What Side Of The Road Do You Run On? This story starts with a little argument that broke out on a run last weekend. It wasn’t a fight between my running partners and me – although that happens at times. This one broke out between me and a driver. The more that you run, the more you’ll run into people that dislike the fact that you’re on their roads it seems. Anyway, three of us were running along the side of a very windy, narrow road in Folsom. This is a fairly typical road for Folsom in that the bushes come right down to the edge of the road next to the white lines. There is obviously no sidewalk on the road at this point, so we were running single-file down the white line when a car ca

Spiderman, Elvis, a ninja and a man dressed as a princess were just some of the dressed-up supporters I saw as I tried to stay warm in the 28-degree weather before starting in the 27th annual California International Marathon alongside six thousand-plus other runners.  Some were there to support their favorite charity, some to support a friend or family member. But all were there to complete the arduous task of running or walking 26.2 miles. According to official results, 5,845 of more than 6,000 race participants finished the marathon. Unlike runner Tim Twietmeyer, who completed his 27th consecutive CIM on Sunday, I was running my first marathon, hoping to finish in less than four hours

I walked onto the quad of Bella Vista High School on a Sunday afternoon to a sight of 20 or so men climbing walls, running like cheetahs on all fours and swinging from trees. This was the Sacramento regional parkour practice, led by a SFparkour.com representative, Victor Lo Forte. He has been a practitioner of parkour, or traceur, French for tracer, for three and a half years and has led the Sacramento group for about two years. "From what I understand, it's basically the discipline of training one's mind and body to prepare oneself to overcome obstacles in an environment," Lo Forte said. Parkour is said to be rooted in early 20th century French military practices. Georges Hébert, a Wor

For five residents of a Sacramento rehab center, this Memorial Day represents a personal battle won. Of 1185 registered participants, five members of the recently formed running and walking program One Step Forward completed their first race as a team this morning at the “No Excuses” 5k run at William Land Park. The members were recruited just over two months ago from Sacramento’s Clean & Sober program, dedicated to helping disadvantaged people overcome drug and alcoholic addictions. For the past six weeks, One Step Forward trained twice a week in preparation for the race. One Step Forward was formed by local organizer Makiko Yamashita, who wanted to provide a sense of community, accomp

Distance running is a metaphor for life. Imagine running a full marathon. Your physical strength, built by training, gives you the energy to push through the course. You feel energized until about mile 13. You start feeling pain, but it is within your expectations. Then you hit the wall at mile 20. You feel like there is no more fuel left in your body and your legs feel like steel. You start hearing a voice, saying, “You can’t go any further. You did enough. Quit and rest!” For the last six miles, you fight with this evil voice. But you also hear another voice, “No, no, don’t quit. You can do it. You have come this far and the goal is near.” This part of you miraculously pushes you to the

Last Sunday I braved a 44 degree frigid morning and walked down to the Capitol to find a bunch of kids under-dressed in running shorts. They were finishing the Marafun run with their parents. Inspired, I pulled up the collar on my fleece jacket and determined I could stick around to catch the winner of the 26th Ca International Marathon. Stationed on the corner of 10th and L Streets I was one of six people interested in the outcome from this vantage point. In fifteen minutes or so we were rewarded with a blur of legs and motion that was Halefom Abebe (of Ethiopia) sprinting on his way to a winning time of 2:16:42.  I was inspired again. Back in the warmth of home I went to the Fleet Feet

According to the American College of Sports Medicine 2008 study, San Francisco is the most fit city in the U.S. (www.americanfitnessindex.org). Sacramento did not make the list of top 16 most fit cities. The only other two California cities that made the bottom of the list were Los Angeles and Riverside. While the results of this study may be debatable, it poses a good question about how fitness-friendly our city is. How does our city rank in terms of the number of bike trails, walking trails, exercise facilities, etc? There seems to be a huge link between fitness and fundraisers. People will exercise as long as it is for a cause. Look at the events below that happen either at the Capi