Image by magpiebride via Flickr

A recent NY Times article touts the benefits of pickle juice in alleviating muscle cramps. According to a study published in the Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, Pickle juice “relieved a cramp 45 percent faster” than drinking no fluids and about 37 percent faster than water. In the study, athletes were asked to cycle until slightly dehydrated and then received an electrical stimulation to induce a cramp in their big toe. On average the cramps lasted about 2.5 minutes, but when the subjects sipped on pickle juice the cramps were shortened to less than 1.5 minutes. continue »

Sophomores Maddie Meyers and Lukas Verzbicas, inaugural Jim Ryun Dream Mile Champs

- Lukas Verzbicas, for leading start-to-finish in the inaugural Jim Ryun High School Dream Mile (4:04.38); Maddie Meyers, for leading only for the last 50m to win the girls race (4:41.93). Both were the fastest high school times this year. Here’ my recap on MileSplit. continue »

Bolt, avoiding eye contact by all means necessary

Usain Bolt!!

The 100m world record holder bummed out everyone when he withdrew from this meet last month  because of a leg injury. Then Tyson Gay scratched and all the hype was gone from one of the meet’s most exciting events.

Well, Bolt made an appearance after all.

Gotta say though. He’s clearly crossed over from a media-friendly track and field athlete to an overly-cautious, all-out international super star. He spent more time on his phone than making eye contact, although he did abide when asked for an autograph or to pose for a picture.

Here’s how my first exclusive interview went with the fastest man in the history of the world.

Me: “Usain, how’s the leg?”

Bolt: [no answer]

Me: [repeats] “Usain, how’s the leg?”

Bolt: [looks at me and nods head]

Me: “Usain, does the crowd even know you’re out yet? They’re pretty quiet.”

Bolt: [looks at me and shakes his head]

There was also an awkward moment when Allyson Felix walked right by him without noticing him. He turned his head and look interested in something other than his phone for the first time all day. Alas, she was being interviewed.

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• Usain Bolt withdraws from adidas Grand Prix with Achilles tendon injury (sports.espn.go.com)

Not quite the same effect as the in-person view

There’s still nothing like watching a race with a pace truck view, but NYRR tried to bring the next best thing to anyone willing to wake up before 9am on a weekend and open their web browser. The future is here!

Unfortunately, the future has not yet invested in hi-def online video. The race was streamed live on NYRR.org and called by announcer Toni Reavis, but resolution was really, really low, making it impossible to make out even the most obvious details.

For what it’s worth, I was able to tell the difference between Kim Smith and the rest of the field.

Oh yes, the results: Linet Masai won in 30:48, something like the 2^nd or 4^th fastest time in race history (I heard both). She dropped the hammer at the halfway point of the NYC Mini 10K in the Harlem Hills sections. She ran a 5:07 mile up that long, steep climb and gapped the pack chasing her. Masai, only 20-years old, is also the reigning World Champion in the 10,000m. Lornah Kiplagat took control of the race for the first 5K, pushing the pack through a 9:54 two-mile and 15:11 5K but it became apparent pretty soon after that there was only one contender.

The pregnant Kara Goucher scratched at the last minute and held the finish-line tape. The pregnant Paula Radcliffe did run, however.

By the way, get ready for four more months of Radcliffe and Goucher pregnancy talk, especially since they share the same due date in September. This story line is a dream for publicists and media alike.

Check out all results here.

At a press event for the adidas Grand Prix meet this weekend I pulled aside Jim Ryun, the man who’s namesake headlines the inaugural Dream Mile high school races, for 10 minutes to talk about how overtraining can be a good thing, how high school running has changed, Hoosiers and the Cold War.

Ryun first achieved fame as the first high school athlete to run a sub-4 mile. His time of 3:51.1 stood as an American record for for 14 years and as a World Record for 8 years. He won a silver medal in the 1968 Olympics. He achieved fame again as a five-term U.S. Congressman, serving from 1997-2007. continue »