"WalkJogRun Routes" iPhone app v2 is now available!
 If you hadn't already noticed, the newest version of our iPhone app hit the iTunes App Store on August 18. This latest version greatly improves the viewing of routes in an embedded map that is fully zoomable, pannable and can now be switched between Map, Satellite and Hybrid modes!
Other new or enhanced features include searching the map to view locations other than your current, GPS-based location and a much awaited fix for the "route too detailed to show" message. There are new graphics and a new "about" section to help you share the app with your friends, write reviews and contact us with feedback.
We're really excited about the newest version and we hope you will be too! So if you have an iPhone, go grab the app now!
Quad Cities Marathon and Half Marathon
 The Quad Cities Marathon and Half Marathon takes place on September 27, 2009. It’s a USATF certified course and Boston Marathon qualifier, and the events include a marathon, marathon relay, half marathon, 5k, walk, and a kids run. A great event to get the whole family involved in. This year all marathoners will receive the race’s Best Finishers Medal, the first time in it’s 12-year history.
These five races cover four cities, cross three bridges, two states, and one island all along the Mississippi River.
For those training for any of these races, this 3-miler is a pretty simple, straightforward route created by one of our users in the area.
Briana Runs Her First Half Marathon!
 The week leading up to the race I was extremely excited. However, the minutes before the race, I was really nervous! I stood in the 2:20 starting corral, even though my RunnersWorld.com training program had me finishing in 2:05. Suddenly that seemed too fast!
I ran wearing a WalkJogRun shirt, which I heard people discussing during the race, my new Asics, hat, and my Nike+ Sportsband. This sportsband decided to not be my friend and was off by 0.3, and eventually 0.8, miles.
The course was very hilly, the hilliest I’ve ever ran. I should point out that I was training on Chicago’s lakeshore path, which is as flat as can be!
I finished in 2:01, and I was extremely happy with that! I think I am now officially addicted to the whole process of training and then running a race. There will be many more in my future!
Checkout our blog for more from Briana and a guest post
Updates to the Web Site (from Jeff)
So. How do you make updates to a web site with more than 2 million page views a month and tons of very active (and very vocal) members? Carefully.
If you haven't noticed anything major, then I've done my job. There have been many, many updates to the site that have been in the works for a while now and I've taken great care to make sure that the core functionality of the site has gone mostly untouched.
What I do hope you notice is a new, very thin navigation across the top of the site. I've always believed that our site experience is the best because we put the map and your routes front and center, but for years now I've been "stuck" trying to cram everything we're doing into that narrow sidebar. With the new navigation I'm hoping to expose you to some areas of the site you may have never known existed while also (and maybe most importantly) cleaning up the tabbed navigation you see when browsing and creating routes.
I'm sure there are still some wrinkles yet to be ironed out, but I hope you enjoy the updates and explore the unearthed areas of our site. As always, feel free to shoot me an email with your thoughts, concerns, complaints or kudos!
Take a look at the changes to the site!
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Building a Running Community
WalkJogRun was designed to build a community of runners, joggers, bikers, walkers, skaters, and basically anyone on the move. If you have questions about running, training, etc, post on the WalkJogRun Facebook fan page. This will start a forum of sorts for you to get the best answer.
A great example of this recently comes from one of our fans posting on the WalkJogRun Facebook fan page asking for a map of the Ohio Marathon. Another fan saw this request and took the time to map it out here.
National Roller Skating Week in the U.S.
WalkJogRun.net is a mapping site that can be used for more than walking, jogging, and running. So for our skaters, we thought we’d let everyone know about National Roller Skating Week, which is the fourth week in September.
Are you curious about the history of Roller Skating? Well, we were, so we did some digging. Here’s your random fact of the day: The original roller skate was created in the early 1700’s when a Dutchman attached wooden spools to strips of wood and nailed them to his shoes. The problem with this first invention was the lack of a breaking system! Then in 1863, an American developed the roller skate model we know today.
Inline skating came to be in 1980 when two brothers from Minnesota, Scott and Brennan Olsen, redesigned an old pair of skates to help them train for hockey in the off-season. They founded Rollerblade, Inc. More history can be found here.
Keep in Touch!
As always, feel free to email us any stories of how WalkJogRun.net has helped you train or keep healthy, or if you have any suggestions regarding what you’d like to see on the site.
 Our Facebook Fan Page and Twitter account are great places to keep up-to-date on the happenings of the site. 
Recent discussions include the update to add elevation changes, the Internet Explorer 8 bug and subsequent fix and people looking for training partners.
Deals
On our deals page, we currently have a variety of shoes available, along with Nike apparel.
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