Dream Playlist? We investigate Marie Claire’s “Nine Best Running Songs Ever”

This week’s Marie Claire featured an ambitious article entitled “The Nine Best Running Songs Ever”, picked by staff at the publication (although the article link awkwardly only includes eight songs…)

Now we at TR have a rather vested interest in music, with our own “Running Playlist” numbering over 1000 songs in order to ensure no kind of repetition. The list features a bit of everything – Rock, Rap, Indie, Pop, and even some Funk – it’s what keeps us going! With this in mind, we thought the readers of TR and Marie Claire could probably benefit from some better choices.

So with our alternative music hats on, we investigate and evaluate Marie Claire staff’s picks and come up with some other tunes we think you’d really much rather prefer…

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Around the web – this week’s recommended reading

TR went for probably its coldest run ever coming back from the office this evening – where did this cold come from! Here are some interesting reads from around the web to keep you motivated:

Parkrun, the running revolution coming soon to a park near you – Examining the history and appeal behind Parkrun – the 5k race series that’s booming in popularity and is probably already happening in a park near you! (Guardian)

The Running Man: in praise of Ashmei – Some uber-lustable kit from Ashmei featured in this month’s GQ – definitely worth investing if you have the pennies! (GQ)

The history of running trainers – We’ve come a long way baby – the Metro provides a nice pictoral reminder of the recent strides of evolution of the running shoe (Metro)

Happy reading!

End of the road for barefoot running shoes?

New research from Brigham Young University over in the U.S. this week has suggested that barefoot running may surprisingly enough be bad for new runners.

The findings say that runners who make the switch from normal trainers to barefoot shoes too quickly suffered an increased risk of injury to bones in the foot, including possible stress fractures, with women far more susceptible than men.

Vibrams – more trouble than they’re worth?

Barefoot running has mushroomed in popularity over the last decade, helped in no small part by Christopher McDougall’s much-respected tome Born to Run, telling of his experience with a remote Mexican tribe who run only in basic sandals. Brands like Vibrams have done extremely well with lucrative shoes and other products, and the market has grown exponentially based on runner’s desires to experience new kinds of fitness.

The researchers say the findings are particularly concerning given that minimalist shoes such as these now make up 15 per cent of the running shoe market.

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Re-reviewed – the Metro casts its vote on Adidas Boost

In the same Metro article as mentioned below, the Metro also has a short review of Adidas’ new running shoe line, the Boost (which you may remember us drooling over on its New York release a few weeks back).

There’s no doubt that these shoes are a beautiful piece of kit, and will definitely draw admiring and envious glances if you’re out running around the city or a popular park. They keep the classic Adidas “3 stripes” design which has been so so timeless for the brand, and then tops it off with its new foam technology on the sole.

Writing for the Metro, Vicki-Marie Cossar, herself an experienced runner and reviewer, seems impressed, praising the stability of the shoes, whilst also remarking on their flexibility. She takes them for a two-hour spin around a recently-snowed in New York and Central Park, and finds the whole running experience pretty positive, especially on hills, where she says that, “there’s no denying I feel more energised while running”.

Overall, Cossar’s glowing views back up our own fanboy raving, and we can’t wait to get our hands on them. Cossar states that, “I’m not a fast runner, and I’ve never done a marathon, but I manage a two-hour run around the city. I don’t feel tired and could easily continue. I had none of the usual aches and pains in my legs afterwards, which could be down to the good cushioning of the trainers. I’ll definitely wear them on future runs and am hopeful they might help me achieve my first half-marathon distance.”

Encouraging signs for us all!

Just Done It? Nike introduces new lightweight FlyKnit Lunar +1 shoes

A few weeks ago, The Guardian reported that Nike was facing some rather awkward difficulties relating to the sustainability and shelf-life of their products, and the company was now looking to repair their image and consumption statistics.

Fitting then, that this week saw the release of the company’s newest shoe offering, the ultra-minimalist Flyknit Lunar 1+.  Apparently the result of four years hard R+D, Nike say that these shoes reflect what athletes really want from their footwear- “a snug and agile shoe that fits like a sock and is as light as a feather”.  And they’re not far wrong there – a men’s size 10 apparently weighs just 8 oz!

