This past Saturday marked the 50th anniversary of the JFK 50 Mile ultramarathon, a footrace inspired by John F. Kennedy’s call to his armed forces to meet a challenge first conceived by Teddy Roosevelt: cover 50 miles by foot in less than a day. Three of us from The Experiment made the trip to see 71-year-old Ed Ayres, whose book The Longest Race uses this historic race as a framework for remembering a lifelong dedication to long-distance running, as he competed against a field of 1,500 runners. We stood in a group of about a hundred supporters, watching as Ed and others careened down the rocky Appalachian Trail at Weverton Cliff, a treacherous stage of the race that Ed vividly recounts in his book. We witnessed the danger firsthand in the form of not-infrequent scraped and bloodied faces, legs, and knees of the runners going by. As Ed reached the foot of the cliff, he high-fived us and looked OK, but he let us know after the race that by the time he saw us he’d already fallen twice. And Weverton is only mile 15! Continue reading →

Well, that’s all folks. After months of debate, speculation, tension, and hair-pulling, the election has been decided. Today life can finally go back to normal, even if many of us are still living with a post-election hangover. This election marked … Continue reading →

After Sandy closed down New York for nearly a week, we are happy to report everyone is safely back in the office! From everyone at The Experiment, we much hope that you were not badly affected by the storm. As … Continue reading →

In celebration of Vegetarian Awareness Month, Lukas Volger, author of Veggie Burgers Every Which Way and Vegetarian Entrees That Won’t Leave You Hungry, was invited to HBO’s Times Square headquarters on Tuesday to sign books as five of his delicious … Continue reading →

Pumpkin the new bacon?! That’s what Felix Salmon claimed yesterday at New York magazine. As a publisher of (mostly) vegan cookbooks, we couldn’t agree more. If you want to join the pumpkin revolution, why not try Del Sroufe’s Pumpkin and … Continue reading →

November 17th will mark an exciting and historic occasion for running enthusiasts across the country, as the JFK 50 Mile—the nation’s oldest and most iconic ultramarathon—will celebrate its 50th anniversary. First held in the spring of 1963, the race was … Continue reading →

We here at the Experiment are thrilled over the success of Aung San Suu Kyi’s visit to New York last week. The Burmese activist and global symbol of human dignity was honored at the Atlantic Council’s Global Citizen Awards Dinner last Friday for her devotion to democracy and human rights. On Saturday, Suu Kyi spoke at Queens College, urging audience members to exercise their democratic rights and vote in the upcoming election. As the New York Times reported, she told the crowd of nearly 2,000: “Dissidents can’t be dissidents forever; we are dissidents because we don’t want to be dissidents.” At the same event, Anjelica Houston read Suu Kyi’s essay Freedom From Fear and Carole King sang a rendition of “You’ve Got a Friend,” prompting an audience-wide sing-along.

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Athletes featured in Peter Bronski and Melissa McLean Jory’s new book showed the world their gluten-free edge at the London 2012 Olympics.

Millet, arrowroot, corn, rice, teff, sorghum—the list goes on. Such sources of gluten-free carbohydrates are not usually regarded as the stuff that dreams are made of, but that may be about to change. Several gluten-free athletes made the trip to London this summer, and for swimmer Dana Vollmer and pole-vaulter Jenn Suhr their dreams of Olympic gold were realized. Their triumphs are the latest in a slew of successes by gluten-free athletes, and further evidence of the way that this increasingly prevalent diet—thanks to rising rates of diagnoses of celiac disease and gluten sensitivity—can be a game-changer.

Diagnosed with celiac disease in 2011, ten-time American champion pole-vaulter Jenn Suhr’s adoption of a gluten-free diet came at just the right time. Stomach issues and other symptoms such as fatigue, dehydration, and muscle cramps “had been surfacing on and off for a few years. . . [but] during summer 2011, it was different,” write Peter Bronski and Melissa McLean Jory in their new book, The Gluten-Free Edge. “There was a more fundamental change in her health. Suhr failed to defend her outdoor title and barely qualified for Worlds.” After her celiac diagnosis and dietary changes, her season took an extraordinary turnabout: “She posted the second-best jump of her life—4.91 meters—which ended up being the best height of any female vaulter in the world for all of 2011. By the end of the year, she was in top form, ranked by Track and Field News as the top female vaulter on the planet,” report Bronski and Jory. Her gold medal in London proves that, with a gluten-free diet, even celiac disease can’t slow her down. Continue reading →

Colette Martin’s Learning to Bake Allergen-Free is publishing today. To celebrate, we’re…making chocolate mousse!

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