The first day of April featured 80 degree temperatures and abundant sun. Now I’m slamming back hot coffee in an effort to ward off the arctic winds and snow that have descended on Colorado. The vagaries of Colorado in the spring are less enjoyable when the possibility of getting frostbite on a run becomes a very real possibility.
Screw the weather, welcome to April! This month we will see most (if not all) of the ski resorts shutting down and the cycling and running seasons ramping up. Hope everyone got to enjoy the nice weekend (if you were in Colorado) and if you are somewhere else, I hope that you are enjoying the first blossoms of Spring.
The Feed
Vibram is getting sued: The suit is claiming that the “health claims of the Vibram FiveFingers are deceptive, that FiveFingers may increase the risk of injury when compared to conventional running shoes, and that there are no legitimate studies that support the FiveFingers claims.”
The lawsuit is a nice shot across the bow for proponents of barefoot/minimalist running who argue that modern athletic shoes do more harm than good. I think that the sheer number of studies, on both sides of the issue, do not make an overwhelming case for either side, but what this lawsuit represents is the danger of marketing a product based on slightly unclear health claims to a market full of people who think that slapping on Vibrams will immediately result in better running form. The Science of Sport, in discussing the lawsuit, has a nice breakdown of why effective barefoot running might not even be possible for some people. A great read if looking for more insight to the whole debate and the studies behind it. And if you want a legal breakdown of the lawsuit head over to Runner’s World for a Q&A with a law professor regarding the suit.
Top 5 Cycling climbs in the US: Aaron Gulley, from Outside, has a nice piece up featuring what John Summerson, the author of a book focusing on bike climbs, views as the top 5 climbs for cyclists. The post is a nice little guide to some climbs throughout the US but is by no means a wholly comprehensive or definitive list.
Single Track scenery: In the same vain as the Outside post above, Active.com has a list up of 6 scenic trail races throughout the US. Of course, every single race you must register via Active.com which means an intense amount of marketing and email offers, but if nothing else it will give you some good ideas of the races that are out there.
Tags: cycling, sports law, trail runs
