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Undergraduate Business Administration Major
Begin pursuing a Bachelor's in Business Administration degree as early as your freshman year at UAlbany. Be part of a highly respected, selective business program that provides you with the comprehensive knowledge and skills necessary for a competitive edge in today's job market.
Why Study Business at UAlbany?
At UAlbany's School of Business, you will earn your bachelor's degree from an AACSB-accredited program, a prestigious international recognition for business education excellence.
Study alongside skilled and motivated students, just like yourself, from across the world. Small class size foster high academic performance and achievement.
Outstanding faculty help you master the fundamental business concepts necessary for business success.
What is Required?
Undergraduate business administration majors need to complete 120 total credits, including 60 core credits of combined liberal arts and general education courses. In your junior year, you may also choose a concentration that will provide you with one or more specialized skillsets in key business disciplines:
- Financial Analyst Honors Program
- Information Systems and Business Analytics
- Marketing
- Management (combined concentrations only)
- Entrepreneurship (combined concentrations only)
- Combined Concentration (combination of two concentrations)
What Special Programs are Offered?
As a UAlbany School of Business student, we prepare you for today's dynamic business climate with a well-rounded learning experience. We encourage you to:
- Learn a foreign language
- Take cultural diversity classes
- Pursue a minor from UAlbany's more than 100 fields of study
Next, check out the overview for our business administration major academic concentrations.


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Hubble Observation of P/2013 R3 - January 14, 2014
The Hubble data are from proposal 13612: D. Jewitt (University of California, Los Angeles), H. Weaver (JHU/APL), J. Agarwal (Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research), S. Larson (University of Arizona), and M. Mutchler (STScI).
F350LP (long pass)
This image was originally black and white and recorded only overall brightness. These brightness values were translated into a range of bluish hues. Such color "maps" can be useful in helping to distinguish subtly varying brightness in an image.
NASA, ESA, and D. Jewitt (University of California, Los Angeles)

subset: commoncrawl


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Corn is expected to remain the commodity of choice for many producers, buoyed by continued strong demand. Seed companies are responding by increasing the availability of stacked-trait hybrids in their lineups. Growers can expect good availability of these hybrids in a wider range of genetic packages.
Monsanto is rolling out on a large commercial scale the YieldGard VT Triple trait in corn, which combines Roundup Ready technology, YieldGard corn borer protection and the second generation of YieldGard corn rootworm protection.
"We've adopted a new insertion process, called Vectran (VT), that very precisely places the gene on the chromosome," says Dion McBay, U.S. marketing manager for YieldGard corn traits. "As YieldGard VT expresses the Bt protein throughout the plant, it delivers a higher level of insect control and sets the stage for higher yield potential."
The company had 1.5 million acres planted in 2007 in limited commercial release and expects to plant up to 15 million acres in 2008. "There will be ample supply in leading genetic offerings," McBay says. "The growth curve has been tremendous."
Dow AgroSciences
Dow AgroSciences expects continued adoption of its Herculex corn traits. "Herculex will be in more hybrids, in a larger amount of germplasm and in additional seed brands," says Ben Kaehler, business leader for traits and germplasm licensing at Dow AgroSciences. "In addition, we are expanding our breeding program to bring more products to market."
The company also will push its silage lineup. "We have BMR lines that are in the fifth and sixth generation of the product," says Doug Vail, sales and marketing leader for Mycogen Seeds. "We continue to see significant growth in these products."
The newest stacked-trait offering available from Syngenta is Agrisure 3000GT, a glyphosate-tolerant and Liberty-tolerant corn with corn borer and corn rootworm resistance. "Agrisure 3000GT offers two modes of action for herbicide control," says Chuck Lee, head corn product line for Syngenta. "That's important for maximum productivity. Farmers need to increase yield to meet the huge corn demand. If producers have planted a glyphosate-resistant corn, they can use the Liberty option to control volunteer corn in a corn-on-corn rotation."
Pioneer calls it the next level in herbicide tolerance. Optimum GAT is the company's new proprietary glyphosate-tolerant trait that also offers resistance to acetolactate synthase (ALS) herbicides.
"Optimum GAT will come to the soybean market in 2009, but there will be demonstration plots available for producers to evaluate this new technology," says John Soper, soybean research director at Pioneer. "Optimum GAT will provide an alternative to Roundup Ready technology and provide a second mode of action. This is the first trait with a dual mode of action tolerance to herbicides."
