already taking off in the United States.

You now have approximately 2-3 months until your fall race.  Keep working on consistently following your training plan, both in doing your scheduled workouts and, equally important, allowing enough time for recovery after your harder workouts (long runs, speed work, any races you include in your training).

With the arrival of the long, sunny days of summer, you are going to be doing at least some of your long runs on hot days in the sun.  Following are my suggestions from almost 40 years of long runs and bike rides:

This spring the news hounds of the mainstream media were all over the epidemic of obesity and missed the useful information that being fit offsets most of the negative effects of being overweight.  I discussed this at some length in June.

In the last couple of weeks some in the media have exhibited behavior typical of Dug the Talking Dog and taken off after the perils of excessive endurance exercise.   Leaving aside the very real and pervasive risks associated with an absence of exercise for tens of millions of American, the findings of a recent review article in a modestly circulated journal are being blown out of proportion.

Medved Running and Walking Outfitters recently announced a very ambitious and intriguing program:  The Medved Endurance Project.  The goal for the Project is to run all 560 miles of the Finger Lakes Trail from Allegany State Park to the Catskill Park.  Groups of runners will tackle different sections of the trail on weekend runs with the goal that all of the trail will be visited by Project runners by the end of the summer.

The $65 program fee includes a Project technical shirt, entry in the May 6^th Medved Madness Trail Race, Project Group Runs and Gatherings, store specials and a scavenger hunt.  For more information, email This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Is this the year you decide to answer the sirens' call of the marathon?  The call is seductive and has led many a runner to enter unprepared and run unwisely only to hit the wall and suffer terribly over the finishing miles.  But you do not have to suffer the same fate as the sailors in the Greek myth.  With a moderate amount of training and an appropriate strategy for the race, runners of modest talent can finish a marathon (and even longer races) without hitting the wall (bonking) or falling off your planned pace.

 You only get one chance to run your first marathon, so if this is your year, why not do it right?  I will devote several columns this year to suggestions on how you can successfully run a first marathon, improve on your previous races or maybe qualify for the Boston Marathon.