New York Most Popular City to Run a Marathon
Reasons to run a marathon’ research reveals European minds
The world of running is experiencing an incredible boom, and 2009 heralds the continuing growth in popularity of this sport. As the number of runners (in particular women) strengthens by the day, so does the ever-increasing appeal of marathons around the world. ASICS’ recent ‘Reasons to Run’ research revealed that, of the 85% of Europe’s 80 million runners who have not yet run a marathon, 37% plan to do so in the near future. With the imminent New York marathon in mind (November 1st), it is also worth knowing that this is a marathon in which 15.2 million European runners aspire to run.
2009 also marks the 60th anniversary of Japanese sportswear brand ASICS. Turning 60 is an extremely symbolic event in Japan, and a milestone ASICS is extremely proud to have reached. Sixty years of continuous research and technological innovation has led ASICS to be considered the most valued running shoe amongst serious runners. The New York marathon is a perfect example to highlight this point. Since 2005, around 50% of New York’s participants have run in ASICS shoes. *
The evolution of marathons
The marathon is the most iconic individual achievement of our time, and these days simply being accepted in to a major marathon is a feat in itself. It has evolved from the elite, ‘super-athletes only’ race to a mass phenomenon where the number of marathons and the amount of runners taking part around the world increases every year. In the last decade, the New York marathon itself has seen a growth of approximately 20,000 participants, and is now considered to be the most coveted race to run amongst 19% of European runners.
ASICS’ participation in marathons
No other brand can lay claim to the fact that the majority of marathon participants worldwide wear their shoes. The shoe count at the last two New York marathons alone showed that 55% (2007) and 51%(2008)* chose to wear ASICS. For this year’s event, ASICS has organised yet another ‘shoe count team’ to see just how many hardcore runners choose to run such a demanding race in ASICS shoes.
Providing the best at every level
Since its launch in 1949, ASICS has grown from a small sports-shoe company founded in Japan to a highly regarded, award-winning international sportswear brand. ASICS’ founder, Mr. Kihachiro Onitsuka deeply believed in the fact that exercise leads to the development of a healthier body, and that a sound body is the cradle for a sound mind. When it came to naming his company, Mr. Onitsuka opted for the initials of a Latin quote that summarised his belief: Anima Sana In Corpore Sano (a sound mind in a sound body). Nothing epitomises his philosophy more than running a marathon, as this is the ultimate event where body and mind must work together in harmony in order to complete those long and arduous 42.195 kilometres.
But it is not just the body and mind that are tested to their max, as a marathon also stretches sports products to their limit in the most extreme way. And that is why, after sixty years of determination to provide athletes of all levels with the best possible products, ASICS is still so popular at marathons the world over. Whether an elite runner or a first-time finisher, those wearing ASICS can run safe in the knowledge that they’ve put their trust in the most dedicated running brand.
* ASICS employees count one specific brand of footwear each during the 2.5 hours after the winner crosses the marathon finish line. The resulting percentage indicates that ASICS is the preferred brand of footwear among serious marathon runners.
Source: ASICS Europe B.V.
Sudden Cardiac Arrest Association says deaths of three Detroit Marathon runners underscore need for more public awareness
The tragic deaths of three runners in Sunday’s Detroit Marathon underscore how frequently and indiscriminately sudden cardiac arrest strikes Americans, the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Association said.
“Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) can happen any time and anywhere, even impacting seemingly healthy athletes, young adults, and those without any known signs of heart disease,” said Dr. Vince Mosesso, medical director for the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Association (SCAA). “Our sympathies are extended to the families of the three Detroit runners, and we will defer to the local medical examiner for conclusive reports on the cause of death, but the collapse of three runners in one race only heightens the importance of greater public education and awareness about sudden cardiac arrest.”
Mosesso said that nearly 300,000 U.S. deaths are attributed to SCA each year, resulting in the collapse of an American about once every two minutes. While early bystander and immediate CPR and AED use have been shown to significantly improve survival, still many SCA victims do not receive treatment fast enough and the overall survival rate remains tragically low at eight percent.
