Innehållsförteckning för August 2018 från Runner's World

RAISE YOUR HAND if you got your start in running by joining the high school track or cross-country team. Some of us ended up trying the sport after being cut from another team because we couldn’t hit a fastball or sink a three-pointer. But for many of us, it was our first love, a chance to sprint fast or hop over hurdles. With so many events (and thanks to a no-cuts policy), track is the number-one participatory high school sport. But nearly a half million kids also run cross country every fall. Here in the U.S., what we think of as cross country is really little more than a track meet held on well-manicured golf courses, with very few obstacles, very few hills, and very little mud. That’s different from…

BECCA COTUGNO, 31, has always been a fast runner. In high school, she scored points for her track and cross country teams, and now as an adult, she regularly wins her age group or finishes in the top five of the women’s field. But unlike many amateur runners at Cotugno’s level, her training isn’t focused on speed. She would rather lace up and go out slow and steady for hours at a time. So when Cotugno heard about heart rate–based training just over a year ago, she was intrigued. “When I found out heart-rate training was about ‘slowing down to speed up,’ I was pumped,” she says. “I love running leisurely, but I used to feel like I wasn’t putting the effort in if I just went out and ran…

When Tommy Des Brisay became stressed or upset, he would bolt away, running at full speed without any regard for where he was or who or what surrounded him. His parents, MaryAnn and Peter, worried that one day Tommy—who had been diagnosed with autism when he was two-and-a-half years old—might inadvertently dash into traffic or some obstacle and hurt himself. There seemed to be no way to check or channel Tommy’s bursts of energy. Then one day when Tommy was 14, in 2006, MaryAnn suggested that Peter take him along on one of his regular runs. “It made sense,” she says, “to take something someone is instinctively driven to do and make it into a positive, rather than try to squelch a behavior.” Initially, Tommy could run only a few…

I’M STANDING IN the tiny kitchen of my New York City apartment, staring at the refrigerator. I’m not rummaging for the food that’s in it; I’m looking at what’s pinned on it: a marathon training calendar. The plan is two pages long. I couldn’t fit 16 weeks’ worth of workouts on one sheet of paper, and that alone causes anxiety to bubble up each morning when I review the day’s workout. The calendar is covered with red pen scribbles—a method I used to make changes because I’m not only training for a marathon, but I’m also trying to have a life. Scanning the sea of red makes me want to go back to bed instead of lacing up my sneakers. I’m not sure exactly when my relationship with running turned…

I relate to the rocket. It’s only 62 miles to outer space, but when rockets first take off, they start slow. In that first mile, they use up more fuel than the entire rest of the journey to the atmosphere. Once they’re up there, though, there’s no more pressure, they can go faster than ever with less energy. Think about the rocket when you’re in mile one of anything, when it’s hard and it doesn’t feel like you’re going anywhere. Know that if you just push, push, push, push, eventually, it’s gonna get easy. I’m still in my slow phase. But I know I’m going to end up cruising if I just don’t stop.…

The Long Island, New York–based Rolling Thunder Special Needs Program began in 1998, and has produced a number of success stories, including Mikey Brannigan, and Alex and Jamie Schneider. Rolling Thunder was founded by Steve Cuomo, an outspoken parent of a now-adult son, Steven Cuomo, who lives with autism and cerebral palsy. While the group is not specifically for those with autism, it attracts many people on the spectrum. And Cuomo finds a place for everyone who shows up. “If you’re big, small, tall, little, fat, skinny, there’s something for you,” he says. In New York City, each weekend the group Achilles International offers the Achilles Kids Central Park training program, a free session for children with disabilities. Like Rolling Thunder, the program is not designed specifically for people with…

ALTRA KING MT 1.5 PRICE: $140 | TYPE: Trail WEIGHT: 10.6 oz (m), 8.6 oz (w) DROP: −.3 mm (m), −.5 mm (w) IF YOUR WEEKENDS include muddy trail runs or tactical OCRs, this is the shoe for you. The burly King MT 1.5 is loaded with ultra-deep, 6mm lugs for awesome traction, plus an extra over-the-arch strap to lock your foot in place when the terrain gets steep. Like Altra’s other models, the King MT 1.5 features the brand’s zero-drop platform, which has been lauded by testers in the past for its natural feel. The fully cushioned yet responsive midsole has a firm, zippy ride reminiscent of a road shoe. Unlike the roadies in Altra’s lineup, the King gets a flexible StoneGuard plate to shield the underfoot from rocks…

→GOOD MORNING I get up at 4:30 a.m. to squeeze in my runs before work. When my co-workers hear the mileage I’ve done before clocking in, they’re always shocked, asking me why I choose to run so early. I never really had an answer until one morning this past October, 11 miles into a 17-miler. I stopped for a quick water break after conquering this hill. The moon and the sun were both visible as they traded places, music played in my ears, and I had the entire trail to myself. When I looked back to see what I had just done, I realized what my answer is: I am out here because I have a chance to accomplish something extraordinary at the start of every day. That’s why I’m…

ONE OF MY SOCKS is inside out. No, this is not a mistake. I always slip my socks on last when I dress in the morning—not because they’re the least important part of my ensemble; it’s actually quite the opposite. I grab a fresh pair, pull the first one on inside out, then put the other sock on right-side out. It’s a quirk I picked up as a kid while playing soccer. Right before a match, I noticed one of my socks was on inside out, but it was too late to fix it. So I hit the pitch anyway, and sure enough, I scored, and we won the game. I’m not a very superstitious person, but in the back of my mind, that inside-out sock was the key to…

MY RUNNING PARTNER, Audra Boyle, 32, of Massapequa, New York, always looks like a bleary-eyed zombie when she arrives at the starting line of a race. While sucking down a caffeinated GU energy gel, she recounts her sleepless night of tossing, turning, running to the bathroom, and finally passing out around 3 a.m. Like many runners, Audra attributes her poor night’s rest to prerace jitters, but it could have been something she ate. Some foods have characteristics, such as a certain macronutrient breakdown or a particular chemical compound like saturated fat, that can mess with your sleep. Feeling more groggy than energized before a run? Avoid these 11 sleep-sappers. Coconut Oil Using this trendy oil for your stir-fry seems like a good idea, but it can have a negative impact…