Fall Has Arrived ...

And with it, some good news -- some good weather conditions seem likely for next Sunday's NY Marathon. Noting that the forecast has changed in the past couple of days (rain was mentioned), and is likely to do so within the next week, but looks like runners will be starting out the day in the mid-50s. Maybe a little cooler would be nice -- we'll see.

Last 10 Miles of NY Marathon

It's the last weekend before the NYC Marathon, which means it's time for a re-examination of the last 10 miles of the course. Worth doing if you haven't seen it before - and fun to do with people with varying levels of experience. I ran it this morning with a group of folk from Brooklyn - some experienced in NYC, some not, and learned a lot.

The course route is below.

Alberto Salazar article

Nice piece about Salazar in the NYTimes Play magazine this weekend by "Duel in the Sun" author John Brant.

The 1983 Boston Marathon race, which featured Salazar and Dick Beardsley running neck-and-neck for almost all of the distance, is one of the most compelling races I've ever seen. Should a similar situation arise during next weekend's Trials, or even one of the high-profile U.S. marathons, one wonders if distance-running will get the boost it deserves? Or will more people be focused on the Nov. 4 Patriots-Colts matchup the following day?

Transportation to Start

Runners are buzzing about the latest missive from the NYC Marathon folk regarding transportation to the race next Sunday. Right now, they are aggressively pushing marathoners who don't have official transportation lined up to head to the Staten Island Ferry, in part due to construction on the Verrazano Bridge. Note this: Private vehicles, including charter buses, are not guaranteed arrival in time for the race start.

At least two options are available through Brooklyn, thru the Prospect Park Track Club and Brooklyn Road Runners. Both have buses leaving at 5:30 a.m. and 5:45 a.m. Both leave well in advance of the 7 a.m. bridge closing.

Bed-Stuy 10K Results

Results for the 10K race were posted last weekend. They can be found here (in .pdf form).

Staten Island Half Marathon

This is a bit delayed, so apologies. Noting that Brooklyn residents did well in last week's Staten Island Half Marathon, placing second in the both the men's and women's races. Congrats to Marilyn Charles and Taylor Delhagen! Here's an article from the Staten Island Advance.

JackRabbit Training Programs

JackRabbit is offering a number of training programs, including running, yoga and cycling. Check out the list here.