I love participating in races. I love the training (well, most of the time), I love the adrenaline, I love the camaraderie. Probably I'd love winning, if I ever did, but as it is, I just love being a part of the event. However, I don't love the impact these events generally have on the environment.

Think about it -- races create a large amount of trash (paper cups, water bottles), cause large numbers of people to travel, and what do you do with all that swag? Maybe you keep it and use it, but lots of people just throw it away. Races can be really wasteful.

Fortunately, they don't have to be. Event organizers have a couple of options if they're hoping to "greenify" their event. Both Athletes for a Fit Planet and the Council for Responsible Sport have several ways to help organizers make their races more environmentally responsible, plus they provide information to athletes who want to make informed choices about their races.

Source

My marathon coach who also happens to be a close pal of mine has taught me that training goes beyond lacing your sneakers and hitting the road. This is why he has given me homework assignments like reading this article in this runner's magazine or logging every little detail about my run. I'm waiting for a pop-quiz somewhere between now and the race.

Anyhow, as I was clicking around Runner's World I noticed their daily training tip section. Today's involved avoiding injuries on treadmills -- where they suggest ensuring that your belt has at least eight square feet of surface area. Wouldn't it seem that all treadmills would be created equal then? Personally, training on treadmills are (yawn) boring to me and it's way too controlled. I'm less likely to stop on the machine, whereas if I'm running outdoors I'm getting the full effect of my body's limits and where I might want to stop.

In short I thought this was a good tip to point out and it looks like you can get several others on a daily basis by subscribing to Runner's World tips by RSS. That is, if you aren't a subscriber already.

Source

A while back on our sister site, Gadling, I made it public that I would be registering and running in my first marathon. Considering I'm not a HUGE running fan, I wanted to prove to myself that after putting in so many walking miles on the Steps Across America tour, I'd be able to push myself and my fitness level a bit further by running a full 26.2 miles. Now onto the training.

To my advantage, a good pal is helping me get started, providing me with reading material, scheduling runs on my calendar, and so on. I'm presently in the middle of Week Three training, with 15 more weeks separating me from the Detroit Free Press/Flagstar Bank Marathon on October 29, 2006.

Marathon training, like anything else, would be easy if it were the only thing we had penned in our planners, but that isn't always the case. Take my situation. In the midst of my training schedule, I'll be flying to Tajikistan for a three-week period. I'm not certain how much of the country's female population goes running on a daily basis or for long distances. I'm really trying to keep my calm and hope that I'll be able to find a decent gym or run undisturbed in the post-Soviet country. But what if I just can't? Sounds like a silly question, but seriously? One suggestion already tossed my way was to pack a jump rope to keep some level of cardio activity. Obviously this isn't going to compensate for one of the long runs. So, my question is this:

Source