The court cleared Pistorius to compete, but read the ruling closely: it never said the blades gave no advantage. It said the IAAF failed to prove one. The actual question was left wide open.
#Running #RunningHistory #Paralympics #TheLongRun
#Running #RunningHistory #Paralympics #TheLongRun
The Oscar Pistorius Blade Runner Eligibility Case — The Court That Overruled the Federation
The Court of Arbitration for Sport reverses the IAAF's ban on Oscar Pistorius, ruling that the federation failed to prove a net advantage from his prosthetic blades. The panel's decision leaves the underlying question of whether the blades give Pistorius an overall advantage open.
www.grandaha.com
September 29, 2026 at 9:23 AM
The court cleared Pistorius to compete, but read the ruling closely: it never said the blades gave no advantage. It said the IAAF failed to prove one. The actual question was left wide open.
#Running #RunningHistory #Paralympics #TheLongRun
#Running #RunningHistory #Paralympics #TheLongRun
The debate wasn't really about whether the blades helped Pistorius — it was about the metabolic cost argument. Carbon fiber returns energy a human ankle can't, but it can't generate force either. The IAAF banned him, then lost the appeal.
#Running #RunningHistory #Paralympics #TheLongRun
#Running #RunningHistory #Paralympics #TheLongRun
The Oscar Pistorius Blade Runner Eligibility Case — The Cheetah Flex Foot and the Metabolic Cost Argument
The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) rules on prosthetic devices sparked a debate over whether Oscar Pistorius's carbon-fiber blades gave him an unfair advantage in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
www.grandaha.com
September 29, 2026 at 2:18 AM
The debate wasn't really about whether the blades helped Pistorius — it was about the metabolic cost argument. Carbon fiber returns energy a human ankle can't, but it can't generate force either. The IAAF banned him, then lost the appeal.
#Running #RunningHistory #Paralympics #TheLongRun
#Running #RunningHistory #Paralympics #TheLongRun
New episode: April 10, 1896—a Greek water carrier named Spiridon Louis wins the first marathon ever run in 2:58:50, by over seven minutes. Two princes reportedly ran the final marble lap beside him. He didn't break the record. There was none. He set the first. #Running #RunningHistory #TheLongRun
The Spiridon Louis Victory at the 1896 Olympic Marathon — The Long Run
On 10 April 1896, a Greek water carrier named Spiridon Louis ran into the Panathenaic Stadium ahead of the world in 2:58:50, winning the first Olympic marathon by more than seven minutes. This episode traces that afternoon at Marathon Bridge, the improvised race that no one in the crowd had ever see
open.spotify.com
September 28, 2026 at 9:45 AM
New episode: April 10, 1896—a Greek water carrier named Spiridon Louis wins the first marathon ever run in 2:58:50, by over seven minutes. Two princes reportedly ran the final marble lap beside him. He didn't break the record. There was none. He set the first. #Running #RunningHistory #TheLongRun
The IAAF banned Oscar Pistorius from able-bodied racing in 2008, arguing his blades gave him an edge. What gets left out: the Court of Arbitration for Sport overturned it, and four years later he ran the 400m at the London Olympics. #Running #RunningHistory #Paralympics #TheLongRun
The Oscar Pistorius Blade Runner Eligibility Case — An Introduction
The International Association of Athletics Federations ruled Oscar Pistorius ineligible to compete against able-bodied runners, sparking a debate about the limits of technology and the definition of a fair body.
www.grandaha.com
September 28, 2026 at 9:21 AM
The IAAF banned Oscar Pistorius from able-bodied racing in 2008, arguing his blades gave him an edge. What gets left out: the Court of Arbitration for Sport overturned it, and four years later he ran the 400m at the London Olympics. #Running #RunningHistory #Paralympics #TheLongRun
Everyone remembers Spiridon Louis crossing the line in 1896. Almost no one remembers that the marathon existed at all because of a century of poets, doctors, and promoters who spent decades reviving the ancient Games first. The lone hero is the part we kept.
#RunningHistory #Running #TheLongRun
#RunningHistory #Running #TheLongRun
The Spiridon Louis Victory at the 1896 Olympic Marathon — The Finish Line
The 1896 Olympic marathon's success was built on the shoulders of an entire century of athletes, poets, doctors, and entrepreneurs who helped revive the ancient Games and pave the way for the sport's modern revival.
www.grandaha.com
September 28, 2026 at 2:18 AM
Everyone remembers Spiridon Louis crossing the line in 1896. Almost no one remembers that the marathon existed at all because of a century of poets, doctors, and promoters who spent decades reviving the ancient Games first. The lone hero is the part we kept.
