I know I need to drink plenty of water when I’m working out in the heat and sweating up a storm, but when I exercise outside in the winter I don’t sweat as much or get as thirsty. Is it still important to stay hydrated in frigid temps?

My buddies and I are training for a race together, and the other day we got on the topic of pre-sporting event sex. Some of the guys swear it can have a negative impact on race-day performance; I say it helps calm my nerves. Who’s right?

Some high-energy, athletic dogs, unable to sweat, will work to the point of self-injury, so make sure you're able to recognize the warning signs of exhaustion

Last year, Patrick Halloran finished last in the Empire State Building Run-Up. This year, he's coming back, and he's going to kick your ass.

Take their advice

Do you have a healthy social-fitness life? It all depends on your motivation.

On January 22, the increasingly popular relay running series, Ragnar, announced that it is partnering with Salomon to launch the world’s first overnight trail running series. “For years we have dreamed of taking Ragnar to the trails and now it’s a reality,” says Tanner Bell, who founded…

Signing up to run a race in a warm, tropical climate seems like a fun way to travel and beat the winter blues—but I’d have to train here, where I live, in the cold. Should I worry about the temperature difference, and how can I make the adjustment easier?

Meet the man who runs 30 miles a day and eats nothing but fruit

The mastermind behind CrossFit Endurance says the best way to train for a marathon is to run less and torture yourself more in the gym. Christopher Solomon laces up for a whole new level of pain.

The science of barefoot running form hit the ground somewhat simply at first. In a January, 2010, Nature article, “Foot Strike Patterns and Collision Forces in Habitually Barefoot Versus Shod Runners,” Harvard evolutionary biologist…

Man's best friend. Photo: JezBragg.Blogspot.com In addition to the 50 sunsets and sunrises that ultrarunner Jez Bragg plans to take in while trying to run 2,000 miles across New Zealand's newest cross-country trail in the fastest time ever, there are less…

Not everyone wants to show it all when they run. Slit-up-the-side, three-inch inseam, built-in underwear, nearly-a-speedo running shorts are about as revealing as you can get in public without getting arrested. If that's not your look, Brooks Running is now making the Board Short, a pair of running shorts just…

Yes, carrying an umbrella is the simplest way to stay dry when it's raining. For science's sake, let's just say it starts raining unexpectedly on a day when an umbrella just isn't a possibility and you have somewhere specific to be. What's the best way to get less wet…

Even endurance athletes can score performance gains with high-intensity interval training. Here's how to do it.

Can high levels of endurance training lead to irreversible heart damage? A new report is giving athletes panic attacks.

Maybe you should get a checkup before you go the distance

Holiday gift guides abound this time of year. But they're mostly filled with gifts that you hope you'll get, not gifts you'll give. Stumped as to what to buy your lady this season? This guide is for you. 1. NAU DOWN LOOPNER SCARFShe'll wear it as a scarf, and…

Team 40, with the author at left, kitted out for night racing. Photo: Audrey Brandt. By Elizabeth Eilers Sullivan Why run 198 miles in a single weekend? When it comes to passing on the love of sport to your kids, it’s hard to trump leading by…

Len Stanmore, 60, is currently in Antarctica, competing in one of the world's most grueling footraces. If he completes it, he'll not only be a one-time overweight retiree who got sick of the golf course, but also the first person to climb the Seven Summits, ski to both poles, and complete the 4 Deserts Grand Slam.

Minimalist running shoes aren’t for everyone, but Brooks' new PureDrift is a transitional shoe with a minimalist option that's great for the barefoot-curious as well as runners exploring a shoe with a little more road feel. The PureDrift's secret is adjustable drop. With the sockliner in, it's…

Both Yaktrax and MICROspikes tout themselves as superior traction devices that keep you upright on snow and ice. Which product should I buy for winter running?

Everything you need to get started in winter’s most underrated endurance sport

While it may not appear that way, Noah Davis thinks that Manhattan and ultramarathons might just be made for each other

There’s a clever new LED safety light for night running/biking. Is it any good? And who invents this stuff?

Shaun Martin, a Navajo cross-country coach from Chinle, Arizona, uses running as a powerful motivator for high school students who yearn for opportunities beyond the reservation. But make no mistake: these kids race to win, and they usually do.