He urged the public to remember these basic facts about sudden cardiac arrest:
– SCA is different than a heart attack, and involves an electrical disruption of the heart that results in a very rapid but extremely weak heart beat, prohibiting the heart from circulating blood and oxygen to the body (as compared to a pumping malfunction from a blocked artery that is often the cause of a heart attack)
– SCA requires immediate CPR and often the shock of a defibrillator to restore the heart’s natural rhythm
– A previous heart attack, coronary artery disease and a family history of sudden death or unexplained syncope (fainting) are among the risk factors that should always be shared with a personal physician, as well as other risk factors such as obesity, smoking and diabetes
– Implanted cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) provide round-the-clock protection for more than a million Americans identified as at risk of SCA.
www.suddencardiacarrest.org
Source: Sudden Cardiac Arrest Association
Running Outside? Nathan Performance Gear offers 5 tips for safer running
Wearing reflective, carrying cell phone among key recommendations
As cooler weather and shorter days begin to put an end to the last memories of summer for much of the U.S., Nathan Performance Gear(TM), a leader in hydration, reflective, and multi-sport gear and accessories, reminds runners to practice safe running when hitting the roads this fall.
“This time of year in particular serves as an opportune time to remind people, who may be getting themselves and their family back in a routine after the lazy days of summer, about several quick and easy to-dos that can help lead to safer running,” says Megan Russell, vice president of marketing and sales for Penguin Brands, Inc., of which Nathan is a subsidiary.
While several components fall under the broad umbrella of “safe running,” including routine physician appointments, running with a buddy, and others, Russell puts an emphasis on five key recommendations that are easy to do and can often get overlooked by even the most dedicated runner. These five tips include:
– Wear reflective. Wearing reflective when out on the roads helps cars, bikes, and other people detect, react, and maneuver in time to avoid a potential disastrous situation more quickly than when not wearing reflective. Nathan offers several vests and accessories that offer 360-degree visibility up to 1200 feet.
– Carry identification. Every second counts in an emergency, and carrying identification can help direct first responders to pertinent information quickly and efficiently. Nathan introduced two belts this year — the Shadow Pak and the Reflective Belt — that feature both an incorporated I.D. card and I.D. stitching.
– Bring a cell phone. A twisted ankle, an unfamiliar route, or a longer-than-expected run can all benefit from having a cell phone handy to alert the appropriate people. The Shadow Pak and the Reflective Belt make running with a cell phone easy, with both featuring limited-stretch mesh pockets that fit almost any-sized cell phone, including the iPhone.
– Stay properly hydrated — before, during, and after. Fluids help athletes perform better, recover better, and are good for overall health, even when not exercising. Nathan makes it easy to stay hydrated while running through its line of handheld water bottles, including the 10 oz. Sprint and the 22 oz. QuickDraw Elite, and its line of BPA-free Stainless Steel bottles, which come in two different sizes, 500 mL and 700 mL, with a third size, 320 mL kids-sized bottles, on the way in 2010.
– Have someone know your route. Having a spouse, family member, or friend ensures someone knows the expected route — and approximate beginning and end time — of a run, and if that expected end time passed hours ago.
To drive home these points even further this year, Nathan introduced the Run Safe Initiative, a partnership with its retailers that promotes the ideals of running safe to consumers.
“The only thing more important to us than an athlete’s performance is their safety, and it’s our hope that through the cooperation of our retailers, we can get the message out to athletes that it’s important for their health and safety to run both smart and safe,” says Russell. “We’ve already had great response from our retailers, and plan to continue rolling out the initiative throughout the year.”
Source: Nathan Performance Gear
New technology helps athletes prevent dehydration and heat-related illness
With fall sports under way around the country, often in dangerously hot weather conditions, Mobile Sports, Inc. announced the official launch of iHydrate(TM), an innovative iPhone application giving athletes, parents of athletes, coaches, and athletic trainers the tools and information they need to avoid dehydration and other, more serious heat-related illnesses.
“One of the biggest challenges athletes continually face, not just in hot, humid weather, is consuming enough fluids before, during and after sports to maintain proper hydration,” says Brooke de Lench, Youth Sports Expert and Editor-in-Chief of the popular youth sports parenting website, YouthSportsParents.com and CEO and President of MSI. “iHydrate(TM) is designed to address this important problem,” says de Lench.
To help keep athletes of any age not only stay hydrated but avoid the catastrophic risks of heat-related illness or death, iHydrate(TM) is the first iPhone application to:
– provide the heat index–the apparent temperature on the basis of the current temperature and relative humidity at the user’s current location;
– display the level of heat-illness risk under the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) heat index;
– allow parents, coaches and athletic trainers to schedule hydration reminders for before, during and after sports; and
– help facilitate the replacement of fluids lost during sports based on urine color and/or amount of weight lost.