Full commercial availability is expected in 2009 for soybeans and 2010 for corn.
"Optimum GAT is a highly competitive product that will give producers flexibility for weed-control management," says David Bubeck, corn research director for Pioneer.
Pioneer also will expand the number of triple-stack hybrids available for 2008 — those with Herculex Xtra (Herculex I and Herculex RW) and Roundup Ready traits.
2009 and beyond
Researchers continue to work to bring new seed technology products to market that combine cutting-edge plant breeding with the latest transgenic technology.
One of the hot areas of plant-breeding research is insect control. While current corn rootworm and corn borer resistance technology is highly effective, and has proven to be widely accepted in the marketplace, researchers are looking at other modes of action that will provide both above-ground and below-ground insect protection. "Multiple modes of action will help preserve this technology in the long term," Bubeck explains. "We want to ensure that we are doing all we can to be one step ahead of the bugs and develop products that reduce the likelihood for resistance."
Continue reading on page 2: 2009 and beyond
Dow AgroSciences plans to market its Dow AgroSciences herbicide tolerance (DHT) trait for corn in 2011 and for soybeans in 2013. "This new trait technology improves and enhances the performance of glyphosate and glufosinate cropping systems by enabling the use of additional broad-spectrum herbicides with differing modes of action in both burndown and postemergent applications," Vail says. "This will provide effective, broad-spectrum control of broadleaves and grasses."
Monsanto expects to have a significant number of soybean lines in testing that contain the new Roundup RReady2Yield trait and plans a limited release of the seed in 2009 and full release in 2010.
Drought-tolerance technology is also on the front burner. However, it's not simply a matter of producing a hybrid that can use less water. "Dry conditions can impact corn in varying degrees throughout the growing season, and it differs depending on the area of the country," Bubeck says. "We're looking for drought genes that have broad applications."
Monsanto is bringing quality traits, such as Omega-3, to soybeans. And the company says soybeans with tolerance to Dicamba (Clarity, Banvil) are also in the initial testing stages, which would bring yet another weed-control option to producers.
Then there's the area of fungal diseases. "Certainly, fungal diseases are yield-limiting factors," Bubeck says. "We have products in the pipeline that will address these problems."
Output traits — the industrial uses for corn and soybeans — also are on the drawing board, or in initial steps of development. And efforts to bring soybean cyst nematode resistance and aphid tolerance to soybean genetics continue.
"Traits will continue to be an important tool for the seed industry," says Tom Strachota, CEO of Dairyland Seed. "Trait providers are investing heavily to bring new products to market, and that will increase the choices for producers."
But the bottom line will remain genetic performance. "Traits are good, but at the end of the day it comes down to genetic performance in the field," Strachota says. "That's what keeps you competitive."
SOYBEAN SEED Although corn remains in the driver's seat, that doesn't mean soybeans are taking a back seat. "The market in soybeans is good for growers to generate additional profits," says Scott Stein, Asgrow soybean product manager.
More consumers are becoming interested in zero-trans-fat products. "With the demand for zero trans fats increasing rapidly, we see an opportunity for the U.S. grower to grow our Vistive low-linoleic soybeans," Stine says. "The Vistive market has been growing and gaining acceptance. We are boosting supply to meet an expected increase in demand."
Stine Seed's David Thompson says more soybean varieties will carry the Vistive trait in 2008. "Farmers like the product," he says.LONG AND WINDING ROAD
SEED COMPANIES say that it can take seven years for a new corn hybrid to go from idea to reality. Along the way are hundreds of thousands of plant crosses that are evaluated, tested and tested again — all for a product that might stay in the company's lineup for five years before it's replaced with the next new product. For soybeans, the development time line may be shorter, but it still takes a minimum of five years for a product to go from concept to seed bag.
For biotech traits, it can be an even longer (and more expensive) process. The typical biotech trait can take anywhere from eight to 10 years to make its way to the marketplace. And while traits may stay in the market much longer, they incur the additional expense of meeting worldwide regulatory approval on top of their development costs.
A single traited product may cost a company up to $100 million to develop and bring to market. That's before a single bag of seed is sold.
Plant breeders take a lot of swings and misses before they hit a home run. "Plant breeding comes down to a numbers game: the more crosses you evaluate, the more likely you will find the best products," explains David Thompson, marketing manager at Stine Seed. "A lot of our plant breeding work will never see the light of day."
