Running Science: How far is far enough for runners in social distancing?

My friend and cross country teammate Richard has a remarkable talent: long-range spitting. He can easily fire his spit over 20 meters. It’s a fun party trick. But when we’re running together, nowhere is out of his range. Reminiscing fondly about running with my teammates, I got to thinking, what’s the appropriate “social distancing” range for …

Smart Running: TeamRuns.com

It’s hard to run alone. As I wrote about in my earlier post (Is Running With A Team Overrated?)  running with training partners can help hold you accountable and push you to train harder. Running is inherently a difficult sport, and without the support and structure of a team to motivate and encourage you, just …

Ask Ryan: Is Running a Selfish Sport?

During quarantine, our track coach has been scheduling weekly team video calls just to stay in touch and provide motivational support. On a recent call he invited a special guest—American distance legend and Bachelorette Season 3 star Josh Cox. Something Mr. Cox said was initially unsettling to me. “Running is a selfish sport.” For context, …

Runner’s Life: SF Marathon

I recently learned that the 2020 San Francisco Marathon—which would have been my first full marathon—has been postponed from late July to November. With plans to go off to college in the fall, my ability to attend new date remain uncertain However, as I experience this slight regret at having to delay my first marathon …

Runner’s Life: 3 Levels of Running

As I enter into my fourth year of high school track and field and my tenth season of competitive running, I am able to proudly look back at my improvement and accomplishments since I first joined the middle school track team in seventh grade. In my two years of middle school track, I enjoyed the …

Ask Ryan: Do I get faster from not running?

For those of you who don’t remember, I recently wrote about my friend Ryan's claim that running with a team is overrated (see article). Now I’m back to address another of Ryan’s inquiries: “Do I get faster from not running?” The answer to that question seems like it should be an obvious no. When you …

Running Science: My Dinosaur Arms

When I was a freshman, I was known for having an unconventional running form, especially the motion of my arms, I used to curl my wrists like a dinosaur and cup my hands, creating the illusion that I was trying to throw air back at the runners behind me. I don't think they actually slowed …

Ask Ryan: Is Running With A Team Overrated?

My long-time friend and cross country teammate Ryan recently told me that he thought running with a team was overrated. My immediate reaction to this was one of shock and disbelief. After all, I was one of Ryan’s teammates, so he was essentially saying that running with me is overrated. (My older brother might agree). …

Smart Running/Running Science: Oxygen Debt

At the start of every race, runners go out at different speeds. The overly cautious runners go out too slow and never make up the ground they lose. The athletes who lack self control start too fast, so they burn out, ruining their races. Each individual runner has to find their own pace or effort …

Runner’s Life: My Favorite High School Sport

With my fourth and final cross country season just around the corner, I can’t think of a better time to compare my favorite high school sport with my second favorite high school sport. Although high school cross country and high school track are very similar, the environments that they create for runner’s are vastly different. …