Lace up your running shoes and get ready to celebrate -- Sunday, November 8 is World Run Day 2009!

World Run Day was conceptualized in 1999 by veteran runner Bill McDermott, who told Active.com, "The idea was an international day of charity, built around running. I thought if we could just focus on one day, wouldn't that be great for all of us?" The first actual World Run Day was the following year, and after September 11, 2001, McDermott refocused his energy into the holiday to make it something people all over the world could take part in.

The idea of World Run Day is that, rather than having to run in a specific organized event to raise money for a cause, people can raise money and just go out for a run on their own. If you'd like to participate in a group event, Active.com has a list of World Run Day events near you.

A day just for running and helping charity that doesn't romanticize a marathon? Nobody can object to that!

More than 40,000 people will run the ING New York City Marathon this Sunday. Among them will be working mothers chosen to represent all five of New York City's boroughs in the 2009 Foot Locker Five Borough Challenge Team. The women, some running the marathon for the first time, all have unique stories, but share the bonds of being fit, working mothers balancing all the demands that come with those roles. The team of five was also joined recently by another woman, Beth Segaloff, who recently lost her fiancé, Captain Ben Sklarver, just three weeks ago when he was deployed in Afghanistan. The women will run together for the first 13 miles, and then anyone can break away for the second half. The woman with the best time will win a trophy, and bragging rights. But none of these women are part of this team to brag. Instead, they find peace, motivation and solace in their commitment to running. That's Fit recently met the team, along with mom and marathon Olympian, Magdalena Lewy Boulet, to find out how, and why, they have made running such a critical part of their lives.

Walking is one of the simplest exercises out there because most of us do it every day. Starting a walking program is just like beginning any other exercise program.

The amount of calories burned while walking can vary greatly, depending several factors. The amount of time you walk, how fast you go, what shape you're in and even where you walk can make a big difference in the calories you burn. For instance, a 150-pound person who walks slowly on a firm surface for half and hour will burn about 85 calories, whereas a 200-pound person on a cross-country hike will burn 273 calories in the same amount of time. Calorie calculators can help you determine how many calories you're burning.

When it comes to upping your calorie burn, remember to keep your pace up: Walking can burn as many calories as running if you work hard enough. And, don't shy away from hills. They might leave you breathless but you'll burn mega calories in the process. Finally? Head off the beaten path. Hitting the trails on a nature walk burn more calories than city-walking does.

Why should you care about how many calories you burn? Burning more calories shaves inches off your waistline and is crucial for your overall health and well-being.

I live in Florida, so I can usually wear my running shorts and tanks year-round. But, last week I was in Michigan, where I took a jog on a beautiful 45-degree fall day. And I promptly froze my butt off.

Now, those of you who live in seasonal areas know that it's going to get a whole lot cooler than 45 degrees, and before long, it's going to take more than full pants and a long-sleeved shirt to keep you warm when you go running. Fortunately, there are lots of cold weather options that will keep you comfortable without making you look like the abominable snowman. Runner's World has a slew of suggestions, and I have a few additions to make.

Let's start at the top. If you don't keep your head warm, good luck keeping the rest of your body warm. One stylish option is the Sugoi Kana Tuke, a hat that has fleece on the inside and a perfect amount of stretch within (plus, flowers!). If you can't wrap your head around wearing a hat while running, keep your ears toasty with the Athleta Polartec Power Stretch Headband -- it even has a ponytail hole in the back!

I like to Spin, but the bike saddle hurts my tender bits after 15 minutes -- even with padded bike shorts. I love to run, but my knees start complaining after 20 minutes. And I need to work my abs more often, but even a fitness pro like me finds a million excuses to skip my boring crunch routine. Finally, someone put all of these moves together to create the most high-energy, fat-busting workout I've performed in months. And don't even think about blowing off the crunches since former Marine Raphael Verela, founder of Circuit Works, may get in your face for slacking off.

Verela, owner of the über-popular Circuit Works Studio in Venice Beach, Calif., launched this personal training nook especially for folks like me who get bored easily and want to mix it up but need a little extra oomph. "I wanted to create a way to make Spinning more exciting and relevant for people looking to lose weight and tone up their midsection," Verela says. He says he also wanted to construct "the ultimate cardio workout where you firm up your abs, and focus on the areas most susceptible to fat deposits, the butt, hips, and thighs." Mission: Accomplished!

Got a race coming up? Practicing is just one of the ways you should be prepping.

Tom Cruise and wife Katie Holmes were recently photographed running together. My jaw dropped when I read that Cruise, who was ahead of the Mrs., turned around and yelled at her to run "harder" and "faster." I'm pretty sure that if I had been in the same situation, with my boyfriend commanding me to run faster, I would have turned around and run in the other direction.

Running with a partner has been demonstrated to help boost motivation. Knowing you have another person depending on you to show up helps keep you honest. Plus, just having someone to talk to and suffer through the tough times with you during the run can help keep you going when you might otherwise stop. Running with your romantic partner, however, can put a whole new and complicated spin on the dynamic.

Some of the world's largest marathons are here: Chicago was yesterday, New York and Philadelphia are next month. After seeing the runner's "high" and overwhelming sense of accomplishment participants have when crossing the finish line, you may just get inspired to run one. That's great! Just make sure it's for the right reason -- a love of the sport.