New technologies have helped the plant breeders in their work. "Now it's a thinking game as well," says John Soper, soybean research director for Pioneer. "We use our genetic marker technology to determine what goes into a cross, so the results are not as random. With a genetic profile of the parental lines, we try and match up the results to ensure all genes in offspring are there."
Still, millions of data points are analyzed, because each trait in a soybean plant may be controlled by many genes.
An elite soybean variety for the 2008 product year probably started as an initial cross at least five years ago. Evaluation, increasing seed production, and testing in a wide range of environments then followed. This was all done for a product that might reach its peak sales in another two years before fading, either because it falls out of favor with producers or is replaced with another variety.
What assists soybean and corn breeders is winter nurseries scattered throughout Central America and the Southern Hemisphere, as well as at tropical locations like Hawaii.
For corn, hybrid development can take from seven years (on the low end) to a decade. Critical evaluation of each hybrid is conducted over a wide range of growing conditions.
On top of the push for yield advantages is the relatively new push for hybrids with a variety of transgenic traits. "The whole research and development world has become complex and highly orchestrated," says David Bubeck, corn research director for Pioneer. "And while we have some great new tools, the process hasn't gotten easier, and seed books haven't gotten smaller. We can have one hybrid line with several different options. The challenge is to develop these different options for our customers while ensuring they are the best products available."


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Adding to the already substantial list of lawsuits filed on behalf of its clients Erik Andersen and Rob Landley (the two principal developers of the BusyBox open source utility), the The Software Freedom Law Center (SFLC) has announced today the filing of yet another suit alleging copyright infringement based on a violation of version 2 of the GNU General Public License (GPL) in connection with BusyBox. The current suit has been filed against Ethernet solutions provider Extreme Networks. As with the previous suits brought by Andersen and Landley (against Monsoon Multimedia, Xterasys Corporation, High-Gain Antennas, Verizon Communications, Bell Microproducts, Inc. and Super Micro Computer, Inc.) , the complaint against Extreme Networks alleges that Extreme makes and sells various products containing firmware in which BusyBox, or a modified version of BusyBox, is included. Specifically, the complaint names the Summit X450 Series network switches as one of the offending products offered by Extreme. According to the lawsuit, Extreme continues to distribute this product and others with firmware containing BusyBox without making the source code to BusyBox available in accordance with the terms of the GPL. As the complaint notes, under the terms of the GPL, Extreme is obligated to provide the source code of the BusyBox software to recipients of products with firmware containing BusyBox.
According to the complaint, Extreme was first notified of the requirements of the GPL as early as July of 2006 by a "third party" who requested a copy of the Busy Box source code. The complaint further alleges that the SFLC later contacted Extreme in February 2008 on behalf of the BusyBox developers and that the parties have had multiple interactions since that time in an attempt to settle the allegations against Extreme. The complaint continues, however, that Extreme has failed to respond to the latest notice provided by the SFLC on June 26, thus prompting the lawsuit. As with the complaints in previous cases, the complaint filed against Extreme requests that an injunction be issued against the defendant and that damages and litigation costs be awarded to the plaintiffs.
The take away from this latest suit is fairly simple. As the campaign of lawsuits brought by BusyBox continues to roll forward (and it appears safe to now call it a "campaign"), and as mentioned in connection with the previous BusyBox suits, product vendors (particularly in the wireless and terrestrial networking space) should take note of whether and to what extent the products distributed by their organizations (including products produced by third parties) contain BusyBox or other open source software. And, as shown by the timeline in this and the other BusyBox cases, those vendors should take seriously any contact from the SFLC or other organizations inquiring about potential violations of the GPL or other open source licenses.
Filed under: Busybox, Erik Andersen, GPL, Law, News and Alerts, Open Source, Rob Landley, SFLC | Tagged: Extreme Networks, Summit X450 |


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|Khafre, Khefren, Suphis II., Saophis
Alabaster statue of Khafra, probably from Memphis, now in the Egyptian Museum at Cairo.