The NYC Marathon, cancelled for the first time in race history. Photo: Steve Broer/Shutterstock I don't live on the East Coast. I'm landlocked in the high desert, where it is 65 degrees, sunny, and cloudless today, as it has been all week. We have not…

From avoiding a "golden shower" to how much money—yes, money—to bring.

Rather sort your sock drawer than run on a treadmill? Us too. Here’s the gear you’ll need to keep running outdoors all winter long.

While the minimalism trend has shifted the center of the running universe toward lighter, more neutral designs with lower heels, shoe buyers are still faced with one crucial question: Performance or comfort?

Heidi Volpe speaks with Rich Roll about his transformation from addict to ultra-endurance athlete

For years, runners have been told that technology—bags of air, gel, shock absorbing and overbuilt arch and heel support—is supposed to make running better. Still, there is no proof that overbuilt support systems reduce injury or make running better for you. In fact, there are many studies now that show…

Navajo ultramarathoner Shaun Martin, a cross-country coach and teacher from Chinle, Arizona, uses running as a powerful motivator for high school students who yearn for opportunities beyond the reservation.

Looking for which candidate's economic beliefs are best suited to the present day? Wondering who's better suited to take office should the next president become incapacitated? Well, you've come to the wrong place.

Dawn patrol: At the start of the inaugural Mt. Taylor 50K. Photo: Paul Gordon Pictures In late September, nearly 150 ultrarunners converged on Grants, New Mexico, on the eve of the first annual Mount Taylor 50K trail race. The course promised a scenic, challenging…

Noah Davis takes a look at Wade Barrett's transition from professional soccer player to semi-serious ultramarathoner

Trail running is one of the few sports where the top women can compete with elite men, and often beat them—a phenomenon affectionately known among runners as “getting chicked.” Likewise, it's also one of the few sports that typically favors seasoned competitors, with many ultra trail runners not peaking until…

Irish Paralympic sprinter Jason Smyth is aiming to achieve the same feat accomplished by Usain Bolt in the Olympics. If the 25-year-old wins the 200m final on Friday night at the Paralympics in London he will have taken gold medals in both the 100m…

What does the popularity of a zombie-themed obstacle race say about American society?

Meaghen Brown is in France, reporting from one of the world's most grueling footraces

A collection of facts and figures about what is widely considered to be one of the toughest footraces in the world

Increasingly, race organizers are testing non-elite athletes for performance-enhancing drugs. But is it fair, or even possible, to hold amateurs to the same stringent standards as the pros?

https://youtube.com/watch?v=nXm3QssuJyM It's unlikely that much of runner Nick Symmonds' pre-Olympic training began at a table covered in cans of Coors, but the Games are over. Symmonds has moved on from his fifth place finish in…

I'm experiencing knee pain as I start to up my mileage. Can I put on a brace and keep running?

Here's a little inspiration for anyone pondering whether to go out for a run this weekend. Watch as South African runner Ryan Sandes sets off to complete the 52-mile trail in Fish River Canyon in five days. I picked this…

Dave Heckman (left) with Marshall Ulrich. Photo: Rick Baraff By now you've probably heard that July registered as the hottest month in the history of the lower 48 states since the U.S. government started tracking…

A fundraising trip in Tigray, Ethiopia, next February gives 14 runners the chance to train with some of the world’s greatest runners—and help restore sight to more than 1,000 locals

Two-time Olympian Mike Aish has a goal in the summer of 2012: to compete in the Leadville 100, a one-hundred-mile foot race in the mountains of Colorado.

What’s the best way to haul water when running long distances?

This past Wednesday, a video went live on YouTube showing 90-year-old Dr. William Bell setting a world record in his age group in the pole vault. Bell cleared a height of 7 feet 2 inches to set the mark for 90 to 94 year…

Guor pointing to the flag of South Sudan Photo: Courtesy of Guor Marial Guor Marial has no idea how many interviews he’s done in the last two weeks, but he knows it’s a lot. He is doing them to make sure people are familiar with his…

Watch Jesse Owens on PBS. See more from…

Sitting for three or more hours a day can take years off of your life. When you're active, you won't lose years, but an occasional bump, bruise or sprain can keep you off your bike, out of your running shoes or off the slopes.

