Paralyzed from the chest down, Claire Lomas finished the London Marathon. She was accompanied by her husband for about two miles each day, it took 16 days to complete. She used the Israeli designed Rewalk suit that enables people with paralysis to stand, walk and even climb stairs. Motion detectors and an on board computer system aid in balance and movement. Read more here

By Peter Macdiarmid, Getty Images

Here is video on the Rewalk suit

Runner - Information and Inspiration for the Runner

I was thinking that with so many people burning calories by running, if only that energy could be harnessed it might put a dent in the energy crisis. So for fun, I compared the energy exerted by runners to other worldly things that consume energy.


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<a href="http://www.runner.com/the-power-of-running" ><img title="power-of-running" src="http://www.runner.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Power-of-running.jpg" alt="The Power of Running Infographic" width="568" height="2280" /></a>
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• Total calories burned by core runners in one year equals 4,234,278,397,440
• That’s enough to power the electricity needs for 1,771,622 homes for a year.
• That is equivalent to all the homes in Los Angeles and San Francisco combined
• Total energy used by all core runners is equivalent to 177,162,208 gallons of gasoline
• That’s enough to power a Boeing 747 around the world 1,093 times
• That’s also equivalent to the energy expended by 177 atomic bombs the size of Little Boy, the bomb dropped on Hiroshima.
• Calories a man runner burns per year of running equals 175,386 which is enough to power an LCD TV for 107 days
• Calories a woman runner burns per year of running equals 119,574 enough to power a clothes washer for 6 months
• An average woman running a marathon will burn enough calories to power a 60 watt bulb for 8 days
• An average man running a marathon will burn enough calories to power a laptop computer for 8 days
• For a half marathon, a woman runner will burn enough calories to charge cell phone for more than 21 days
• For a half marathon, a man runner will burn enough calories to run a clock radio for over 3.5 days
• The total calories burned by all finishers of the New York City Marathon equals 145,154,457, that is enough to light up NYC for 7 .5 hours

The figures used are for the core runner, which is a person that runs fifty or more times per year. Many sources were used to derive this information. Since there are many variables involved, I used averages (i.e. for runners weight, miles per week, LCD TV size, etc) so the results are estimates. Primary sources include, General Electric, Running USA, Runners World, Popular Mechanics, msnbc and the University of Washington.

Runner - Information and Inspiration for the Runner

Officer Michael Maloney

Something amazing happened in Portsmouth, NH yesterday.  Portsmouth is a little seacoast town of 20,000 people. It borders Greenland a town of 3,500. It is a beautiful and peaceful part of the country. Homes are rarely locked neighbors all know each other.  Violent crime is simply not part of the vocabulary of life on this seacoast.

On April 12, in Greenland, police chief Michael Maloney and four other police officers were shot by a crazed gunman. Officer Maloney was set to retire this month but the bullet that struck him ended his life. I didn’t know officer Maloney but all accounts describe him as a wonderful man. It is a tragedy that shocked the region and left many with a deep streak of sadness.

The wake of the horrific event left Portsmouth police officer Bob Lukacz wanting to blow off some steam while paying tribute to Michael Maloney.  He and his wife Christine decided a running race would be a good way to do that. He emailed fellow officers hoping “to run with no less than 15 people.”

What started with a small goal rapidly transformed into a road race with over 2,200 runners. In only about a weeks’ time, with the help of Millennium Running (a road race management company) and about 100 volunteers, they put on an incredibly successful race. This commendable effort provided an opportunity for the community to act on its grief by coming together  while raising close to $50,000 for the Michael Maloney foundation. I have never heard of a race being conceived, organized and successfully executed with more than 2000 runners in just a few days. Congratulations to all that helped organize the event and to the 2,200 runners that were all winners in this race. I am proud to say I live in Portsmouth, NH!

Many more pictures can be viewed here

Runner - Information and Inspiration for the Runner

There are many great pictures of the Boston Marathon. Of course the stars of the event are the runners. Marathons provide drama, they are tough races that test the human spirit. Add to the mix yesterdays hot weather and cool photos abound.

But, I like this one, it tells the story of another side of the Boston Marathon. The story of the spectators. The sideliners enjoying the legendary and massive social/media/sporting experience from off road. The curb dwellers deflecting the sun while rooting for their friends and loved ones. The cheering devotees rooting for the runners that are challenging their limits while generating contributions for worthy causes. The fans rooting for the super human runner that glides through 26.2 miles at a sub 5 minute pace.