|About 26 years, ca. 2570 BC[1] (4th Dynasty)
|Bikheris (?), Menkaure
|Khamerernebty I, Persenet, Hekenuhedjet
|Nebemakhet, Duaenre, Niuserre, Khentetka, Shepsetkau, Menkaure, Khamerernebty II, Sekhemkare, Nikaure, Ankhmare, Akhre, Iunmin, Iunre, Rekhetre, and Hemetre
|Meritites I or Henutsen
|Pyramid of Khafra
|Pyramid of Khafra
Khafra (also read as Khafre, Khefren and Greek: Χεφρήν Chephren) was an ancient Egyptian king (pharaoh) of the 4th dynasty during the Old Kingdom. He was the son of Khufu and the throne successor of Djedefre. According to the ancient historian Manetho, Khafra was followed by king Bikheris, but according to archaeological evidences he was rather followed by king Menkaure. Khafra was the builder of the second largest pyramid of Giza. The view held by modern Egyptology at large remains that the Great Sphinx was built in approximately 2500 BC for Khafra.[2] There is not much known about Khafra, except the historical reports of Herodotus, writing 2,000 years after his life and who describes him as a cruel and heretic ruler, who kept the Egyptian temples closed after Khufu had sealed them.
Khafra was a son of king Khufu and the brother and successor of Djedefre.[3] Khafra is thought by some to be the son of Queen Meritites I due to an inscription where he is said to honor her memory.
Kings-wife, his beloved, devoted to Horus, Mertitytes.
King's-wife, his beloved, Mertitytes; beloved of the Favorite of
the Two Goddesses; she who says anything whatsoever and it is done
for her. Great in the favor of Snefr[u] ; great in the favor
of Khuf[u], devoted to Horus, honored under Khafre. Merti[tyt]es.
[Breasted; Ancient Records]
Others argue that the inscription just suggests that this queen died during the reign of Khafre.[4] Khafre may be a son of Queen Henutsen instead.[5]
Khafra had several wives and he had at least 12 sons and 3 or 4 daughters.
- Queen Meresankh III was the daughter of Kawab and Hetepheres II and thus a niece of Khafra. She was the mother of Khafra's sons Nebemakhet, Duaenre, Niuserre and Khentetka, and a daughter named Shepsetkau.
- Queen Khamerernebty I was the mother of Menkaure and his principal queen Khamerernebty II.
- Hekenuhedjet was a wife of Khafra. She is mentioned in the tomb of her son Sekhemkare.
- Persenet may have been a wife of Khafra based on the location of her tomb. She was the mother of Nikaure.[3]
Other children of Khafra are known, but no mothers have been identified. Further sons include Ankhmare, Akhre, Iunmin, and Iunre. Two more daughters named Rekhetre and Hemetre are known as well.[3]
There is no agreement on the date of his reign. Some authors say it was between 2558 BC and 2532 BC; this dynasty is commonly dated ca. 2650 BC–2480 BC. While the Turin King List length for his reign is blank, and Manetho exaggerates his reign as 66 years, most scholars believe it was between 24 and 26 years, based upon the date of the Will of Prince Nekure which was carved on the walls of this Prince's mastaba tomb. The will is dated anonymously to the Year of the 12th Count and is assumed to belong to Khufu since Nekure was his son. Khafra's highest year date is the "Year of the 13th occurrence" which is a painted date on the back of a casing stone belonging to mastaba G 7650.[6] This would imply a reign of 24–25 years for this king if the cattle count was biannual during the Fourth Dynasty.