#RunningHistory #Running #TheLongRun
#RunningHistory #Running #TheLongRun
The 1896 marathon wasn't really an athletic contest by the time Spiridon Louis reached the Panathenaic Stadium — it had turned into national theatre. The finish was staged as spectacle, not sport.
#RunningHistory #Marathon #Olympics #Running #TheLongRun
#RunningHistory #Marathon #Olympics #Running #TheLongRun
The Spiridon Louis Victory at the 1896 Olympic Marathon — The Home Straight in the Panathenaic Stadium
The first Olympic marathon in 1896 was a moment of national theatre, where athletic contest gave way to spectacle, as Spiridon Louis crossed the finish line in the reconstructed Panathenaic Stadium.
www.grandaha.com
September 27, 2026 at 9:15 AM
The 1896 marathon wasn't really an athletic contest by the time Spiridon Louis reached the Panathenaic Stadium — it had turned into national theatre. The finish was staged as spectacle, not sport.
#RunningHistory #Marathon #Olympics #Running #TheLongRun
#RunningHistory #Marathon #Olympics #Running #TheLongRun
Spiridon Louis is remembered as a humble water carrier — the peasant who won the first modern Olympic marathon in 1896. But that occupation got quietly upgraded over the decades. The tidy underdog story is a later edit, not the record.
#RunningHistory #Marathon #Olympics #Running #TheLongRun
#RunningHistory #Marathon #Olympics #Running #TheLongRun
The Spiridon Louis Victory at the 1896 Olympic Marathon — The Water Carrier and the Occupation That Got Upgraded
A water carrier from Athens wins the first modern Olympic marathon, but the true story behind his occupation is more complex and has been edited over time.
www.grandaha.com
September 27, 2026 at 2:19 AM
Spiridon Louis is remembered as a humble water carrier — the peasant who won the first modern Olympic marathon in 1896. But that occupation got quietly upgraded over the decades. The tidy underdog story is a later edit, not the record.
#RunningHistory #Marathon #Olympics #Running #TheLongRun
#RunningHistory #Marathon #Olympics #Running #TheLongRun
Nobody had ever raced a marathon before 1896 — the distance was invented for the Games, at 40km, not today's 42.195. And the Pheidippides run it honors rests on shaky ancient evidence. #Marathon #RunningHistory #Olympics #Running #TheLongRun
The Spiridon Louis Victory at the 1896 Olympic Marathon — The Marathon That Had Never Been Run
The 1896 Athens Olympics feature the world's first marathon, a 40-kilometer race from Marathon to Athens honoring the ancient Greek messenger Pheidippides, who reportedly ran the same distance in 490 BCE, collapsing upon arrival.
www.grandaha.com
September 26, 2026 at 2:26 AM
Nobody had ever raced a marathon before 1896 — the distance was invented for the Games, at 40km, not today's 42.195. And the Pheidippides run it honors rests on shaky ancient evidence. #Marathon #RunningHistory #Olympics #Running #TheLongRun
The marathon wasn't an ancient event revived — it was invented for the 1896 Games, built on the Pheidippides legend historians still argue over. A 23-year-old water carrier named Spiridon Louis won the first one. The myth came before the sport.
#RunningHistory #Marathon #Running #TheLongRun
#RunningHistory #Marathon #Running #TheLongRun
The Spiridon Louis Victory at the 1896 Olympic Marathon — An Introduction
A 23-year-old Greek water carrier, Spiridon Louis, wins the first Olympic marathon in Athens in 1896, setting the stage for a sport that has become synonymous with athleticism and competition, but its origins are shrouded in myth and controversy.
www.grandaha.com
September 25, 2026 at 9:11 AM
The marathon wasn't an ancient event revived — it was invented for the 1896 Games, built on the Pheidippides legend historians still argue over. A 23-year-old water carrier named Spiridon Louis won the first one. The myth came before the sport.
#RunningHistory #Marathon #Running #TheLongRun
#RunningHistory #Marathon #Running #TheLongRun
New episode: the Maffetone Method. Mark Allen lost Kona five times, then a heart-rate ceiling and "slow enough to hold a conversation" pace made him a six-time world champ. We dig into the 180-formula and why slowing down for years is the point. Listen now. #running #RunningHistory #TheLongRun
Maffetone Method (MAF Heart-Rate Training) — The Long Run
Every runner's guide to Maffetone eventually tells the Mark Allen story: five losses in Kona, one heart-rate monitor, and a first-place finish in 1989. It's a great story. It's also incomplete.