Andy Maser and his team have released the second video in the Wild Love series, a collection of adventure shorts on love, loss, and passion for living. The video is a profile of ultrarunner Krissy Moehl. After winning the…

Your body is 98 percent water. Keep your cells happy and hydrated with these new water-replenishing packs for cyclists and runners that will debut at the Outdoor Retailer show in Salt Lake City. GEIGERRIG BIKE RIG Geigerrig Hydration Packs made a splash last year with the introduction of their air pressure-powered…

The latest gadgets collect reams of training data. Here are the metrics that matter.

This short 51-second commercial is a really clean and quick take on what motivates Lesotho Olympic marathon runner Tsepo Ramonene. There's much more to his story than you see in the short. The 21-year-old lives with his unemployed parents, his twin brother, and his sister in a…

This summer in London, Trek will debut the lightest mountain-bike frame ever built.

A mockup of the Green Wheel. Photo: Nadim Inaty Okay, you won't save the earth. But you will help it along a tiny bit. Nadim Inaty, an industrial designer from Beirut, Lebanon, is developing a public treadmill that would essentially crowdsource electricity from runners. The concept,…

I can see the smoke from wildfires burning all across the state. How do I know if it’s safe to run outside?

By Elizabeth Eilers Sullivan A few weeks ago, I had the treat of hearing ultramarathoner and author of the bestselling new book Eat & Run, Scott Jurek, speak in Wayzata, Minnesota, when he came through on his sold-out book tour. Because he happened to…

How Brother Colm O'Connell became the guru of Kenyan running

It's one of the hottest summers on record—but I still need to get outside and exercise. How can I stay cool when I run?

10 p.m., summer solstice; Villefavard, France. Photo: Katie Arnold I’m walking slowly through a bucolic farming village in the French countryside, gawking at a cluster of 100-year-old stone houses with blue shutters and window boxes spilling over with orange geraniums. It’s nearly 10:30 p.m. on the…

Columbia says that bare skin is no longer the coolest option on hot humid days. The company’s newest creation, clothes made with Omni-Freeze ZERO, is, they claim, even cooler. ZERO has circles of a sweat-absorbing polymer that swell and turn blue like tiny ice packs when…

Fact: Exercising in polluted air can increase your risk of asthma, stroke, and heart failure. But is it better than the alternative—avoiding a workout altogether?

The perfect riding jacket is tiny enough to tuck into a jersey pocket, but it's also able to stave off a chill on ripping descents or when clouds unexpectedly obscure the sun. Louis Garneau's Super Lite Jacket is not only packable but light as air…

The results are far from damning, but a study in this month's Mayo Clinic Proceedings presents evidence that excessive endurance exercise could do lasting damage to the heart

Tarahumara Indians, the tribe made famous in Christopher McDougall's book Born to Run, are being used more and more by traffickers to ferry drugs across the U.S. border with Mexico. Aram Roston…

Probably the most talked about moment at the Olympic trials so far has been the dead heat finish declared in the women's 100m final last Saturday. Allyson Felix…

On May 30, 1975, Steve Prefontaine cancelled his last haircut appointment at the Red Rooster Barbershop in Eugene, Oregon. He promised to come in the next day, but he died that night. The missed appointment may sound like a trivial fact that has little to do with running,…

Whether you're looking forward to your first dance with death or pride yourself on being a seasoned veteran, these tips will help you enjoy a safe run with the bulls

Dead heat finish between Allyson Felix and Jenebah Tarmoh. Photo: USATF As impressive as it was, Michael Phelps's mustache shaving didn't make the cut. Neither did…

Finally, you will undoubtedly have a moment between Cal 2 and Auburn Lakes Trails when you feel like you need a Quad Transplant. I got news for you, everyone feels this way. The downhill pounding you put your legs through at Western States grinds the muscles in your quads…

The Olympian on beating Bolt and how he came back from his doping ban

I want to add miles for my ultra training, but I'm concerned about breaking down my body. Will longer runs wreck my hard-won muscle tone?

I'm upping my distance, but every additional mile seems to make it harder to bounce back. What tools will help speed my recovery from a hard run?

Man and water. Photo: Shutterstock South African exercise scientist Dr. Tim Noakes wants to change the way endurance athletes think about hydration. He believes that, over the course of the last 30 years, people…

There are dozens of hydration packs out there. Which ones are best for specific activities, such as mountain biking, running marathons, or a weekend hike?

There's been a lot of talk lately about long runs being hard on the body, particularly the heart. I've also read the CrossFit argument against distance running, even when preparing for a marathon. Should I change how I run?