Pyramid complex[edit]
Khafra built the second largest pyramid at Giza. The Egyptian name of the pyramid was Wer(en)-Khafre which means "Khafre is Great".[7]
The pyramid has a subsidiary pyramid, labeled GII a. It is not clear who was buried there. Sealings have been found of a King's eldest son of his body etc. and the Horus name of Khafre.[7]
Valley Temple[edit]
The valley temple of Khafre was located closer to the Nile and would have stood right next to the Sphinx temple. Inscriptions from the entrance way have been found which mention Hathor and Bubastis. Blocks have been found showing the partial remains of an inscription with the Horus name of Khafre (Weser-ib). Mariette discovered statues of Khafre in 1860. Several were found in a well in the floor and were headless. But other complete statues were found as well.[7]
Mortuary Temple[edit]
The mortuary temple was located very close to the pyramid. From the mortuary temple come fragments of maceheads inscribed with Khafre's name as well as some stone vessels.[7]
Great Sphinx and Sphinx temple[edit]
The sphinx is said to date to the time of Khafra. This is supported by the proximity of the sphinx to Khafra's pyramid temple complex, and a certain resemblance (despite damage) to the facial structure seen in his statues. The Great Sphinx of Giza may have been carved out as a guardian of Khafra's pyramid, and as a symbol of royal power. It became deified during the time of the New Kingdom.[8]
Khafra in ancient Greek traditions[edit]
The ancient Egyptian historian Manetho called Khafra "Sûphis II." and credited him with a rulership of 66 years, but didn't make any further comments about him.[9][10][11][12]
The ancient Greek historians Diodorus and Herodotus instead depicted Khafra as a heretic and cruel tyrant: They were writing 2,000 years after his time that Khafra (whom they both called "Khêphren") followed his father Khêops on the throne, after the megalomaniac despot had died. Then Herodotus and Diodorus say that Khafra ruled for 56 years and that the Egyptians had to suffer under him like under his father before. Since Khufu was said to have ruled for 50 years, the authors claim that the poor Egyptians had to suffer under both kings for altogether 106 years.[9][10][11]
But then they describe a king Menkaura (whom they call "Mykerînós") as the follower of Khafra and that this king was the counterpart of his two predecessors: Herodotus describes Menkaura as being saddened and disappointed about Khufu's and Khafra's cruelty and that Menkaura brought peace and piety back to Egypt.[9][10][11]
Today modern Egyptologists evaluate Herodotus's and Diodorus's stories as some sort of defamation, based on both author's contemporary philosophy. Oversized tombs such as the Giza-pyramids must have appalled the Greeks and even the later priests of the New Kingdom, because they surely remembered the heretic pharaoh Akhenaten and his megalomaniac building projects. This extremely negative picture was obviously projected onto Khafra and his daunting pyramid. The view was possibly promoted by the fact, that during Khafra's lifetime the permission of the creation of oversized statues made of precious stone and their displaying at open places in public was limited to the king only. At their lifetime, the Greek authors and mortuary priests and temple priests couldn't explain the impressive monuments and statues of Khafra better than as the result of a megalomaniac character. These views and resulting stories were avidly snapped up by the Greek historians and so they made their also negative evaluations about Khafra, since scandalous stories were easier to sell to the public than positive (and therefore boring) tales.[9][10][11][12]
- ^ Thomas Schneider: Lexikon der Pharaonen. Albatros, Düsseldorf 2002, ISBN 3-491-96053-3, page 102.
- ^ "Sphinx Project: Why Sequence is Important". 2007. Archived from the original on July 26, 2010. Retrieved February 27, 2015.
- ^ a b c Dodson, Aidan and Hilton, Dyan. The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt. Thames & Hudson. 2004. ISBN 0-500-05128-3
- ^ Grajetzki, Ancient Egyptian Queens: A Hieroglyphic Dictionary, Golden House Publications, London, 2005, ISBN 978-0-9547218-9-3
- ^ Tyldesley, Joyce. Chronicle of the Queens of Egypt. Thames & Hudson. 2006. ISBN 0-500-05145-3
- ^ Anthony Spalinger, Dated Texts of the Old Kingdom, SAK 21 (1994), p.287
- ^ a b c d Porter, Bertha and Moss, Rosalind, Topographical Bibliography of Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphic Texts, Statues, Reliefs and Paintings Volume III: Memphis, Part I Abu Rawash to Abusir. 2nd edition (revised and augmented by Dr Jaromir Malek, 1974. Retrieved from gizapyramids.org Archived 2008-10-11 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Markowitz, Haynes, Freed (2002). Egypt in the Age of the Pyramids.CS1 maint: Multiple names: authors list (link)
- ^ a b c d Siegfried Morenz: Traditionen um Cheops. In: Zeitschrift für Ägyptische Sprache und Altertumskunde, vol. 97, Berlin 1971, ISSN 0044-216X, page 111–118.
- ^ a b c d Dietrich Wildung: Die Rolle ägyptischer Könige im Bewußtsein ihrer Nachwelt. Band 1: Posthume Quellen über die Könige der ersten vier Dynastien (= Münchener Ägyptologische Studien. Bd. 17). Hessling, Berlin 1969, page 152–192.
- ^ a b c d Wolfgang Helck: Geschichte des Alten Ägypten (= Handbuch der Orientalistik, vol. 1.; Chapter 1: Der Nahe und der Mittlere Osten, vol 1.). BRILL, Leiden 1968, ISBN 9004064974, page 23–25 & 54–62.
- ^ a b Aidan Dodson: Monarchs of the Nile. American Univ in Cairo Press, 2000, ISBN 9774246004, page 29–34.