In addition to these tools, iHydrate(TM) includes a helpful reference section, including basic information on dehydration and heat-illness prevention, signs, symptoms and treatment, and the Pre-Season Heat-Acclimatization Guidelines recently issued by the American College of Sports Medicine and seven other medical groups.
Facts about children and heat-illness
– Exertional heat stroke is the leading cause of preventable non-traumatic exertional sudden death for young athletes in the U.S.
– Dehydration is common in kids playing sports: Of kids studied at summer sports camps more than 50% were dehydrated and 25 to 30% showe
signs of serious dehydration, putting them at increased risk of heat-related illness. Dehydration occurred despite the availability of water and sports drinks, frequent breaks and coaches’ encouragement to stay hydrated. Once children were dehydrated, it was nearly impossible for them to catch up.
– Dehydration can begin when an athlete loses as little as 1 percent of body weight. In a 70-pound child, that is less than 1 pound of weight lost through sweat;
– Dehydration effects performance: as little as a 2% decrease in body weight from fluid loss (e.g. 1.2 lb for a 60-lb athlete) can lead to a significant decrease in muscular strength and stamina.
“We developed iHydrate(TM) to make it much easier for parents, coaches and athletic trainers to keep kids properly hydrated and avoid dehydration and other more serious forms of heat illness,” says de Lench, “by putting new technology – an application in their hands that not only informs them about the risk of heat-related illness in real time, but gives them the tools they need to ensure proper hydration and re-hydration.”
“One of the reasons kids don’t drink enough fluids before, during and after sports, is that they forget,” notes de Lench. “Parents and coaches can use iHydrate(TM) to remind them to drink on a schedule, not just when they are thirsty.”
Source: Mobile Sports, Inc.
Gatorade National Boys Track & Field Athlete of the Year: Curtis Beach
First-ever decathlete and student-athlete from state of New Mexico to win honor
In its third decade of honoring the nation’s best high school athletes, The Gatorade Company, in partnership with ESPN RISE, announced senior decathlete Curtis Beach of Albuquerque Academy (Albuquerque, N.M.) as its 2008-09 Gatorade National Boys Track & Field Athlete of the Year.
Beach is the first student-athlete from the state of New Mexico to win Gatorade National Player of the Year honors in any sport. He is also the first decathlete to be named a Gatorade National Boys Track & Field Athlete of the Year.
The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the track, distinguishes Beach as the nation’s best high school boys track & field athlete. A national advisory board comprised of sportswriters and sport-specific experts from around the country helped select Beach from more than 548,000 high school boys track & field athletes nationwide. Beach is now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade Male High School Athlete of the Year award, to be presented at a special afternoon ceremony prior to The ESPY Awards in July.
The 6-foot, 166-pound senior decathlete broke the national prep decathlon record at the Arcadia Invitational this spring, scoring 7,909 points to shatter the 16-year-old former record of 7,417 points. In that competition, Beach set personal bests in the high jump (6-9.5), the shot put (44-8), the javelin (155-9) the 400-meter dash (48.16 seconds) and the 1500-meter run (4:09.48). A three-time Gatorade New Mexico Boys Track & Field Athlete of the Year honoree, Beach also led the Chargers to the Class 4A state championship as a team, winning five individual state titles in the process. He took first place in the 110-meter hurdles (14.53), the 200-meter dash (21.84), the 400-meter dash (47.99), the high jump (6-9.5) and the pole vault (15-3).
A 17-time individual state champion in New Mexico’s Class 4A, Beach holds all-class state records in the 200, the 110 hurdles and the long jump. Beach took third in the 800-meter run at the Nike Outdoor Nationals with a time of 1:50.75, the nation’s 11th-fastest prep clocking in 2009. His season-best time of 20.94 in the 200 ranks No. 3 in the nation among prep competitors.
Beach scored 7,466 points and won the Great Southwest Track and Field Classic in Albuquerque for the third straight year. Using international junior implements, he eclipsed a 37-year-old record of 7,359 points set by South Eugene (Oregon) star Craig Brigham in 1972. He also won the 2009 USA Track & Field Junior Outdoor Championships decathlon title, scoring 7,599 points using junior implements.
Beach has maintained a weighted 3.75 GPA in the classroom. He has volunteered locally as a youth coach with the Albuquerque Track Club, in a co-coordinating role on behalf of the Whittier Elementary School Health Fair and as part of multiple fundraising initiatives to benefit cancer research. Beach’s senior project involved an internship with the Sandia Chile Grill during which he developed a business plan that sold more than 600 sandwiches.
