Here's a fun tool that provides some predictions of what your run times would be for various events plus or minus a few pounds of body weight:

http://www.runningforfitness.org/calc/weighteffect.php

A report from the Rock Hill Bikes web site pointed out that Lance Armstrong improved his performance at this year's New York City Marathon by running a 2:46'43".  The report also gave some interesting facts about former pro cyclists that have stomped through the 26.2 mile trek:

Armstrong finished 698th out of 39,085 runners taking part. His marathon time bettered that of former cyclist Laurent Jalabert; the Frenchman ran the 2005 event in a time of 2:55′39″. However, other former professional cyclists have ran faster in other marathon events; German Rolf Aldag ran 2:42′57″ in Hamburg this April and Spaniard Abraham Olano went 2:39′ in the San Sebastián marathon last November.

Reuters

UltraRunner Jason Dorgan finished running 1079 miles in 22 days 6 hours.  His goal was to run 1000 miles on the Ice Age National Scenic Trail.  He started the trek on Saturday April 14th and finished on Sunday May 6th.  Jason averaged 48 miles per day.  Here's a link to his Ice Age Trail 1000 blog.

Here are a few select quotes from the site 10k Truth Running Quotes:

"I run because it's my passion, and not just a sport. Every time I walk out the door, I know why I'm going where I'm going and I'm already focused on that special place where I find my peace and solitude. Running, to me, is more than just a physical exercise...it's a consistent reward for victory!"
Sasha Azevedo, Runner Athlete

"When you run like I do, top tens are hard to come by and it usually means a lot of good runners don't show up."
The Rage on Running in a Thin Field

"Nothing splendid has ever been achieved except by those who dared believe that something inside them was superior to circumstance."
Bruce Barton

"(Scientific testing) can't determine how the mind will tolerate pain in a race. Sometimes, I say, 'Today I can die.'"
Gelindo Bordin

"No doubt a brain and some shoes are essential for marathon success, although if it comes down to a choice, pick the shoes. More people finish marathons with no brains than with no shoes."
Don Kardong

"Even if you fall flat on your face·at least you are moving forward."
Sue Luke

"Maybe I shouldn't have had breakfast at Denny's."
Jordan Kent (who vomited after running the 400 meters in the 2002 USA Junior National Championships held in Eugene, OR)

"My thoughts before a big race are usually pretty simple. I tell myself: 'Get out of the blocks, run your race, stay relaxed. If you run your race, you'll win....Channel your energy. Focus.'"
Carl Lewis

"Roger Bannister studied the four-minute mile the way Jonas Salk studied polio—with a view to eradicating."
Jim Murray, LA Times

"The man who can drive himself further once the effort gets painful is the man who will win."
Sir Roger Bannister

"The mile has all the elements of a drama."
Sir Roger Bannister

"I don't believe in burnout. I believe in losing your appetite."
Pat Tyson

"There will come a point in the race, when you alone will need to decide. You will need to make a choice. Do you really want it? You will need to decide."
Rolf Arands

According to Dr. Paul Vessa, M.D., running can be a good thing for your back and spinal health.  In his article Sports and the Back published on Spine Doctor, he points out that "Running is probably one of the most basic physical exercises. Although controversial, it may be actually quite good for your health, as well as your back."

The article continues:

"The repetitive stress to both the central aspects of your skeleton, that is your spine, as well as to the peripheral aspects of the skeleton, specifically the lower extremities, will usually result in increased bone/mineral content. Some studies have reported increases as great as 40% in bone/mineral content in runners. However, most people do not run because of the benefits to their skeleton, but rather the beneficial effects to the overall well being, weight control and increased muscular tone. Running, done properly, is not bad for your back; however, oftentimes people will run without proper preparation, training, etc. and create painful overuse syndromes of the lower back area. This can occur in the novice runner, as well as in the most experienced of runners. Many experienced runners have endured the frustration of increasing their mileage acutely, resulting in several days and even weeks of increased low back pain. However, most studies have indicated that only rarely are spine related injuries experienced by runners. Even x-rays taken of patients who all are experienced runners, in comparison to their non-running colleagues, fail to demonstrate any degenerative changes related to their running. Certain aspects of running, however, need to be specifically addressed to beginners in order to prevent injuries to the low back region.

Running, done well, actually enforces the protective mechanisms that our body has developed in order to dissipate stress across the lumbar spine. The lumbar protective mechanisms are the outer muscular envelope of our bodies, i.e. the abdominal and paraspinal musculature. Once these muscles are properly developed, their tone often reduces stress across the lumbosacral spine, throughout all aspects of our physical activity. Runners have been shown to have well toned abdominal and paraspinal muscles in order to serve as a protective mechanism. On the other hand, poorly trained runners, who either run sporadically or have never run at all and begin to run as part of a fitness program, will oftentimes stress their paraspinal and abdominal musculature, resulting in lumbar strain injuries. Therefore, an understanding of the biomechanics of running is necessary in order to properly train."

Shin splints can be a dreadfully painful condition to deal with.  A massage may help to alleviate the problem and work out muscle tension in the shins.

An article by Paul Ingraham, a Registered Massage Therapist in Vancouver, gives some pointers on hitting the perfect spot in the shins to help relax tight muscles:

"your shins — seemingly an unlikely place for muscle knots! But if you’ve ever had shin splints, you know just how vulnerable your shin muscles can be. Even if you’ve never suffered so painfully, your shins probably still suffer in silence — latent trigger points that don’t cause symptoms, but are plenty sensitive if you press on them, inevitably form here because you walk on two legs, and usually on hard surfaces.

We usually think of the shin as a bony place, but in fact there is a good-sized muscle on lateral face of the shin: the tibialis anterior muscle. The tibialis muscle works almost alone: it is the only muscle that strongly lifts the foot. Functionally, its major job is not to shorten, but to lengthen in a controlled way: to gently lower the forefoot to the ground after heel strike. This requires an eccentric contraction — contracting while lengthening, like your biceps as you lower a barbell.

Without the tibialis anterior’s powerful and well-coordinated eccentric contractions, your foot would slap ungracefully onto the ground with every step. On hard surfaces like concrete, the strain of preventing foot slapping is immense. For runners, that strain is often how shin splints usually begin, and is one of the main reasons to avoid hard-surface running. Eccentric contractions are known to cause more muscle soreness after exercise, which is why the shin muscle tends to get really sore after running hard — and why the muscle tends to develop large, chronic trigger points.

Another situation where the tibilias anterior has to work especially hard and tends to get really sore is coming down a mountain: because of the downward slope, the foot must be lowered further with each step, which means more eccentric contraction."

Click here to read the full article and view a diagram of the shin splint massage "sweet spot".

Here's another great running route organizer and sharing tool that you'll want to check out.  The site is called Run Finder.

Jeremy, an AllTriathlon.com triathlete in the UK, brought this site to my attention and comments that the site "tells you how far your run routes are by plotting them on google map. Great if you don't have a GPS system and saves you having to drive / cycle to check distances. It is a UK site but works all over the world."

An Ultra Marathon or Ultra Running event exceeds the traditional 26.2 mile marathon distance and is most commonly a 50km, 50 mile or 100+ mile race.  In these events, pure speed takes a back seat to pace, perseverance and the will to finish.

A few simple words of wisdom for the ultra runner:

"Run when you can.  Walk when you can't.  Finish."