Ricky Gervais is going to make that tuxedo look pretty good tonight. In 2010, inspired by his girlfriend, Gervais lost more than 20 pounds. He said at the time that it wasn’t about the weight, but instead, “It was more that I was a fat, lazy, out of shape slob, to be honest.”

Nothing could be further from a description of tonight’s Golden Globes host, a gig that requires as much energy as it does personality and thick skin. This will be the British actor’s third go at hosting the awards show, which can foreshadow the upcoming Oscars. He’s brutally honest, but with that brutally entertaining, which is what these often cut-and-paste awards shows can need to hold an audience’s attention. Last year, Gervais’ biggest joke might have been about the collapse of Charlie Sheen; this year, a bounty of Hollywood divorces in recent news could fuel his sharp tongue.

Gervais’ weight loss first made headlines in 2010, when we first reported on it. Fortunately, his focus on fitness hasn’t waned in the past year. At that time, he credited much of his weight loss to the sport of running, something he and his girlfriend Jane Fallon enjoy doing together in their Hampstead Heath, London neighborhood; or, when traveling, he’ll pound the pavement in NYC first thing in the morning.
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Today was an amazing day for marathon running. Houston, Texas was the stage for all the qualified contenders to race for a spot on this year’s United States Olympic marathon team. The team has been determined and Team USA is going to be strong in London this summer.

Marathoners across the country have been busting their tails to even make the qualifications for the trials. For a man to enter the trials he had to run a 2:19 or better marathon, a 1:05 or better half marathon, or a 28:30 or better 10K race. The women’s standards for “A-Standard” qualification is a time of 2:39 or better in the marathon. “A-Standard” qualifiers receive a paid trip to the trials, there is no “B-Standard” for the men anymore. However, the “B-Standard” remains for the women. These women are entered based on a 2:39:01-2:46 marathon, a 1:15 or better half, or a 33:00 10K. The field was big this year and it was full of amazingly fast runners. The top three male and female finishers made the Olympic Team for this summer’s London games.
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I got my first iPod in the summer of 2007. I got the small nano model that would be easy for carrying with me on a run. I had just started running and needed all the noise possible to drown out my huffing and puffing. Among that noise was the gentle sounds of Ben Gibbard’s voice. Gibbard is the lead singer for Death Cab for Cutie. I was thrilled to learn that as I began my painful path to becoming a runner, listening to him through my headphones, he was beginning his own running journey, too.

Ben was recently highlighted in the “I’m a Runner” feature of Runner’s World Magazine’s February 2012 issue. He explained how he began an unexpected quest to becoming a runner in 2007. Just like many young adults, the unhealthy lifestyle Gibbard could get away with in his 20s began to catch up to him. He also explained how he used running as a good habit to replace some of his bad habits, such as heavy drinking.

Gibbard’s description of the pains and struggles he felt just getting his body to run those first few miles was entertaining. “I had to wage a war of attrition with my own body. One day, my knee would hurt. The next day, my ankles would hurt, then my shins would hurt. That went on for months.”

Even a rockstar can’t escape the humble, dirty side of running that all beginners must go through.
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Maruchy Lachance is president of Running Ninja!, a lifestyle brand for runners by runners. Running Ninja! offers a wide variety of apparel and gifts for runners to keep you happy and inspired while you’re on the run.

You would be proud to hear that I am still living up to my New Year’s resolution to run every single day in 2012. You would then be surprised to hear how on the sixth day I drove to a popular fast good joint where I ordered from the super size menu.

Without any sense of irony or guilt I ate the entire thing. What followed was a terrible food hangover and not 10 minutes later I felt sluggish and bloated then came the “indulger’s remorse” – those feelings of regret. I felt as if I could never eat again, but three hours later I was ready to eat a small country. Thankfully I opted for a big salad with all kinds of veggies and a Thai chicken pizza on honey wheat crust. When I finished eating I felt satisfied and energetic – nothing like my lunch experience left me feeling.
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Usually when you make New Year’s resolutions, you are looking forward. But when you are trying to put together a workout playlist, you have no choice but to look in the rear-view mirror.

Here are some of the hottest songs from 2011 that charted on Billboard and a few that caught the critics’ attention as well. Of course they also have to be inspiring when you are ready to sweat.

Hottest Songs of 2011 Workout Mix

1. LMFAO – Sexy and I Know It

2. Foster the People – Pumped up Kicks

3. Lykke Li – Get Some

4. Foo Fighters – These Days
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