In this episode we get past the legend and into the method itself. The core of it is a number—your maximu
open.spotify.com
September 24, 2026 at 7:21 AM
New episode: the Maffetone Method. Mark Allen lost Kona five times, then a heart-rate ceiling and "slow enough to hold a conversation" pace made him a six-time world champ. We dig into the 180-formula and why slowing down for years is the point. Listen now. #running #RunningHistory #TheLongRun
Everyone credits Maffetone with the "180 Formula," but the aerobic-first logic underneath it wasn't his invention — it traces back to earlier coaches and physiologists he's rarely mentioned alongside. The idea was old before it got his name on it.
#Running #RunningHistory #MAF #TheLongRun
#Running #RunningHistory #MAF #TheLongRun
Maffetone Method (MAF Heart-Rate Training) — The Finish Line
Maffetone's training method, built on decades-old ideas, is examined and contrasted with the ideas of several influential coaches and physiologists, revealing the depth of the "aerobic-first" logic. The 180 Formula, a cornerstone of Maffetone's training, is found to be rooted in earlier work.
www.grandaha.com
September 24, 2026 at 2:15 AM
Everyone credits Maffetone with the "180 Formula," but the aerobic-first logic underneath it wasn't his invention — it traces back to earlier coaches and physiologists he's rarely mentioned alongside. The idea was old before it got his name on it.
#Running #RunningHistory #MAF #TheLongRun
#Running #RunningHistory #MAF #TheLongRun
The famous "180 minus age" formula isn't the tidy science it's sold as. Trace it back and it leans heavily on Mark Allen's results, not controlled trials — and the fat-burning payoff may be smaller than the fandom insists.
#Running #RunningHistory #Endurance #TheLongRun
#Running #RunningHistory #Endurance #TheLongRun
Maffetone Method (MAF Heart-Rate Training) — The Fat-Burning Claim Under the Aerobic Ceiling
Phil Maffetone's low-intensity training method, which involves training at a heart rate below 180 minus age, is put to the test in this chapter, revealing that the benefits of this approach may be overstated and the science behind it, borrowed from Mark Allen, not as clear-cut as previously thought.
www.grandaha.com
September 23, 2026 at 9:18 AM
The famous "180 minus age" formula isn't the tidy science it's sold as. Trace it back and it leans heavily on Mark Allen's results, not controlled trials — and the fat-burning payoff may be smaller than the fandom insists.
#Running #RunningHistory #Endurance #TheLongRun
#Running #RunningHistory #Endurance #TheLongRun
Mark Allen won six Ironman titles on it, but the MAF formula's famous "180 minus your age" has no lab validation behind it. Maffetone never published where the 180 came from. A cornerstone of aerobic training rests on a number nobody can source.
#Running #Triathlon #RunningHistory #TheLongRun
#Running #Triathlon #RunningHistory #TheLongRun
Maffetone Method (MAF Heart-Rate Training) — The 180 Formula and Its Arbitrary Number
Mark Allen's training method, MAF, uses a 180-minus-age maximum aerobic heart rate formula, but its origins are unclear, and its effectiveness is largely anecdotal, with no validated lab tests.
www.grandaha.com
September 23, 2026 at 2:14 AM
Mark Allen won six Ironman titles on it, but the MAF formula's famous "180 minus your age" has no lab validation behind it. Maffetone never published where the 180 came from. A cornerstone of aerobic training rests on a number nobody can source.
#Running #Triathlon #RunningHistory #TheLongRun
#Running #Triathlon #RunningHistory #TheLongRun
The whole method rests on a heart-rate ceiling most runners find embarrassingly slow: 180 minus your age. The counterintuitive part is the claim that running that gently, for months, is what eventually makes you fast. #Running #Triathlon #RunningScience #RunningHistory #TheLongRun
Maffetone Method (MAF Heart-Rate Training) — An Introduction
A triathlete's journey to success relies on a simple yet unorthodox method: training at a specific heart rate ceiling.
www.grandaha.com
September 22, 2026 at 9:21 AM
The whole method rests on a heart-rate ceiling most runners find embarrassingly slow: 180 minus your age. The counterintuitive part is the claim that running that gently, for months, is what eventually makes you fast. #Running #Triathlon #RunningScience #RunningHistory #TheLongRun
New episode: the tempo run, the least dramatic workout in distance running. We dig into why "comfortably hard" is such a narrow band—and why it works has almost nothing to do with how it feels. It's really about clearing lactate faster than you make it. Have a listen 🎧 #RunningHistory #TheLongRun
Tempo Runs — The Long Run
Ever notice how the hardest workout to get right isn't the one that leaves you gasping? The tempo run asks for something stranger: a pace that's "comfortably hard," fast enough to matter but slow enough to hold.
