• Race regularly, be it a track race, fun run or road race on tarmac or a muddy cross country event
• Do frequent Interval Training – sets of hard/easy cycles
• Keep a Training Diary and regularly update it – or at least try to

To satisfy these needs, there are three essentials features every runner intending to do serious training should look for when buying a sports watch. They are:

• A Stopwatch Chronograph with large, clear digits that are readable at arm’s length
• Lap Memory Storage – to record training data to enter in training diary
• Countdown Timer feature, preferably with varying length time intervals for timed intervals

Watch manufacturers do not always clearly publicize the amount of storage in Lap Watches, making it time-consuming to find out. We’ve taken the time to sort sports watches by their Lap Memory Capacities.

While we have tried to be all inclusive, this list is not. It will be a living, growing entity that we’ll add to over time. If you know of a great sports watch that you think should be on our list. We would love to know of any possible future inclusions. You may contact us here.

Meanwhile you may follow the link to view our collection of Sports Lap Watches, that can store session laps in memory for post-session retrieval and analysis.

A total of 1,808 triathletes began the 30th anniversary Ironman World Championship race this Saturday, the most prestigious in the Triathlon calendar.

The winner – 35-year-old triathlete Craig Alexander from Sydney, Australia who finished in eight hours, 17 minutes, 45 seconds for the 2.4 mile (3.8km) ocean swim, 112 mile (180km) cycle road race and 26.2 mile (42.2km) run.

Alexander, who finished second in last year in his first Hawaii Ironman, was in 11th position at the end of the 112-mile bicycle ride, but took the lead at the 18-mile mark in the run leg as the other competitors faded. Alexander became the third Australian man to win the prestigious title, after McCormack and Greg Welch in 1994

Eneko Llanos of Spain, finished second in 8:20:50, and Belgium’s Rutger Beke was third in 8:21:23. Last years winner Chris McCormack suffered a mechanical problem that forced him out in the cycling stage.

Chrissie Wellington of Britain, overcame a puncture that cost her time in the cycling leg, but recovered to win her second straight women’s title in 9:06:23. Austrian Yvonne Van Vlerken was second in 9:21:20, and Germany’s Sandra Wallenhorst was third in 9:22:52

The competitors were challenged by gusty cross wind and heat during the ride through barren lava fields under bright, sunny conditions.

Be prepared in your next Ironman with these Triathlon Wetsuits and a Timex Triathlon Watch of course.

The website features a Youth Running Programs Directory which lists information about youth running programs around the country. It lets you to add your own program and allows you to search for programs by city, state age group or venue.

If you are interested in participating in a youth event, the event calendar lets you search for upcoming running events for youths in all areas.

The resources page contains topics of interest on the benefits of running for youth. The key theme seems to be on the benefits of running and exercise for fighting the rampant obesity crisis in the states. There is also a lot of information provided on running and conducting your own your local kids running event.

Perhaps one of the most exciting benefits for communities is that eight dedicated and experienced “Running Rocks Ambassadors” are profiled on the Youth Program Ambassadors / Mentors page accessed from the Resources section and are available to speak at national, state or school district forums on the proven benefits of low cost running-based fitness programs.

The running rocks website is located here.

A more complete summary on the new Running Rocks Website can be found on the Cool Running Website found here.

Gebrselassie won ahead of Kenyans James Kwambai (2:05:36) and Charles Kamathi (2:07.48).

Making the most of perfect conditions, the Ethiopian passed the halfway mark in 1:02:05 then shifted up a gear to record the second half in 1:01:54 and claim his 26th career world record.

Gebrselassie will be back in Berlin to run the marathon at the world championships next year, which will take place on a different course.

German Irina Mikitenko, took out the women’s race and became the fourth fastest women in history with 2:19:19 hours. Only Briton Paula Radcliffe (2:15:25), Catherine Ndereba of Kenya (2:18.47) und Mizuki Noguchi of Japan (2:19.12) have run faster.

I do not mention anything about planning a structured training program which is more important, but I intend to address this in a future article.