Runner's World December 2014

How can I squeeze in runs on packed days? Fit them in whenever you’re able—while your houseguests are taking showers, your cookies are baking, or your family is watching the holiday special you’ve seen too many times. And remember: Even 10- to 15-minute runs can help maintain basic conditioning and running adaptations. What are some good, no-fail gifts for my runner friends? Think about what you’d like to receive: running books, entry into a fun event, or a gift certificate to your local running store. And no runner can ever have enough pairs of nice, sweat-wicking socks. The Excuse I’m traveling all day, so I can’t exercise. BEAT IT Wear workout gear and running shoes. If you’re driving, pull off every hour or two and go for a five- to…

Why are some races in miles and others in kilometers? In the United States, highway signs are in miles and treadmills display mile pace. Yet America’s most popular race distance, with 8.3 million finishers in 2013, is the 5-K distance (that is, 3.1 miles). The rest of the world uses the metric system, so most tracks are 400 meters, and most major track meets—including the Olympics—offer 5000-meter and 10,000-meter races. Those translate into 5-K and 10-K road races, though when you run those in the U.S., you still find courses marked in miles. Less-common “miler” distances (like five-milers and 10-milers) exist almost exclusively in the U.S. because folks almost everywhere else think in kilometers. Since neither marathons nor half-marathons can be expressed as a round number in miles or kilometers,…

38, INDIANA POLIS GRAPHIC DESIGNER ENTRY Quote : “Cancer is trying to kill me, but it’s going to have to catch me first.” ► In hindsight, there were signs. He was tired, but he was averaging 90 miles a week. His stomach was wonky, which was surprising because he’d been a vegan for 20 years and didn’t usually have digestive issues. After a winter trail marathon, his body “freaked out”—he got severely chilled and shaky and nauseous—but he had won, so he figured he’d just pushed too hard. One thing that did bother him was that despite his high mileage and healthy habits, he had a bit of a belly that he couldn’t seem to lose. Scott Spitz thought he was just going through a “rough training patch.” Then on…

23, SAN FRANCISCO COMPUTER SCIENTIST ENTRY QUOTE : “RUNNING HELPED ME APPRECIATE THE RE SILIENCY OF HUMANITY .” ► Shortly after her 21st birthday, Christina Lee decided to write a bucket list. Some of the things on it are “oh gosh random,” she says with a laugh. Learn to swing dance. Take typography lessons. Rebuild, with her dad, a 1949 pickup truck. And a few are truly ambitious: Visit as many countries as she is years old. Raise $1 million for a good cause. Run across the country. This last she hesitated to add because “there was no compromise. If I put it on there, I had to do it.” You might assume that a 21-year-old who puts “run across the country” on her bucket list had dreamed of that…

23, TACOMA, WA MOTIVATIONAL SPEAKER ENTRY QUOTE: “RU NNING IS A WAY FOR ME TO SHOW PEOPLE WHAT’S POSS IBLE.” ► When the pain got really bad, long after the initial explosion, he focused on the vision. The one where he’s no longer the fractured soldier held together by tubes and needles and meds, the guy who lost 65 pounds and most of his hope after a rocket blew him up, but the one where he’s running. In his vision, it was dark out and the air was cold and he was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and a prosthetic leg. Edward Lychik lost his left leg—up to the hip—in Afghanistan the day he turned 21. “You could say I had a blast on my birthday,” he says with characteristic…

42, SAVANNAH, GA MOM AND LICENSED CHIROPRACTOR ENTRY Quote: “I WAKE UP BEFORE THE SUN RISES TO RUN. AFTER WARD, Mommy/wife mode kicks in until the next a.m., when the runner comes Out again.” You could say that Mo Dixon has a lust for life. “I don’t do anything 100 percent,” she says. “Everything is 110 percent.” Indeed, Dixon brings energy and enthusiasm to all that she does, whether that’s color-coordinating her “loud and proud” morning-run outfits, fixing breakfast for her family afterward—or recovering from an unexpected health setback. The morning of May 17, 2010, Dixon felt fit as she logged her last 20-miler before the San Diego Rock ’n’ Roll Marathon. But that night, while lying in bed, Dixon was hit by a rush of nausea. Then numbness in…