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.

As road racing and distance running and all of it’s hot trends (i.e.barefoot running) are gaining popularity, people in the medical field are seeking to quantify definitive answers on the question of whether or not the human body is built for distance. Researchers at the University in Minnesota are gathering data in a pretty interesting way: make training for a marathon a class!

Having a strong core (lower back, hips and abdominals) is essential to help keep proper running form… as well as help prevent injury… and most importantly be a helpful aid for looking damn good before bikini season is upon us. Here are two highly effective core workouts for beginners.

When I signed up for the LA Marathon (day of opening) I knew going in that I absolutely needed to have some formal training under my belt. I signed up with a package to train with the official training group for the LA Marathon, the Road Runners. The concept behind the Road Runners is simple, you surround yourself with a group of people who run at your pace and allow the group to keep you in rhythm and motivated to stay on pace.

At the very surface level, running is sport for the individual. There’s usually just one person who breaks ahead of the pack, and only one person that can break the tape at the end of the finish line. Even so, when I first started getting into running just a little over a year ago, the reason I was able to go as far as finishing my first half marathon (to then train for my first marathon only three months later) was largely in part due to having an amazing partner to run with.