Could a marathon ever be run in under two hours?

If it can it certainly won't be done by me. Under 4 hours is my goal! Anyway the BBC attempts an answer

A couple of running links

It's a while since I last posted but it's not that I haven't been running just not writing about it. In fact I've done two 7 mile runs in the last 24 hours, so there. But here are a couple of friends thoughts on running

• Matt Hosier reflects on the life benefits from training for the Brighton marathon
• Sean Green recently did a 5k in Reading with the park run initiative.

Are we born to run?

It's been a while since I blogged here but I have been running and buying new shoes! Enjoy this talk on running

I hate running

Well I don't, but Pete Cornford does but he'll keep on running.

"Today I put on my trainers and did 12kms. I did not wear a hat or take a drink. It was only when I got back that I discovered it was 29degrees."

Read the whole thing

Runtastic

There's a growing amount of web based tools and websites to help the runner. One I've just been introduced to is runtastic. Track your runs, get apps if you have a Garmin, Android or iPhone and lots of other stuff. The site looks good and could be a decent site, well worth using. I've added a permanent link on the blog.

What happened in their first year? Some facts:

• runtastic mobile sports tracking apps were launched on the iPhone (nov. 2009), Android (apr. 2010) and Blackberry (aug. 2010).
• runtastic sports platform was launched as beta (dec. 2009).
• runtastic was chosen as the best app in Austria.
• On July 8^th 2010 (Re-launch of the sports portal) the runtastic iPhone Pro app (for free on this day) reached the first place in the category Health & Fitness in more than 25 countries (amongst others big countries we reached #1 in US, UK, FR, GE, IT,)

What happens next in the up coming year?

• runtastic apps on more mobile operating systems
• Connect to sports watches (e.g. Garmin Forerunner 405)
• Heart rate integration on more platforms
• Creation of training plans and extension of the sports portal
• More languages for mobile apps and sports portal

Why you should splurge on shoes

Here's an article that tells why you should never skimp on your running shoes amongst other things

A friends first half-marathon

My web design buddy from Philadelphia just ran his first half marathon. Here's how he found it