WS buckle

This weekend, several hundred lucky ultrarunners toed the starting line at the Western States 100 mile trail run, one of four Grand Slam 100-mile events, the others being Vermont 100-Mile Endurance Run, Leadville Trail 100-Mile Run, and Wasatch Front 100-Mile Endurance Run.

According to the Western States website, "the run is conducted along the Western States Trail starting at Squaw Valley, California, and ending in Auburn, California, a total of 100 miles. The trail ascends from the Squaw Valley floor (elevation 6,200 feet) to Emigrant Pass (elevation 8,750 feet), a climb of 2,550 vertical feet in the first 4½ miles. From the pass, following the original trails used by the gold and silver miners of the 1850’s, runners travel west, climbing another 15,540 feet and descending 22,970 feet before reaching Auburn. Most of the trail passes through remote and rugged territory, accessible only to hikers, horses and helicopters."

Ellie Greenwood, a dominant ultrarunner competing in her first 100 mile race, overcame early hamstring tightness as well as a twenty-minute deficit with 22 miles to go when she surged into first place at mile 95, en route to a victory that set the second fastest women's Western States time ever. Spaniard Kilian Jornet won for the men, setting the third-fastest men's time in course history. Simply amazing.

Looking for more distance running inspiration? Check out AADL's collection of run training books, as well as the trail running specific books, Runner's World Complete Guide to Trail Running and The Outdoor Athlete.

Whether you run every day and National Running Day is just another Wednesday to you, or if you haven't run since you were a kid but you think it might be (even a little bit) fun, today's a perfect day to lace up those shoes and go for a run. One of the most popular and beautiful places to run in Ann Arbor is Gallup Park, home to a paved, pancake flat, multi-use path that's easy to get to from the parking lots shown here, or you can run there if you're extra ambitious.

After your run, stop by the National Running Day website and post why you run on the scrolling inspire badge. Check out the sometimes funny, often motivating reasons why other people run, such as "I run because I like to eat. A LOT", "I run for cheap therapy", "I run because no one thought I could", and "I run so I can smile the rest of the day". The site also has 10 Ways to Celebrate National Running day, which applies to any day of the week.

The AADL has a great collection of running books and media for the first timer and for the veteran. Happy running!

runrun

They were a hale and hearty group in 1974 despite being temporarily delayed by a passing train at the first Dexter-Ann Arbor Run. We've gathered together a few articles and pictures from the Ann Arbor News Archives about the Dexter-Ann Arbor Run to jog your memory and get you motivated for this year's race on Sunday, June 5th.

Check out a few items from the archives:

-Article about the first race

-Photo of runners pack in the 1979 Dexter-Ann Arbor Run

-Article about friendly rivalry

Ben Franklin caricature by Donkey Hotey, Flickr.com
You may have noticed that here at the library we are crazy for Ben Franklin. In honor of Ben's 300th birthday, we are going to party all summer long, and the literacy series is getting into the act.

Why was Ben Franklin famous? Because he was a true "Renaissance Man" -- someone who has many different talents. If you would like follow Ben's lead and be a Renaissance Kid, just take a look at these suggestions below:

1. Music -- Ben Franklin was a talented musician who played the guitar, violin and harp, and invented an instrument called the glass armonica. Be like Ben by exploring music.
Check out this interactive glass armonica.
Dallas Symphony Orchestra and San Francisco Symphony webpages.
Renaissance Kid - Music

2. Reading -- Ben Franklin created the first American library. Be like Ben by enjoying some books!
Ben Franklin for Children
Renaissance Kid - Reading

3. Sports and Games -- Ben Franklin was an avid swimmer and a chess fan. Be like Ben by cultivating your physical and mental health!
Parent Child Education -- Colonial American games, crafts and activities.
Renaissance Kid - Sports and Games

4. History -- Ben Franklin lived during an exciting time in history, the founding of our nation! Learn all about this tumultuous period in our history.
Colonial Williamsburg's kids' page
Liberty! -- A page by PBS on the American Revolution.
Renaissance Kid - History

5. Science and Invention -- Ben Franklin's curiosity and constant exploration of his world led him to make inventions that are still used today. Be like Ben by exploring and inventing!
Ology -- The American Museum of Natural History's website for kids.
Inventive Kids
Renaissance Kid - Science