With a record 425,000 marathon finishers last year, many people sign up with a goal to lose weight. However, a recent Wall Street Journal article points out that may or may not happen: "Fitness and dietary experts say marathons increasingly are the exercise equivalent of crash diets, with similarly disappointing results. There's no evidence that running a marathon leads to lasting weight loss."

Some people actually gain weight while training for a marathon. That can be due to myths that you must carbo-load all the time with high-mileage routines. It can be the result of "excuse" eating: "I ran 15 miles today, so I can eat this Big Mac and chocolate milkshake." Or, extra pounds can show up when calories remain high even after crossing the finish line.

Want an easy way to up your calorie burn? Head for the hills.

Want to run faster? Get outside -- vitamin D will help you speed up.

When you're dedicated to fitness, running a mile can seem like a piece of cake, but as we learned from a recent episode of "The Biggest Loser," a mile can seem like several to someone who's not used to exercise, carrying a fair bit of extra weight or both. In fact, it takes so much extra effort for obese people to run a mile than it does for normal-sized folks that they can end up burning more than twice the calories! That's not to say that obese and overweight people are the only ones who have trouble running -- I know slim people who would struggle. Yet others struggle with conditions like exercise-induced asthma or joint issues, making running more of a monumental challenge than a simple sprint.

So this week, I want to know if you can run a mile, and if you can, are you the type of person who finds it easy? Or is it a challenge?

Last week, I wanted to know how you keep your weight in check -- with diet, exercise or both. Your response?

• 77 percent chose the smart answer -- they balance both to stay healthy.
• 12 percent said they prefer exercise -- they work out lots so they can eat what they want.
• 10 percent aren't crazy about exercise, so they eat well all the time.
• 1 percent aren't bothered with either -- they aren't worried about their weight.

Here's a good reason to be concerned about your weight -- it really affects your lifespan!

Photo: Chipmitten, Flickr

As someone who huffed and puffed her way around the track this morning for a sprint workout, I was very interested to learn about a new study pointing to vitamin D for improved running performance.

A recent article in The New York Times reported on the effects of vitamin D in two groups of runners from Russia and Germany. "In one of the studies, four Russian sprinters were doused with artificial, ultraviolet light. Another group wasn't. Both trained identically for the 100-meter dash." In the end, the control group improved its speed 1.7 percent, while the ultraviolet runners improved an impressive 7.4 percent. OK, now we're talking. A 7.4-percent improvement would knock nearly 18 minutes off a four-hour marathon. Anyone who runs long distances knows how brutal those final minutes can be. Cutting them out of the equation would be heavenly.

Another study reported that athletes who train outdoors year-round are fittest in August, when the sun's radiation is at its highest. In September, fitness levels begin to drop, corresponding to decreased levels of ultraviolet radiation.

Photo: Howard Wise

Playing sports and hitting the gym can be totally separate activities, but it doesn't have to be that way. Whether you're just starting out with a new sport or have been hitting the field since your school days -- you'll go further and faster if your gym routine compliments your inner athlete.

"You'll feel more body confident, prevent injuries, and improve your overall athletic performance if you use sports-specific resistance training two to three days a week in addition to regular workouts," says Tom Williams, former U.S. Olympic swimmer and owner of Burn Fitness health club in Santa Monica, Calif.

Here, Williams offers simple training tweaks for four of the most common hobbies and fit pastimes: Swimming, running, cycling and playing golf or tennis. After two to four weeks of incorporating these specific moves into your regimen and practicing your sport, you'll have a stronger core, a leaner lower body, faster reflexes and the ability to play better with more stamina.

Swimming
Swim a minimum of twice a week, but train not only with your favorite stroke (free-style, for instance), alternate it with other strokes, including a backstroke and the butterfly because each specific movement really zeroes in on different muscle groups and works your body in new ways.

Moves: Yoga side planks, ab crunches and push-ups also boost your swimming muscles and core strength. Williams recommends using a resistance band or dumbbells to strengthen the muscles all around your upper and outer back. In addition to a gym lat pull-down machine or a chest bench press, stand upright and tie a tube or band handle around a bed post or use dumbbells to row back with arms straight until hands reach hips. Return arms to full extension and repeat 10 times.

Command Sgt. Maj. Teresa L. King of the 369th AG Battalion discusses issues with privates during their batallion duty in her office at Fort Jackson, S.C. Photo: Nicole Bengiveno, The New York Times / Redux

She's parachuted from a plane 33 times, the vanity plates on her Corvette read "noslack" and she's now responsible for the basic training of every enlisted soldier -- men and women -- in the U.S. Army. Meet Command Sgt. Maj. Teresa L. King, the first woman to oversee drill sergeant training in the Army's 235-year history.

King said she's proud to be breaking an Army barrier, however, "It really doesn't matter if you're male or female. If you ... enforce standards, people will respect you," she told the American Forces News Service.

The 48-year-old has certainly worked hard enough on her own physical fitness to warrant respect. At her recent semiannual physical training test, she scored a perfect 300, according to The New York Times. King completed 34 push-ups and 66 sit-ups, each in under two minutes, then ran two miles in 16 minutes 10 seconds, well within the maximum time of 17:36 for her age group.