Further reading[edit]
- James H. Breasted, Ancient Records of Egypt, Part I, §§ 192, (1906) on 'The Will of Nekure'.
External links[edit]
|Wikimedia Commons has media related to Khafra.


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#bahamas real estate listings
about this office
This Eleuthera office is centrally located on The Queens Highway in Governor's Harbour overlooking Cupids Cay. This Bahamas real estate office services the entire Island of Eleuthera including Harbour Island, Windermere Island and Cotton Bay in addition to North Eleuthera and Spanish Wells.
Damianos Sotheby's International Realty serves the entire Bahamas and is headquartered in downtown Nassau with offices in Lyford Cay; Old Fort Bay; Governor's Harbour Eleuthera; Marsh Harbour, Treasure Cay, Hope Town and Elbow Cay Abaco; with associates in Exuma and the Exuma Cays. Damianos Sotheby's International Realty more reach, visibility, and influence, than any other real estate agency in The Bahamas.
The Bahamas real estate agents at the Eleuthera office are pleased to offer their real estate services and Eleuthera listings for Harbour Island homes, Cotton Bay land, Rainbow Bay real estate, Eleuthera Bahamas properties and more! Just search our Eleuthera real estate listings and contact us and we will be more than happy to assist you.
Quick Facts.
• The Bahamas is a world renowned tax neutral country with no income, inheritance or capital gains tax.
• Damianos Realty has been providing Bahamas real estate brokerage services since 1945 – one of the oldest real estate firms in The Bahamas.
• In 2005 Damianos Realty became a Sotheby's International Realty affiliate
• Also in 2005 Lyford Cay Sales & Rentals was awarded the Sotheby's International Realty® master franchise, becoming Lyford Cay Sotheby's International Realty – the only real estate agency within the gates of the exclusive community of Lyford Cay, Bahamas.
• In 2010 Damianos Sotheby's International Realty expanded their reach and opened Old Fort Bay Sotheby's International Realty
• Also in 2010 Damianos Sotheby's International Realty opened a new office in Treasure Cay, Abaco, and a new office in Guana Cay, Abaco.
• Damianos Sotheby's International Realty is a licensed member of the Bahamas Real Estate Association (BREA), and the Bahamas MLS.


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Home > ILC Home > Global Design Effort (archive) > Project Managers
|Archive (information is provided for reference)
Project Managers
Technical Design Phase monthly reportOctober and November 2010
Posted: 20101216
ILC R&D Plan for the Technical Design PhaseThe technical description of our R&D programme to achieve this goal is summarised in the document "ILC Research and Development Plan for the Technical Design Phase." This is a 'living' document, in the sense that we are updating it every six months to maintain a current description of our programme, goals and resources. We have published the third release of this document in February 2009. It is both an update and contains more complete descriptions of some of our work.
Release 5 - August 2010
Download the pdf (3.5MB)
ILC-GDE Project managers
- Marc Ross
Contact information
- Nick Walker
Contact information
- Akira Yamamoto
Contact information
Interim report - Vol 1
Volume 1 - The International Linear Collider: A Technical Progress Report
Download the pdf (10 MB)
Order your printed copy
Volume 3 - Accelerator
Download the pdf (20MB)
Useful linksVisit to SCRF cavity-cryomodule manufacturers, 2011
Visit to SCRF cavity manufacturers, 2009


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Albuquerque, city, seat (1883) of Bernalillo county, west-central New Mexico, U.S., located on the Rio Grande opposite a pass between the Sandia and Manzano mountains to the east. The area was the site of Native American pueblos (villages) when Europeans first arrived in 1540. Founded in 1706 by Don Francisco Cuervo y Valdés, governor and captain general of New Mexico, it was named for the duke of Alburquerque, then viceroy of New Spain (the first r was later dropped). It became an important trading centre on the Chihuahua Trail from Mexico.
As a modern-day cultural and political centre, Albuquerque has long played a secondary role to the state capital, Santa Fe, which lies some 60 miles (100 km) to the northeast. Albuquerque is New Mexico's largest city and its economic capital, however, and it is served by an extensive network of railroads, airlines, and highways. At the heart of the city's economy are the military and high-technology sectors. Area 181 square miles (469 square km). Pop. (2000) 448,607; Albuquerque Metro Area, 729,649; (2010) 545,852; Albuquerque Metro Area, 887,077.