Runner - Information and Inspiration for the Runner

The vintage newspaper articles are from Legendary Auctions. Below that are photos from a website called running past, (they have great photos of old time runners) the Boston Globe and Zero Drop.
Fritz Carlson Wins Boston Marathon in 1913

Édouard Fabre realizes ambition and wins the big marathon in 1915

New Yorker, Peter Trivoulides, an unknown of little experience wins in 1920. He beat out Arthur Roth, a previous Boston Marathon winner, in the last mile.

Clarence DeMar breaks the world record winning in 1924. He won the marathon a record seven times.

Johnny Kelley’s first Boston Marathon victory in 1935. The ageless runner was running 50 miles a week at the age of 70.

Clarence DeMar crossing the Boston Marathon finish line. Though he won the race several times this year it was won by Ellison Brown.

This is Chuck Mellor who won this 1925 race. Behind him is Clarence DeMar and Frank Zuna.

Sammy Mellor at 22 miles of the 1904 Boston Marathon. Sammy won the race in 1902 but lost this one to Michael Spring. Larger photo can be seen at  Zero Drop.

Official attendants from the Massachusetts Volunteer Militia and civilian volunteers prepared to help runners. Lawrence Brignolia from Massachusetts won this 1899 marathon. Original larger photo can be seen here at a Boston Globe Website.

The leaders run through Wellesley Center in this 1906 race.

Fred S. Cameron – 1910 Boston Marathon Champion

The field of  the 1938 Boston Marathon in Hopkington. Original larger photo can be seen here.

Clarence DeMar Winning the 1930 Boston Marathon.

And finally, see a quick video of Demar racing and winning the Boston Marathon for the seventh time. He does it at age 42.

Runner - Information and Inspiration for the Runner

Being that I live an hour north of Boston and the Boston Marathon is an epic running event I created two interesting videos of the marathon route.

The first is an inspirational 2.5 minute tour through the entire route from the runner’s view. It takes the runners perspective, looking straight up the road with some shots of the side view along the way. I collaborated with the video production company, FTS Creative to create the piece.

The second is a 3 minute video that takes the viewer through the last five miles of the Boston Marathon from a bird’s eye view, about 100 feet above the runners. I did this using Google Earth and some screen tracking and video editing software.  It is not all that polished but it offers a unique view of the Brookline and Boston part of the marathon route.

Here are a few reasons why the Boston Marathon is an epic event.

It is the world’s first annual marathon, starting in 1897 with 18 runners.

Besides the Super Bowl, it is the largest single day sporting event in the world.  More than 1,100 media members, representing more than 250 outlets, receive credentials annually.

It gets about 500,000 spectators surrounding the marathon course.

Though woman were only allowed to participate after 1972 (see my last post for more on this), it was the first Marathon to sponsor a wheel chair division which it initiated in 1975.

It also requires potential runners to qualify with pretty darn fast times.

Here are a few more random points that add to the Boston Marathon epicness. The Boston Red Sox play their baseball game that day at 11am so the fans can get out and cheer the runners to the finish line. The Red Sox home field, Fenway Park, is right by Kenmore Square, which is on the marathon route and one mile from the finish line at Copley Square.

The fastest marathon time ever was run at last year’s Boston Marathon. The Kenyan Geoffrey Mutai  ran it in 2:03:02, but because of the Boston marathon routes drop in elevation (a drop of about 460 feet,) it does not qualify for the world record. Mutai’s record time is nearly a minute faster than the official world record of 2:03:59 ran in Berlin in 2008 by the great runner Haile Gebrselassie. This is being challenged, so stay tuned.

The last cool fact is that in 2010 the 20,000 spots reserved for qualifiers were filled in a mind numbingly quick eight hours and three minutes.

Here are a couple Boston Marathon links:

The Boston marathon homepage

A Boston marathon course interactive map

Runner - Information and Inspiration for the Runner

Kathrine Switzer was the first woman to run the Boston Marathon. She did it 45 years ago and this year will be the 40th anniversary of women being allowed to run in the race. Below is a PBS video with Switzer speaking on the prejudices women athletes faced, her historic Boston Marathon run, and the doors it opened for other women athletes.

Switzer’s ongoing campaign to help women around the globe empower themselves through the simple act of running made her a 2011 Inductee into the National Women’s Hall of Fame. Here is a link to her website Marathon Woman.

See more from Makers: Women Who Make America.

Runner - Information and Inspiration for the Runner

Love makes people do crazy things, like run across the country.

“I Would Run to You” is a Nike short film (about 2.5 minutes) about a couple separated by thousands of miles running cross country to see each other. They sing while doing it. She is a runner, he is not!

Runner - Information and Inspiration for the Runner