The "Inner" Side of Running

As the owner of a running specialty store, I've met literally thousands of runner's during Fleet Feet Mahwah's seven plus years that we've been in business! Each runner has a special reason for running and each of those reasons are as unique as the runners themselves. Once we get talking, the topic of "personal best" often comes up, and that usually ends up with me and the customer trading stories about our running experiences.

For most, a "personal best" revolves around speed or a time goal for a specific distance. But, can a personal best be measured by other factors than speed?

Cold Weather Running Myths Debunked

Well, Mother Nature must've been reading the deleted e-mails out of East Anglie because this week she's sure put global warming on HOLD!  BRRRRR!

When the weather gets cold, some folks resort to the "dreadmill" to get their miles in but, there's really no need, especially with the technology behind today's modern running apparel.

None the less, when it get cold out, we here at Fleet Feet Mahwah get many questions about cold weather running--we also hear quite a few "whoopers" about outdoor running in the winter.

Let's examine the most popular to separate "Myth" from "Truth!"

Slow Marathoners Re-visited

Not too long ago in this blog, I responded to a NY Times Op-Ed that felt slower marathoners should be banned from racing. You can scroll down to read that post so I won't bore you and repeat that here.


Fleet Feet Mahwah, over the last seven years, for our marathon training program, worked in conjunction with Jeff Galloway, who I've called the "Mick Jagger of road running!"

A Fantastic Fall Run!

I've lived here in Mahwah, "Bergen County's Parkland" for over 15 years. Not only is this area beautiful but it's a stones throw from the Hudson River Valley and Tarrytown, NY, the town of my youth and the place I still call home today. Being so close to "home" certainly has it's benefits for me as a runner because Tarrytown, (Sleepy Hollow to be exact--North Tarrytown to us natives) is home to Rockefeller State Park.

What's The Buzz?

It seems that every publication that writes about running these days publishes a piece on barefoot running. It's a topic that is gaining "traction" as running enthusiasts, on their never ending quest for faster times, push the envelope.

The barefoot craze is fueled by Ken Bob Saxton of California. He maintains that running in shoes, is the antithesis of the way humans were "meant" to run, through the evolutionary process. As such, he maintains that by running in the traditional running shoe, we become less efficient and more prone to injury, which is caused by wearing the running shoe. Studies have been done that do show that barefoot running improves efficiency by about 5%. So, does that mean it's time to toss away your trusty pair of running shoes?

Is Bigger Better?

Last week at this time, many of us were going through our pre-race preparations to run the NYC Marathon. This years race celebrated the 40th running of what is arguably the worlds best marathon. The 2009 edition also boasted the largest field since it's inception with about 43,000 runner's stepping to the starting line. Fleet Feet Mahwah had several of our marathoners at Sundays race as well!

Marathons ARE for Slower Runner's too!

There was an article recently in the New York Times that in essence criticized the New York Road Runner's Club for not having more stringent requirements as to who they let participate in the NYC Marathon. The gist of the article was that the marathon "mystique" is being diluted by slower runners & walkers. To be fair, the article seemed to target folks who were crossing the finish line in 6 hours or more.