6. Spycraft -- Ben Franklin was part of the exciting world of Revolutionary War spies. Learn more about espionage of the past...and the present!
International Spy Museum's kids' page
Renaissance Kid - Spycraft

Of course, don't forget to come to our Ben Franklin events! Concerts, Spy School, Crafts -- we have it all. Hope to see you there!

velorace

Let's time travel. It's 1969 and we're in Dorais Park, Detroit, near E. Eight Mile and Mound Road. Construction has just been completed on a brand new velodrome -- a cycling venue consisting of a steeply banked, concrete oval loop, 250 meters long -- in anticipation of the U.S. National Track Championships held there later that year. This Championship and the many that follow are bright spots in a declining neighborhood. For the next 20 years, the city maintains this bastion of bike racing against urban devastation, marked here by the closure of the Chrysler assembly plant across the street.

Eventually, the Dorais Park Velodrome is abandoned by the city and handed over to the elements. Illegal car races are sometimes held here, accelerating the cracking of the concrete that was only designed to sustain bicycles, while bushes, grasses, and trees split apart the fissures. Two decades of neglect take their toll.

Welcome to 2010. A group of renegade urban landscapers, known as The Mower Gang, take their lawn care equipment to Dorais Park, unearth the velodrome, and begin rehabbing the battered beauty. It's renamed The Thunderdrome, an homage to the post-apocalyptic Mad Max film series from the '80s, and a race is staged for two-wheeled vehicles that October.

As race organizer Ben Wojdyla writes, "the Thunderdrome wouldn't be limited to just bicycles. We wanted higher speeds and more excitement. We wanted loony subcultures, weirdos, a scene, a spectacle—something people could get excited about. So in addition to traditional fixed-gear road bicycles, geared bikes and mountain bikes, we also invited racers on mopeds, scooters and pit bikes". The Fall race is a success, drawing hundreds of spectators and racers and spawning the demand for a Spring race, which will take place this Saturday, April 30, at noon. Detroit reinvention and DIY spirit charge headlong into the future of the city.

The latest issue of Bicycling Magazine, with holdings at all AADL locations, has an article on the Thunderdrome, as does the October 2010 issue of Popular Mechanics. Check out the Thunderdrome's website for more details on the race.velorace3

dubaiworldcup

Bookmakers say no clear favorite has emerged to win the $10 million Dubai World Cup this Saturday allowing it to shape up into a very exciting race filled with equine and human drama. Entries include horses from the United Arab Emirates, United States, Japan, England, Ireland, South Africa, Saudi Arabia and the Chechen Republic.

Japan has three horses entered including Buena Vista (Japan’s 2010 Horse of the Year), who arrived in Dubai well before the earthquake and tsunami hit. She is a very popular horse in a country wild about horse racing. Many hope a win by her (the only female in the field) will cheer on the tragedy-struck country.
One of the six horses considered to have a legitimate stake to win the world’s richest purse, South Africa’s Bold Silvano sadly was scratched from the race after pulling up lame in a training run on Monday.
England is expecting big things from Twice Over, back-to-back winner of this year’s Champion Stakes at Newmarket, who was beaten in just over three lengths in last year's Dubai World Cup, as he returns to fill out the exciting field.
American challengers include Gitano Hernando, Fly Down and Kentucky-bred Gio Ponti.

And now for the human race: the Jaguar Style Stakes includes 2011 Dubai World Cup “Best Dressed Lady”, “Best Dressed Couple”, “Best Hat” and for the first time “Best Dressed Man.”

To learn more about the rich and thrilling Sport of Kings try The Blood-Horse Authoritative Guide, History of Thoroughbred Racing in America, and Funny Cide : How a Horse, a Trainer, a Jockey, and a Bunch of High School Buddies took on the Sheiks and Blue Bloods--and Won.

Here are some fantastic racing films: Secretariat, Seabiscuit, National Velvet, and The Black Stallion.

CRICKET it is not just the bug you hear after telling a bad joke, CRICKET it is not just the bug you hear on a fine summer night, CRICKET it is not just a bug. So what else is CRICKET?