In this episode we break down the workout Jack Daniels spent a career codifying. What "
open.spotify.com
September 22, 2026 at 7:07 AM
New episode: the tempo run, the least dramatic workout in distance running. We dig into why "comfortably hard" is such a narrow band—and why it works has almost nothing to do with how it feels. It's really about clearing lactate faster than you make it. Have a listen 🎧 #RunningHistory #TheLongRun
The tempo run has no single inventor, and half of what people think it trains it doesn't. The thread runs from Hill and Lupton's lactate work to Iglói's "fresh swing" and Lydiard's steady-state — three different ideas wearing one name. #Running #RunningHistory #Tempo #TheLongRun
Tempo Runs — The Finish Line
A series of workouts and coaches who laid the foundation for the tempo run, challenging common misconceptions about what the method actually trains. From A.V. Hill and Hartley Lupton's early work on oxygen and lactate to Mihály Iglói's "fresh swing" and Arthur Lydiard's steady-state run, this is whe
www.grandaha.com
September 22, 2026 at 2:14 AM
The tempo run has no single inventor, and half of what people think it trains it doesn't. The thread runs from Hill and Lupton's lactate work to Iglói's "fresh swing" and Lydiard's steady-state — three different ideas wearing one name. #Running #RunningHistory #Tempo #TheLongRun
"Comfortably hard" wasn't always the definition. The tempo run started as a precise pace target, then two vague words turned a measurable workout into a feeling. Nobody agrees where the threshold actually sits anymore. #Running #RunningHistory #Marathon #TheLongRun
Tempo Runs — The Comfortably Hard Problem
A tempo run was once a precise workout defined by a specific pace, but the phrase "comfortably hard" has made it a subjective, feel-based activity. A chapter explores how the measurable version of the tempo run drifted into vagueness.
www.grandaha.com
September 21, 2026 at 9:21 AM
"Comfortably hard" wasn't always the definition. The tempo run started as a precise pace target, then two vague words turned a measurable workout into a feeling. Nobody agrees where the threshold actually sits anymore. #Running #RunningHistory #Marathon #TheLongRun
"20 minutes at threshold pace" is the tempo run everyone repeats. But dig into the physiology and the pace most runners actually hold rarely sits at the lactate threshold it's named for. The label outran the science. #Running #RunningScience #TempoRun #RunningHistory #TheLongRun
Tempo Runs — The Lactate Threshold Misnomer
Coaches have repeated the mantra of a tempo run being 20 minutes of steady running at threshold pace, but does this tempo pace actually hit the physiological line it claims to hit?
www.grandaha.com
September 21, 2026 at 2:18 AM
"20 minutes at threshold pace" is the tempo run everyone repeats. But dig into the physiology and the pace most runners actually hold rarely sits at the lactate threshold it's named for. The label outran the science. #Running #RunningScience #TempoRun #RunningHistory #TheLongRun
The "tempo run" gets sold as one clean workout at one magic pace, but the phrase "comfortably hard" is doing a lot of hiding — nobody fully agrees where that line sits. And lactate isn't the waste product the story makes it out to be. It's fuel.
#Running #RunningHistory #TempoRun #TheLongRun
#Running #RunningHistory #TempoRun #TheLongRun
Tempo Runs — An Introduction
A runner holds a pace that feels comfortably hard, just fast enough to challenge their body's ability to clear lactate from their blood, without being so fast that it becomes unbearable. This workout, a staple of modern running training, trains the body to run at a precise intensity that improves la
www.grandaha.com
September 20, 2026 at 9:12 AM
The "tempo run" gets sold as one clean workout at one magic pace, but the phrase "comfortably hard" is doing a lot of hiding — nobody fully agrees where that line sits. And lactate isn't the waste product the story makes it out to be. It's fuel.
