I’m not one for fads, but when my relay teammate told me the alleged secret to speed for 40-year-old mom slash Olympic Gold medalist Dana Torres and her incredible swimming PR at the last Olympic event, I was already on the bandwagon. My long-term and lifelong running dream is to one day have someone say to me, “JT/Chick/Lady/Studette you are crazy fast” and actually mean it. According to her interview in Womens Health Magazine she attributes her very involved stretching routine to being a large factor to her speed, agility and overall bionic woman-esque qualities.

Our resident runner, Jennifer Tran, was all set to run the LA Marathon last weekend. She ran during lunch, after work, on holiday weekends and seemed to rarely sleep. All along the way, she wrote about her experiences for Kspace, and shared what she was reading about and experiencing.

Shepard Fairey, although born of eastern blood, has become somewhat synonymous with the LA urban art scene. So it was fitting that when the new owners of the LA Marathon were looking for someone to design the 25th anniversary commemorative poster, they turned to his Studio Number One. Cleon Peterson designed the commemorative poster, which not only includes three L.A.- area icons, but also the start of one of the largest marathons in the world and 2009 women’s champion Tatiana Petrova of Russia.

Like my high school basketball coach implored, “Quit looking at your feet, you’ll never get anywhere!” This is true of almost anything, especially when it comes to running. Marathon’s are a competition, but they are also a celebration of city life, and in the case of the LA Marathon “urban life.” For Los Angelenos, it’s really one of the few days that makes for a good excuse to get out of your car and explore on two feet this wildly complex and eclectic city.

If you’re a running enthusiast, race addict or extremely goal oriented in general, you probably keep your eye on your pace at all times. When I find myself coming back from illness or injury as much as I’m excited to be able to run again, the first week or so is usually met with a ton of frustration. Without fail, my pace is usually knocked slower by almost a minute.

Whenever I have a conversation with people about any race, training or running in general, I find myself spewing out terms that leave people with a big question mark on their foreheads. I then recall when it was not too long ago that I too was unaware of what most of the words belonging to the secret runner’s code meant.

Have you ever given yourself an excuse not to run – especially when it comes to a long run? It’s hard enough having to face 20 miles of road time and when it comes to having any kind of active social life, late nights, etc… getting the training runs in seem near impossible. With the LA Marathon now less than 30 days away…

If you’re living and running in the urban sprawl that is Los Angeles, you may find it difficult at times to find a good group to run with. Have no fear, I have a Google Map* of popular running clubs in Los Angeles to help avoid such excuses in the future. The map is updated as often as possible to include accurate date and time meet information. There are also notes and reviews for some of the running clubs I or other runners have tried out.

I just started working on my LA Marathon playlist (it takes a while longer than I thought it would to do a 5+ hour playlist) which made my mind wander to how few celebrities who live in LA are actually going to be running the LA Marathon. I mean really, only Shia LeBouf? What’s going on with the West Coast celebrities?! Music and motivation isn’t the only site that features celebrity running playlists. Here some cool ones I’ve found online that with music I’m actually likely to poach from:

One of my New Year’s Resolutions for 2010 was committing myself to cross-training at least two times a week. I’ve read all about the benefits of cross-training (injury prevention, active recovery, overall running fitness improvement, etc) and have really wanted to up my game as a runner. Running is my favorite form of exercise, so it’s been pretty difficult so far for me to find a cross training activity that is both beneficial and that I actually enjoy.

After a race the inevitable happens: post race depression. Now what? Well, train for the next of course! But lately I have started asking myself why? Is it volume? Is it free bling? Is it for a new PR? I’ve been conflicted the past few months on how to train/race… I love to race but after the volume I’d seen in a short amount of time, I started wondering about the quality of the racing experience as a whole and what that *really* entailed for me personally.

Now that the LA Marathon training is in full swing, the runs have gotten increasingly longer and general overall feeling of bodily well being has… well changed. One of the things I usually struggle with when it comes for training for a full marathon is consistently doing my long runs on the weekend. My own personal fix for getting those weekend runs in is having some “side training” to rewards myself with – racing half marathons.

A blogging crew by the name of Notorias, has been quietly documenting their runs throughout the LA basin, both glorious and beautiful and some just downright urban. However, they manage to capture the type and scope of each journey, and share the video(!) from each of the vantage points on their runs.

To commemorate their sponsorship of the upcoming LA Marathon as well as testament to their passion for running in general, K-Swiss has opened a running store in Santa Monica. On offer will be a selection of their performance footwear, apparel and accesories — similar to their outlet in Taiwan —however this one is just a mile away from the finish line for the March 2010 event.

When I first peeped this list, I thought that celebrities might be putting together their favorite tracks to run to, but it turns out that these are the picks of their DJs. Yeah, I guess now with being a celebrity, part of the entourage is automatically a DJ. However, not having heard of even one of these DJs makes me feel dubious.

While it may be obvious, the shape of your footprint may the best guide to buying the right shoes. Literally, this guide from Runners World, along with such factors as weight, weekly mileage and personal preferences, can help you find the perfect pair of running shoes for you. While it may not give you any leg up on being the next Terenzo Bozzone…

Author Christopher McDougall constructs a great read, “Born to Run”, around the story of the Tarahumara, an ode to joys of running and how far we’ve strayed from it as a natural function. We follow him through the Copper Canyons of Mexico to visit this tribe of Indians, legendary for their ablity to run extreme distances…

I would probably not recommend following the White Denim workout regime – not in the gym nor um especially running for your life with some hill billy chasing you ! But hell yeah, i most definitely do recommend their latest album ‘Fits’ – a very workout friendly 12 tune ‘jukebox’ romp including the stompin’ ‘I Start to Run’ which has gotten us so excited that we’re naming our new fitness column after it !

It’s more than a little ironic that National Running Day (June 3) was only a couple of squares on the calendar away from National Donut Day (June 5) this year.

These diametrically opposed “Days” are the perfect metaphor for many modern Americans. The eternal struggle between sugary decadence and regular physical activity is one that’s waged on many fronts. From middle-school cafeterias to late-night drive-through runs, it would seem that the bad guys are winning in a landslide.

Runners can often be like mountain climbers once bitten by the bug. In the same way that climbers tackle bigger and more hazardous obstacles, runners will push themselves through marathons and even branch out into multi-sporting events like triathlons. It is no wonder former addicts often turn to such strenuous activities as their new obsession.