Phedippidations

When you make a stand and decide to change the amount of natural resources you use, such as the oil and gas used by generators to produce electricity to run your water heaters, and lights, and when you install insulation in your home to keep the heat generated from escaping into the cold and low water use shower heads to reduce the amount of clean water used in the bathroom…you are reducing your dependency on the fuel and water needed by others and the next generation who will run across this planet in years to come, after we’re gone. The Earth does it’s best to heal itself from man made impact.  Given time and natural conditions, nature will reclaim what mankind has paved over and modified to suit our needs for resources and space.  There is such a thing as living in concert with nature, and a duty that each of us has to make the world just a little bit better for the next generation of runners to live in a world with clean fresh air, clean clear water and the beauty that can exist without impact of mankind. Show Links: Fdip featured blog: The song “Terra Nova” was by Jim Fidler

The Ancient Olympic Games where part of a festival, where fairness and athleticism where considered sacred.  For over twelve hundred years the games were played in the Athenian city of Olympia and served as a cultural event to promote trade, commerce and diplomacy.  The athlete was respected and set powerful examples for all who came to watch them compete.  Their stories became the part of an ancient legend that inspired the modern games to revive the Olympic Spirit. We owe this spirit, this sense of peaceful competition and international friendship to those who created the ancient Olympic Games and set forth a precedent that has been reinforced through history.  Show Links: Fdip featured blog: The song "History” was by Jason Silver

Frank Shorter is one of those rare living legends whose legacy is seen in every runner who seeks to better him or herself, and who runs with an infectious joy and passion…and sincerity.  There are legends in our sport, as there should be…but Frank Shorter is much more than a legend, he is an Olympian, a leader, a teacher, a good person and above all: a fellow runner. Show Links: Fdip featured blog: The song "Good as Gold” by Admiral Twin The episode is sponsored by Audible.com Go to  for your free audiobook download

This episode of Fdip is much different than all the others, and for those of you who dislike the musical selections that I include in each episode, this one is probably not for you.  But music marks our life and times.  Itâs more than just the poetry or melody: itâs the soundtrack that touches us; it expresses and reflects our feelings, it captures our emotions and it gives voice to our hearts.  In this show youâll hear ten independent artists (nine musical) and songs from previous episodes as we celebrate my three years of podcasting and I go for a run around a tiny little island in the State of Maine, because this week: Iâm on vacation!Show Links:I Am Not Afraid by Majek Fashek Im Not Running by Big Rain Life Less Ordinary by Carbon Leaf In the next life by Al Stravinsky See The Sun by Black Lab Let me Know by the Fire Apes Ordinary Day by Great Big Sea Tom Cruise Crazy by Jonathan Coulton Pre by Phil Wells The episode is sponsored by Audible.com Go to  for your free audiobook download

Planning your Fall Marathon is all about setting a goal, with many months ahead of you within which to prepare.  What marathoners learn as we engage in this preparation is that the joy, passion and discovery takes place during our training: in many ways the marathon itself is merely a celebration of what we have been able to achieve through the hours and miles that we’ve spent in training to get us to that starting line. Now is the time to pick our races, now is the time to make our commitments, now is the moment to promise to ourselves and others that we will train well and hard, and complete a 26.2 mile course with dedication, determination, strength and honor…and these are the races that you and I will run. Show Links: Fdip featured blog: The song “Lost My Way” by Matthew Ebel  The episode is sponsored by Audible.com Go to  for your free audiobook download

Today, I'm going to tell you a little bit about a book written by Dr. George Sheehan titled “Personal Best: The foremost philosopher of fitness shares techniques and tactics for success and self liberation, published in 1989 by Rodale Press.  It’s a book of 37 chapters, each one an essay and study into an physical of cerebral aspect of running.  For anyone looking to read a sample of the right brain/left brain writings of Dr. Sheehan, this book gives you a good sense of his style.  He challenges us to think about our lives, our running, and our purpose within each page.  George Sheehan understood that running was more than just an activity; it is an expression of life and love.    Show Links:          Fdip featured blog:   The song “Better Life” was by the band Common Ground from Texas.    The episode is sponsored by Audible.com Go to  for your free audiobook download 

Have a glass of wine with me while I catch up on some emails from fellow runners.  Wine is one of my many passions.  In order to appreciate wine you have to come into it with a clear head, a clear palate and a clear nose.  Wine making dates back to 6000 BC and is a major part of the culture of many societies and religions.  Wine is also a social beverage, something to share with friends and enjoy with a good meal.  It’s good for you as well, consumed in moderation wine has been found to have both cardioprotective and chemoprotective effects.  In this short format version of my podcast, I’ll be resting my ankle and enjoying a glass of wine with you as we hear from fellow runners across the planet.   