The new super-lightweight Nike Flyknit Lunar +1

The new super-lightweight Nike Flyknit Lunar 1+

First impressions are that the shoes do look great – you can almost see straight through them! Nike says that the shoes feature an upper part constructed entirely of a tightly woven polyester yarn that varies in density. This means that it is more open in targeted areas of your feet that may need greater flexibility or ventilation, and also tighter in areas that demand support.

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Around the web: the weekend’s recommended reading

Ten of the best running documentaries – It’s still getting dark early, so once you’ve finished your long run this weekend, why not put your feet up and relax with these inspirational classics? Our favourite is the incredible Dean Karnazes and his ultra-marathon feats. (Guardian)

8 Fantastic Fitness Apps to Keep You Motivated – We’ll be reviewing a few of these next week after we’ve had the weekend to play around with them – but here’s a quick overview of some of the best fitness and running apps out there at the moment! (Mashable)

China Holds Its Second Underpants Jogging Event in Beijing – And finally…something a bit different – an underpants-only race in Beijing. (Rocket News 24)

Happy weekend!

Around the web: today’s recommended reading

Bringing you the best in news and advice from around the net…

Eat like a Kenyan, run like a Kenyan?

The team over at RunAddicts.net examine what the diets of elite runners can tell us about their talents and if we can take any lessons from this.

Beating the Blisters

Fitmodo talk you through how best to avoid those annoying blisters (if only they’d taught Ringo before he did “Helter Skelter”…)

Running for charity – worth the money?

The Guardian investigates the real reason people run for charity – and also promotes the idea of self-worth and achievement too!

US TV network apologises to Mo Farah after anchor takes him for an amateur

Yes, it’s the clip sweeping the internet at the moment – the embarrassing moment when a US TV anchor fails to realise she’s interviewing a two-time Olympic gold medalist.

After setting a course record of one hour 59 seconds and holding off Ethiopian Gebre Gebremariam in a sprint finish, Mo was interviewed by WSDU presenter LaTonya Norton, who asked him, “Haven’t you run before?” and “This isn’t your first time?”

Mo who? Clueless anchor LaTonya Norton (image courtesy of Eurosport)

All credit to his Mo-ness, he took it in his stride, powering through like a true professional, when surely many other sports stars would have taken offence at such a snub. He even went on Twitter today to ask fans to lay off Norton, saying that, “She made a mistake like we all do! She didn’t mean anything by it”.

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Lust List – Adidas Boost

So, so pretty…

Announced just over two weeks ago in New York, the Adidas’ new family of shoes is promising to revolutionize the way you run – and the speed at which you do it.

Called Adidas Boost, the new range of shoes will be made of a new material that delivers greater energy response, made up of dozens of mini capsules that will increase the ‘bounce’ produced when your foot strikes the ground. Adidas’ rather odd promo video shows this material bouncing a metal ball higher and for longer than that of a competitor and the floor.

The technology works by absorbing the energy and then pushing back to return it, helping to propel you forward, as the shoes material delivers a much greater energy response per stride. Adidas believe that the shoes will deliver a performance boost of around 10 seconds per km if ran at a 5min/km pace, a bold claim which we look forward to trying out. Adidas had running titan Haile Gebrselassie speaking at the launch, who said that he believes over a 26 mile run, trained athletes could see anywhere up to 40 seconds’ improvement.

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Qualcomm launches Wireless Walking Challenge with American Heart Association

Qualcomm has announced that its Qualcomm Life division is kicking off a Wireless Walking Challenge in collaboration with the American Heart Association (AHA) at Mobile World Congress 2013 this week in Barcelona.

Qualcomm Life and the American Heart Association are working together to launch the Wireless Walking Challenge to encourage people to increase their physical activity in order to ultimately improve their heart health and attendees of Mobile World Congress have the first opportunity to compete in this global challenge.

To participate, attendees can download their choice of an mHealth app, including MapMyFitness, Noom or RunKeeper, or leverage a pre-owned activity monitoring device, including Body Media, or Fitbit, to track their steps throughout the conference. The mHealth apps and devices are connected to the Wireless Walking Challenge app via the 2net Connect APIs so participants’ steps are automatically updated and reflected in the app leaderboard.

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