Born to Run Marathons?

Right before the New York City marathon, Tara Parker-Pope — ace science writer and editor of The New York Times‘ “Well” section — invited me to crack my knuckles and contribute this essay about my beef with urban mega-marathons. In two words: husbandry and oceanography. November 4, 2010, 12:01 AM Born to Run the Marathon?…

Read More

Lee Saxby, the Barefoot Pro

I’ve had lots of requests to re-post this video, which teaches you how to avoid being a “head-chaser” or a “sticky runner.” In this podcast, Lee Saxby describes the self-coaching exercises he uses to teach barefoot running. Then he shows you how to master them: Learn to Run Barefoot with Lee Saxby and Terra Plana…

Read More

“The New Yorker” teaches Barefoot Running

The New Yorker and Alberto Salazar catch up with the secret the Tarahumara have known for 10,000 years: Walker also began to notice some uncanny similarities among the very best runners. The fastest finishers had a higher thigh drive, for one thing; at its apex, their femur bone was almost parallel to the ground, like…

Read More

Reinventing Running, Nov 5: The Trailer, Pt II.

We’re at D minus 6 till show time: It may teeter toward undignified, but for sheer showmanship I have this hankering to wheel Barefoot Ted on stage for the Reinventing Running cabaret in a handcart wearing a Hannibal Lecter mask. As for one of our other featured speakers — urban paleo explorer John Durant —…

Read More

Born to Run: Training Secrets, Revealed

One of the featured speakers at our “Reinventing Running” event at the New York City Marathon is Eric Orton, the coach who first tempted me with the idea that it was possible to transform yourself from an injured, discouraged, busted-down ex-runner into an ultramarathoner in just 9 months. He did it then, and he’s done…

Read More