Today I’d like to point out something that’s really obvious; so obvious in fact, that we tend not to think about it much.  In this episode I present for you a very basic, truthful, scientific and historical bit of trivia that both describes and explains the premise which propose, and that piece of trivia is this: Fred Flintstone never wore running shoes.  Running shoes are not evil: you’ll have to pry my NB 426’s off my hot sweaty feet if you ever want me to give up my running shoes: but we should entertain the idea that running without shoes on the open road may be a more natural, less injurious way to run. Show Links: Fdip featured blog: The song “Running Wild Child” was by Lance Larson from New Jersey; the song featured Richie Sambora  check out his amazing music at The episode is sponsored by Audible.com Go to  for your free audiobook download

I have known my friend Kathy for many years, through many life adventures and glasses of quality wine.  In this short format episode of Phedippidations, we run the Long Island Marathon Festival of Races 10K road race in New York, with the goal of finishing in an hour or less.  This is also the story of how I met my wife and the contentious angry beginnings of a friendship that will last a lifetime, and about my incredible victory in a epic battle which took place during an all night drive to Pennsylvania a long time ago in an automobile far, far away.  

In this episode we'll hear the stories of others who ran the 112th Boston Marathon. When you write up a race report you"re not just doing it for yourself to memorialize the even, you're doing it for others; passing on your observations so that they can incorporate it into their own form of opinion as a way to better understand the event so that we can improve our performance on race day. Its" not enough to just run the race, or even run it well, you have to tell others about your race.  Race reports are a big part of the process of running, racing and competing with each other.  It’s in this way that we give something back to our fellow runners; and with a sport that gives us all so much in terms of joy, passion, and health: the verbal or written telling of your story from the races you run is an important way to give back to this community. Show Links: Fdip featured blog: The song "I feel fantastic�? was by Jonathan Coulton at   The episode is sponsored by Audible.com Go to  for your free audiobook download

This is a race report and audio recording of my 7th time running the Boston Marathon.  This year was different in that I approached the starting line unprepared for the task ahead of me.  Suffering from a case of peroneal tendonitis, my training was minimal throughout the winter months.  On April 21st, 2008 I made the decision to ignore common sense setting a bad example to friends, family and fellow runners by ignoring my pain and pushing myself through a 26.2 mile race.  What you'll hear in this episode is neither inspiring or noble, but it will raise the question: "Why?‿ Show Links: The song “Curra Road‿ by Sharon Shannon off her 2007 album “Renegade‿ sung by Mike McGoldrick and produced by Daisy Entertainment in Dublin, Ireland.  O Fortuna was recorded by the Boston Symphony Orchestra The parody “Finish Line‿ was inspired of the song “Still Alive‿ by Jonathan Coulton  

It really means a lot to me that you’d come out to have a beer with me, send me such kind words, good wishes, hopeful prayers, emails, blog posts, and voice messages to the Extra Mile PodCast…and for being with me, in spirit, on race day.  This is a short episode of Intervals, produced for race day of the 112th Boston Marathon, with thanks to everyone who have been so thoughtful to a middle aged, middle of the pack, slightly asthmatic, curiously injured fellow runner.

The Boston Marathon is a race that challenges an athlete in a way that most courses do not, neither buy design or intent.  It is not a fast course.  It is not a race where any runner, elite or back of the pack, will set a marathon PR, but it is a race for which all other marathons seek to enable athletes to arrive in a small New England town for the eastward run into the heart of bean town.  This is the story of the 87th running of this event, where the last American male runner won the day, and a woman athlete named Joan ran a race for the ages. Show Links: Fdip featured blog: The song “Rearrange New England’ was by the band “Carlotta’s Gift‿

What happens in Boston, starts in Hopkinton.  In this episode I take my last 16 miler from the starting line of the Boston Marathon through the bottom of Newton Lower Falls.  For those of us who will run the race, you’ll eventually come to Hereford Street where crowds will block your forward progress and urge you to turn right.  You’ll run this short block with the screams of spectators echoing off the buildings and will finally make your left hand turn onto Boylston Street, with the finish line just ahead of you…with the promise of a well earned time and an ice cold beer there beyond the portal.   Thank you so much for your incredibly kind words, good wishes and thoughtful prayers in both emails and audio comments on episode 21 of The Extra Mile Podcast.  It means so much to me that you’d take the time to wish me luck, and a happy taper.  In the words of the ancient Romans: “Omnia vincit amor‿ (love conquers all). Show Links: The song “Still in Massachusetts‿ was by “Refuse Resist‿

It takes courage to stand up to authority.  It requires an act of bravery to break the unfair rules so as to start the discussion.  K.V. Switzer, Kathrine…didn't lace up her shoes on a cold and snowy April day in Hopkinton Massachusetts to prove a point, or to make a statement…she lined up because she had and has a passion in her heart to run.  Show Links:    Fdip Blog of the Week: The song "I am Woman‿ was by “Planet of Women‿