Yesterday we activated an additional larger advertisement on the bottom left corner of the Runningmap application. This is currently being introduced on a “trial” basis in an effort to earn some money to help support the hosting, support and development costs for this site.

Within the next few months we will be introducing options for those who would like to use more advanced features without having to look at advertising. Until then, I hope that you will bear with us because there are some great things coming. You won’t regret the wait.

- Randy

Runningmap would like to shout out CONGRATS to Priscilla Lopes-Schliep for her silver medal at the world track and field championships in Berlin on Wednesday. She bettered her Beijing Olympics bronze-medal performance with a time of 12.54 seconds in the 100-metre hurdles. AWESOME! Priscilla, you inspire all us Canadians.

- Randy

I’ve just finished reading one of the most fascinating and inspiring running books. Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World has Never Seen, was written by Christopher McDougall, a former war correspondent and now contributing editor for Men’s Health. McDougall is on a quest to discover the secrets of the world’s greatest distance runners – the Tarahumara Indians. This reclusive tribe resides deep within the Copper Canyons of Northern Mexico and for centuries has practiced techniques that allow them to run hundreds of miles at a time, without rest and without any fancy running gear, through incredibly rugged terrain and at speeds that best the world’s greatest known ultramarathoners. Not only that but they do it with smiles on their faces – they literally enjoy every single moment of the experience! How do the rest of us capture some of that – what is their secret? McDougall attempts to breakdown the Tarahumara running experience. How this innate ability to run has been passed down through the generations and developed in this reclusive tribe, speaks loudly to the innate running abilities of all human beings. Not only does McDougall’s study of the Tarahumara lead to scientific documentation of this inherent running ability of humans but it also turns some of what might previously have been considered our running truths upside down. What McDougall shares with respect to the development of the running shoe, how it has impacted our running form, and injury statistics correlated by shoe type, certainly left me wanting to ditch the shoes and find a safe place that I could run barefoot!

The book culminates in an extraordinary race. McDougall’s manages to bring some of America’s top ultramarathon runners down to the Copper Canyons for a 50-mile race with a small group of Tarahumara. What ensues is a truly remarkable race which McDougall chronicles from many different angles – the preparation, the camaraderie, the excitement, the tension, the extreme conditions, the supportive villagers, etc. – all of it coming together in a truly exciting and inspirational event. McDougall runs in this race himself. Despite the fact that he has been chronically at the effect of injuries which have curtailed his running on a regular basis, McDougall manages to participate in and complete this 50 mile challenge as a result of the changes he has made to his own running form and style – a direct result of his Tamahumara research.

As Lynne Cox, author of Swimming to Antartica states in her praise for Born to Run, “The book is wonderful. It’s funny, insightful, captivating and a great and beautiful discovery. There are lessons here that translate to realms beyond running. The book inspires anyone who seeks to live more fully or to run faster.” Run into your local library and check this book out!

Heather

A couple of weeks ago (April 5th) an article appeared in the Edmonton Journal that has got me thinking. It talked about the many times proven benefit and effect of drinking coffee before a run – or any other sporting activity – to improve performance.

I’ve been having a hard time coming back to my running with the same energy I once had, after being off for an extended period of time due to an injury. Being a non-coffee drinker and noticing how much more effort my training is taking me these days, I wondered if coffee might make the difference for me. It also reminded me of the fact, that when I was marathon running, I would use watered-down, flat Coke as my pick-me-up drink in the second half of the marathon. It seemed to work better for me than a lot of the other sports drinks, gels, etc. The caffeine-sugar combination was probably enough to spur me on – particularly because my body was not conditioned for the caffeine.

I don’t really want to start drinking coffee again, but would certainly love a little of that energy jolt. The article talks about avoiding coffee for a few days prior to a running event and then having a cuppa (4 oz. is all that is necessary!) an hour before the beginning of a race. (That 4 oz. of coffee is apparently equivalent to 2 – 12 oz. cans of Coke.)

However, the article also mentions an individual who tried the caffeine and decided he never wanted to experience that again – he found he was wired, shaky, his heart was pounding and would not slow down. Bit scary.

Maybe I’ll just go back to trying the watered-down, flat Coke again, and see if this is a help before submitting myself to the full effect of a cup of coffee! But for the coffee drinkers out there – maybe you can use this to get the best out of your workout!

Heather

The code monkeys have been hard at work and although it has been very quiet in this forum, the chatter behind the scenes has been significant. Loosely translated that means there is an update in the works that will lay the foundations for some awesome improvements. This past summer saw a major upgrade of infrastructure that addresses increasing demand for this service and will serve well in the years to come. Rest assured that with each measured step we will keep the site clean, simple and easy to use.

On a somewhat related note, I am slated to make a presentation to fellow developers at the 360|MAX unconference which is part of the Adobe MAX conference held in San Francisco November 17 to 30, 2008. If you happen to be there, come and say hi!

- Randy Troppmann

A couple weeks ago we upgraded our web host to address increasing demand and we have been experiencing a few side effects. There are intermittent problems at the moment with account activation. If you have created an account and did not get your account activation email, please email us at info {{at}} runningmap.com.

For the past few weeks we have had problems getting elevation data from our third party service provider. This problem is unrelated to our recent web host upgrade. We are working to re-establish elevation data as soon as possible.

UPDATE (08/08/2008): account activation problems have been fixed and elevation is working again.

- Randy

We are planning on upgrading the server and database for RunningMap.com starting Saturday, July 26 at 12:00 am EST. We anticipate the upgrade will take about 24 hours. During this time RunningMap.com will be in a “read-only” mode which means that users will not be able to save new routes or create new accounts. The mapping application will still work for measuring distances, searching or loading previously saved routes. Permalinks will also be available.

We are working hard to make this site even better for you. We appreciate your patience during this time.

This happy group is the team that represented NAIT at the 2008 Corporate Challenge road race in Edmonton. I am the guy with the gold Running Room hat. It was a perfect evening for a race and let’s just say I didn’t leave anything out on the course. My fellow team members (Kristen, Kevin, Jody, Rob, Jody, Ashley and Christine) were great and I would run with them any time. Kevin would be very hard to keep up though.

I have been listening to Tom Allen’s show on CBC radio two, Music and Company, since he took over for Peter Tongi years ago. I love his show! Where else would I have heard about the extraodinary article Pearls Before Breakfast where Joshua Bell, internationally acclaimed virtuoso, plays “Chaconne” from Johann Sebastian Bach’s Partita No. 2 in D Minor on his “Gibson ex Huberman” Stradivari violin in a Washington subway station. Acting as a busker.

I am very exited to see that Music and Company added Runningmap.com to it’s list of links from the Wed. May 28 2008 show. Thanks Tom!

- Randy

I am a half marathon distance runner and the idea of training for a 5 km run seems a little funny to me. But of course it isn’t because 5 km is still a serious distance if you are hoping to run, say, a sub 20 minute time.

The truth is that I have been off for an extended period with back problems and I am finally running again. On Wednesday I will run in my first event (5 km corporate challenge) in a couple years. I am humbled by how hard it is to start up again and by how difficult it is to complete 5 km, at any speed.

If you are a runner, take care of yourself and don’t get injured. And wish me luck on Wednesday … you can be sure I will not be shooting for sub 20 and not even sub 30. Just to finish.

- Randy