Jogging can improve memory: Study

Running regularly not just helps one shed those extra weight, it also does wonders for the mind, claims a new study.

According to scientists at Cambridge University, regular jogging leads to growth of new cells in the area of the brain which in turn boosts the memory.

Timothy Bussey, a behavioural neuroscientist and the lead researcher, said their study on mice showed that aerobic exercise triggers the growth of grey matter (known as neurogenesis).

It may be linked to increased blood flow or higher levels of hormones that are released while exercising, the scientists said.

For their study, they examined two groups of mice, one which had unlimited access to a running wheel while the other did not.

“After a few days left alone, they put both groups of mice through a series of memory tests on a computer screen. It displayed two identical squares side by side, and if they nudged the one on the left with their nose they received a sugar pellet reward, while the one on the right yielded nothing,” the Daily Mail reported.

To read the rest of the article, go to the following link:
http://beta.thehindu.com/health/fitness/article82527.ece

Sacred Heart Cathedral Coach Andy Chan's Blog...

Some great posts from Andy (picture by Margaret Gallagher) including a general overview of Shannon Rowbury's training.

Go to:
http://pamakidscoach.wordpress.com/

5 Minutes with Brett Gotcher

Somebody asked for an interview with Brett Gotcher and thanks to Running Times here you go:

5 Minutes with Brett Gotcher

Brett, former Aptos and Stanford runner, just made his debut in the marathon running 2:10:36.

Is the California State Cross Country meet fair competition?

Check out the comments below as the discussion continues
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Check out Walt Lange's (Jesuit HS coach) terrific work on this topic which you can find at the following link:
http://tinyurl.com/statemeetchange

Thoughts and comments? Ideas?

North Coast Section Preview 2010 by Keith Conning

You can check out all the top returners for this coming Track and Field season in NCS thanks to Keith Conning and his blog THE CONNING TOWER.

http://theconningtower.blogspot.com/2010/01/north-coast-section-preview-2010.html

What is going to be the toughest event to qualify to the state meet this year for either the boys or girls?

Follow Coach Puppione on Twitter...

UPDATE
If you want to find other prominent people in the running community, check out the following link:
http://www.twackstar.com/TwackStar/Welcome.html
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For those of you that enjoyed reading Coach Puppione's contributions to this website, you can now follow him on Twitter at:
http://twitter.com/CoachPup

You can find his work on this website at the following link:
http://albertcaruana.blogspot.com/search/label/Coach%20Pup

You are not on Twitter?? It's time you join NOW. You are really missing out on some great information out there. Join Twitter for free and start following people out there with similar interests.

Here are a few other people associated with running that you can follow:
http://twitter.com/CCExpress
http://twitter.com/mikeyoung
http://twitter.com/runningtimes
http://twitter.com/coachgambetta

I will let you search for others. Lots of coaches and elite runners to find.

Feel free to post runners and/or coaches you follow already that everybody should be following.

Danny Aldridge's Blog...

Check out the following blog by former Maria Carrillo, current Sonoma Academy coach Danny Aldridge. He is also a former elite runner who is back training to compete at the 50+ level. Some great insight into his training as well as some great stories from the past such as the Sebastian Coe story.

http://www.heartnsolesantarosa.com/dannyblog.html

Photo of the Week...

Now that Track and Field is rapidly approaching, here is a picture from last season.

Gilroy HS Peter Guenther at the CCS Championship courtesy of the Gilroy Dispatch.

BRIAN OHLEYER AWARD (The Olympic Club)

This year's recipients are Taylor Lawson of St. Mary's Berkeley and Erik Olson of Novato.

From the Olympic Club website:

The Ohleyer Scholarship is a prestigious scholarship awarded by The Olympic Club Foundation. The recipient is a student whose athletic and academic interests are matched by personal qualities of leadership, involvement and community service.

When an outstanding young Olympian lost his life in a traffic accident in 1996, the Olympic Club Foundation established a memorial award in his honor. The Brian Ohleyer Award was dedicated in 1997 to recognize bay area youngsters who demonstrate the ideals exemplified by Brian's life.

A two-letter athlete at Redwood High School, Football Captain and recipient of all-league honors, Brian also maintained a 4.0 grade point average and was Valedictorian in 1987. He was the recipient of a National Football Hall of Fame Foundation Scholarship Grant and the Scholar Athlete Award for Marin County. Brian played Rugby all 4 years at Brown University and upon returning to San Francisco worked frequently as a Rugby official for local leagues.

In selecting a recipient for the Ohleyer Award, The Olympic Club Foundation is looking for a young person who demonstrates outstanding leadership in academics, athletics and community service and whose accomplishments exemplify the highest ideals of sportsmanship, honor and caring. Past recipients of the Brian Ohleyer Award, include Jeffrey Deal, is a Galileo High School student, and a member of the Tenderloin Branch of the San Francisco Boys and Girls Club, Tony Dinh of Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep, Natalie Joffe of Marin Catholic High School and Sam Walsh of Serra High School.

Each recipient will have his or her name engraved on the permanent trophy displayed in The Olympic Club's Trophy room. The Olympic Club Foundation will make a $1,000 contribution to the school or organization in their name and will provide $4,000 in scholarship funds when they graduate from High School and enroll in a 4-year college. Furthermore, the recipient will be invited to submit an application for membership to the Olympic Club, with initiation fees and dues waived until he or she reaches the age of 25.

Standout runners will be honored

From Sacramento Bee:
http://www.sacbee.com/sports/story/2460235.html

Marathoner Magdalena Lewy-Boulet, who competed for the United States in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, will present awards to members of the All-Sac-Joaquin Section boys and girls cross country teams at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Fleet Feet Sports, 2311 J St., in Sacramento.

Among those to be honored is girls MVP Karlie Garcia, a freshman at Oakmont High School. Garcia won the section Division II championship and was fourth at the California Interscholastic Federation D-II state finals last fall. She also placed third at the Foot Locker West regional and 15th at Foot Locker's national finals.

Garcia is the first girl from the section since Ponderosa's Jen Schindler in 1996 to be named a Foot Locker All-American. The award goes to the top 15 at nationals.

Area girls voted to the first team are Vista del Lago's Madeleine Ankhelyi, Placer's Shannon Harcus, Del Oro's Emma Freeman, Oak Ridge's Hayley Scott, Sheldon's Breanna Lewis and Granite Bay's Brooke Holt.

Area boys named first team are Davis' Corey Coates and Trevor Halsted, Del Campo's Josh Mercado, El Camino's Chris Kigar and Oak Ridge's Amjed Aboukhadijeh.

Area athletes named to the boys second team are Adam Kelly-Strong, Jesuit; Grayson Hough, Davis; Steven White, Rocklin; and Nathan Williams, Oak Ridge.

Area girls named to the second team are Oak Ridge's Samantha Ralstin, Davis' Christine Bowlus, Woodcreek's Courtney Crosta and Bear River's Breanne Mitchell.

– Bill Paterson