“It’s certainly been an amazing year for Beach,” said Albuquerque Academy Head Track and Field Coach Adam Kedge. “It has only been outdone by his loyalty to his performance and his loyalty to his team. He is truly the epitome of the ultimate multi-sport athlete. I’ve seen him put in five-, six- or seven-hour days just training with his coaches. Then he still finds the time to be a good student and give back to his community.”
Beach has signed a National Letter of Intent to compete in track and field on scholarship at Duke University beginning this fall.
“Without question, Curtis is deserving of recognition as the nation’s best high school boys track & field athlete based on his statistics on the track and the impact his accomplishments had on Albuquerque Academy’s success,” said Gatorade Senior Vice President of Sports Marketing Jeff Urban. “But he is also a shining example to peers and aspiring young players of what a leader and a student-athlete should be. He represents everything we hope for in a Gatorade Player of the Year recipient.”
The Gatorade Player of the Year program annually recognizes one winner in the District of Columbia and each of the 50 states that sanction high school football, girls volleyball, boys and girls cross country, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls soccer, baseball, softball, and boys and girls track & field, and awards one National Player of the Year in each sport. The selection process is administered by ESPN RISE, which works with top sport-specific experts and a media advisory board of accomplished, veteran prep sports journalists to determine the state winners in each sport.
Former notable Gatorade National Players of the Year include:
- Reigning 200-meter world champion Allyson Felix
- Reigning American record-holder in the mile Alan Webb
- 2006 IAAF World Athlete of the Year and 400-meter American record-holder Sanya Richards
- NFL all-time leading rusher Emmitt Smith
- Softball Olympic gold medalist Cat Osterman
- Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Peyton Manning
- Kansas City Royals ace Zach Grienke
- WNBA all-time leading scorer and rebounder Lisa Leslie
For more on the Gatorade Player of the Year program, including nomination information and lists of past winners and future announcement dates, visit gatorade.com/playeroftheyear.
ALL-TIME GATORADE NATIONAL BOYS TRACK & FIELD ATHLETES OF THE YEAR
YEAR NAME HIGH SCHOOL STATUS
2008-09 Curtis Beach Albuquerque Academy, High School Senior Albuquerque, NM
2007-08 German Fernandez Riverbank HS, Oklahoma State Riverbank, CA University
2006-07 Bryshon Nellum Long Beach Poly, USC Long Beach, CA
2005-06 David Klech California, University of San Ramon, CA Oregon
2004-05 Ryan Whiting Central Dauphin, Arizona State Harrisburg, PA University
2003-04 Jason Richardson Cedar Hill, Univ. of South Cedar Hill, TX Carolina
2002-03 Kerron Clement La Porte, USA Track & La Porte, TX Field/Nike
2001-02 Brendan Christian Reagan, Univ. of Houston Austin, TX Grad.
2000-01 Alan Webb South Lakes, USA Track & Reston, VA Field/Nike
1999-00 Donald Sage, Jr. York, Stanford Univ. Elmhurst, IL Grad.
1998-99 Jacob Freeman Bishop Hendricken, Manhattan College Warwick, RI Grad.
1997-98 Jon Stevens Mission San Jose, Stanford Univ. Fremont, CA Grad.
1996-97 Sharif Karie West Springfield, Univ. of Arkansas Springfield, VA Grad.
1995-96 Michael Granville Bell Gardens, UCLA Grad. Bell Gardens, CA
1994-95 Michael Stember Jesuit, USA Track & Carmichael, CA Field/Nike
1993-94 Andre Scott Seminole, Auburn Univ. Grad. Sanford, FL
1992-93 Charles Mitchell Waco High, Mississippi State Waco, TX Univ. Grad.
1991-92 Sheddric Fields South Oak Cliff, Univ. of Houston Dallas, TX Grad.
1990-91 Bryan Bronson Jasper, Rice Univ. Grad. Jasper, TX
1989-90 Brent Noon Fallbrook, Univ. of Georgia Fallbrook, CA Grad.
1988-89 Dion Bentley Penn Hills, Univ. of FloridaPittsburgh, PA Grad.
1987-88 Art Skipper, Jr. Sandy, Deceased Sandy, OR
1986-87 Kamy Keshmiri Reno, Univ. of Nevada Reno, NV Grad.
1985-86 Eric Mastalir Jesuit, Stanford Univ. Carmichael, CA Grad.
Source: Gatorade