#Running #RunningHistory #TempoRun #TheLongRun
#Running #RunningHistory #TempoRun #TheLongRun
How does a race let an 8-year-old and a 72-year-old both win? New episode digs into the Dipsea's radical handicap system—up to 25 minutes of head start—and why the first runner across those 7.4 Marin miles is almost never the fastest. Give it a listen. #Dipsea #Running #RunningHistory #TheLongRun
The Dipsea Race — The Long Run
When the winner is 72 and the runner-up is eight, you know you're not watching an ordinary footrace. This episode digs into the Dipsea, the handicap race over Mount Tamalpais where the fastest runner almost never wins. We trace how the head-start system turns 7.4 brutal miles of stairs, roots, and s
open.spotify.com
September 20, 2026 at 8:48 AM
How does a race let an 8-year-old and a 72-year-old both win? New episode digs into the Dipsea's radical handicap system—up to 25 minutes of head start—and why the first runner across those 7.4 Marin miles is almost never the fastest. Give it a listen. #Dipsea #Running #RunningHistory #TheLongRun
America's oldest athletic club started running one of its strangest races because two members couldn't settle a dinner argument at the Dipsea Inn in 1904. A two-man wager became a race still run over a century later. #Running #RunningHistory #Dipsea #TheLongRun
The Dipsea Race — The Finish Line
The Olympic Club, founded in 1860, is America's oldest athletic club, and the Dipsea is one of its stranger children. The two men who started the whole thing, Charles Boas and Alfons Coney, were Olympic Club members who turned a dinner-table argument at the Dipsea Inn into a two-man wager in 1904.
www.grandaha.com
September 20, 2026 at 2:18 AM
America's oldest athletic club started running one of its strangest races because two members couldn't settle a dinner argument at the Dipsea Inn in 1904. A two-man wager became a race still run over a century later. #Running #RunningHistory #Dipsea #TheLongRun
The Dipsea rewards the runner who knows where the trail turns cruel, not the one who blows off the start line fast. Those infamous steps aren't the finish line's challenge — they're the trap that sorts the two apart. #Running #RunningHistory #TrailRunning #TheLongRun
The Dipsea Race — The Stairs and the Terrain That Punishes Fast Starters
The Dipsea's infamous steps are more than just a challenge, they're a trap that separates the true runners from the fast starters. A strong finish requires knowing the terrain, not just raw speed.
www.grandaha.com
September 19, 2026 at 9:29 AM
The Dipsea rewards the runner who knows where the trail turns cruel, not the one who blows off the start line fast. Those infamous steps aren't the finish line's challenge — they're the trap that sorts the two apart. #Running #RunningHistory #TrailRunning #TheLongRun
The Dipsea has no set course. Runners pick their own line across Mount Tamalpais, and the shortcuts they invent are legal — the trail you choose is part of the race, not cheating around it. Route-finding is a competitive skill here. #Running #TrailRunning #RunningHistory #TheLongRun
The Dipsea Race — The Shortcuts and the Unmarked Course
Two runners take the unmarked course, each deciding their own path on Mount Tamalpais, as the Dipsea's open nature remains its greatest competitive weapon.
www.grandaha.com
September 19, 2026 at 2:28 AM
The Dipsea has no set course. Runners pick their own line across Mount Tamalpais, and the shortcuts they invent are legal — the trail you choose is part of the race, not cheating around it. Route-finding is a competitive skill here. #Running #TrailRunning #RunningHistory #TheLongRun
The Dipsea's handicap doesn't just level the field — it inverts it. Head starts scale by age and sex, so a 72-year-old crosses first while the fastest runners chase from behind. It's the rare footrace where being young is the disadvantage.
#Running #TrailRunning #RunningHistory #TheLongRun
#Running #TrailRunning #RunningHistory #TheLongRun
The Dipsea Race — The Head Start System and the Math of the Handicap
The Dipsea race, a 7.4-mile trail race in California, has a handicap system that gives a head start to older runners, making it the only major footrace where a 72-year-old can beat the field.
www.grandaha.com
September 18, 2026 at 9:29 AM
The Dipsea's handicap doesn't just level the field — it inverts it. Head starts scale by age and sex, so a 72-year-old crosses first while the fastest runners chase from behind. It's the rare footrace where being young is the disadvantage.
#Running #TrailRunning #RunningHistory #TheLongRun
#Running #TrailRunning #RunningHistory #TheLongRun
New episode: How a German doctor in a tiny town built a training system on going slow. Ernst van Aaken kept heart rates near 130 and paces conversational—and called it "pure endurance" back in 1947, while everyone else chased intervals. Listen now. #running #LSD #RunningHistory #TheLongRun
Long Slow Distance (LSD) Training — The Long Run
**Slow Down to Speed Up: Ernst van Aaken and the Case for Long Slow Distance**
Everyone wants to run faster, so why did one of the 20th century's most influential coaches tell his athletes to ease off? In this episode we trace Long Slow Distance training back to Ernst van Aaken, the German physicia
open.spotify.com
September 18, 2026 at 9:25 AM
New episode: How a German doctor in a tiny town built a training system on going slow. Ernst van Aaken kept heart rates near 130 and paces conversational—and called it "pure endurance" back in 1947, while everyone else chased intervals. Listen now. #running #LSD #RunningHistory #TheLongRun