Cricket is a sport, played by the international community, and currently is in the middle of their world cup tournament. Like soccer, another international sport, Cricket does not gain the similar enthusiasm that is received by the sports of baseball, basketball, and American football which are watched and listened to by sports fans on this side of the world. However, the sport of Cricket does have a large following and is played predominantly in the United Kingdom, Africa, and South Asian countries like India and Pakistan.

Although I have family that watch Cricket and hold strong loyalties to their respective teams I am not an avid fan of Cricket. However, this has not deterred me in seeking to learn more about this sport that has largely gone unknown within the United States. With the current world cup tournament in progress I gained more of an interest in the sport and resorted to my family on getting the rundown on Cricket. But if you don't have family who watch and play Cricket like me then the Ann Arbor District Library is here to enlighten you on the sport with a few books that cover the basics as well as some more advanced aspects of Cricket.

For your basic understanding of Cricket check out Cricket for Americans: Playing and Understanding the Game or Cricket for Dummies these two books will get you up to speed on the basics of the sport of Cricket. If you are a player and need to brush up on your techniques take a look at Cricket: Steps to Success or Cricket:Technique,Tactics,Training. With these few books you will surely have a good start on being well on your way to playing Cricket.

Then after taking a look at these books and by some circumstance on a quiet summer day among the sound of crickets you see a sport being played that is oddly similar to baseball you will join in and become among those who played a game that has gone unknown on this side of the world.

Well my fellow NCAA basketball fans it is that time of year again where we take pencil to brackets, grab our lucky rabbits foot and make predictions on who is going to make a run to the final four and who is going to win the title of National Champion.

If you are like me and enjoy talking about those buzzer beater moments then Fifty Years Of The Final Four: Golden Moments Of The NCAA Basketball Tournament may interest you. This book will give you the best moments in the last fifty years of the tourney and you can spend hours with your buddies discussing those legendary moments.

If you like to learn about two legends of both college and professional basketball: Earvin "Magic" Johnson who played at Michigan State University and Larry Bird check out When March Went Mad : The Game That Transformed Basketball. Or if you have ever wondered about what it is like behind the scenes for those teams that make it all the way to the final four find out in Last Dance : Behind The Scenes At The Final Four.

Then again there is the small chance that you may not be a fan of the tournament but still love the game and you like mysteries try Last Shot : A Final Four Mystery.

Whatever is a slam dunk for you the library has you covered from those greatest moments to the basketball mystery.

A couple of Sundays ago, 35 year old American distance runner, Josh Cox, won P.F. Chang's Rock n Roll Arizona Marathon with a blistering, Olympic Trial qualifying time of 2:17:48. But that's not all. After crossing the finish line, Cox kept running in the 50k race (31.07 miles) and not only won that but set a new American record for the 50k road distance, while coming in just 7 seconds shy of the world record. His marathon pace was a crushing 5:15 minutes per mile, while his 50k pace was only one second per mile slower at 5:16 m/m. Unbelievable. As a litmus test for the age group athlete, the current Boston Marathon qualifying time for men under 35 is 3:10:59, or 7:16 m/m. Josh Cox was running 2 minutes per mile faster than that.

If you're inspired to take a crack at a 5k or an ultramarathon or something in between, the AADL has a wide range of run training resources for both the beginner looking to cross the finish line for the first time and the veteran aiming for a new personal record.

aussieopen

Roger Federer's five set thriller versus Frenchman Gilles Simon in Round 2 of the Australian Open this morning has this tennis fan stoked for the action this coming fortnight, where Rafael Nadal goes for the Rafa Slam, Federer attempts to regain #1 in the world, and Djokovic looks to avenge last year's U.S. Open Finals loss. On the women's side, Venus Williams carries the American hopes, while veterans Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin are the favorites.

Nearly as hot as the serves that could reach 241.4 kmph (150 mph) are the temperatures that could touch 32.2 Celsius (90 F) this Melbourne summer, so if the ice and snow around here have you feeling blue, check out a fiery match from down under.

The AADL has several recent tennis biographies in its collection, including Andre Agassi's bestseller, Open, James Blake's triumph of the underdog, Breaking Back: How I Lost Everything and Won Back My Life, and John McEnroe's behind the scenes, Hardcourt Confidential.