Character of the city
Enclosed by mountains, the Rio Grande, lava cliffs, military bases, and Native American pueblos, Albuquerque seemingly has reached its physical limits, barring expansion into adjacent valleys. Much of the city is made up of suburban developments. Older neighbourhoods line the banks of the broad Rio Grande, with Spanish-style adobe homes nestled among galleries of tall cottonwood and oak trees; they are artifacts of another age, however. Critics complain that Albuquerque is losing its distinctive identity in the face of centrifugal growth, a process that began in the mid-1940s with the city's rise as a centre of Cold War-related military research and production. Despite an increase in the crime rate and urban sprawl, the city continues to attract new residents, who are enticed by a lower cost of living than that of much of the United States as well as by the region's pleasant climate. As new residents arrive, longer-established inhabitants press for the preservation of the city's distinctive historic architecture and small-town way of life.
City site
Albuquerque lies in the Chihuahuan Desert, in a broad valley that stretches about 30 miles (48 km) east-west. The valley is bounded for most of its length by the Sandia Mountains to the north, the slightly lower Manzano Mountains to the east, and the low but rugged lava escarpments to the south and west. The Rio Grande bisects the western end of the valley, and a highway follows the river's course through the city southward to the Texas border. To the west of the Rio Grande is a lava field and a cluster of dormant volcanoes. At the eastern end of the valley lies Tijeras Canyon, a rugged, boulder-strewn gorge that opens onto a broad plateau; a multilane highway passes through the canyon. The entire region is part of the tectonic Rio Grande rift valley, and minor earthquakes are common.
Most of the city proper lies on hilly terraces composed of gravels from the Miocene (about 23 million to 5.3 million years ago) and Pliocene (about 5.3 million to 2.6 million years ago) epochs. These terraces were formed over millennia by soils and rocks washing down from the nearby Sandia and Manzano mountains and deposited by periodic floods. Rich in nutrients, these soils have provided the basis for the region's long tradition of floodplain agriculture.
Albuquerque's climate is mild and dry, with an annual average of more than 200 clear days. The average annual temperature is in the mid-50s F (about 13 °C). The Manzano Mountains to the east block much of the moisture-laden air that flows northward from the Gulf of Mexico, creating a rain shadow. As a result, the city receives only about 9 inches (230 mm) of rainfall annually, most of it falling in the summer. The Sandia Mountains receive about 30 inches (760 mm) of rain in the summer and about the same amount of snow in the winter.
City layout
Suburbs and satellite communities have grown rapidly while the heart of the original city—the 18th-century Old Town and the 19th-century Downtown—long languished, despite the government's attempt to attract attention to these historic districts with new civic plazas, museums, and parks. In the early 21st century, however, Downtown again became attractive, especially to faculty from the University of New Mexico and students and artists. Like many cities in the western United States, Albuquerque has several widespread centres in place of a single downtown core.
The Uptown district, to the north of Old Town, boasts shopping centres, hotels, and office and industrial parks. The downtown area south of Old Town comprises government buildings, hospitals, and museums. To the east of Old Town is the home of the University of New Mexico as well as a number of attractive, tree-lined neighbourhoods. Extending from Uptown to the foothills of the Sandia Mountains is Far Heights, mainly a sprawl of suburban homes, retail giants, and restaurants. Beyond the city proper to the north and south, respectively, lie the North Valley and the South Valley, which comprise several old farming settlements; both areas are largely Hispanic and industrial or agricultural in character. To the far northwest of Old Town lies Rio Rancho, an independent entity that was a retirement centre but is now a small upscale city.
Because Albuquerque was a distant outpost of the Spanish empire, its residents were mostly of Hispanic or mixed Hispanic–Native American ancestry until the late 19th century. Influxes of Protestant settlers (generally of northern European descent) throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries reduced the predominantly Roman Catholic Hispanic population to a minority by the late 1880s. Nevertheless, in the early 21st century more than two-fifths of Albuquerque's residents were of Hispanic origin. The core of this population was made up of descendants of families who came to New Mexico during the long period of Spanish rule (before Mexico became independent). Calling themselves Hispanos, they distinguish themselves from other Latinos, especially those who have more recently arrived from Mexico and who are locally referred to as Chicanos or Mexicans. Members of the older Hispano families remain prominent in city politics.
The majority of the remainder of the population consists of descendants of Europeans (about two-fifths). The city has a small population of Native Americans, many of whom arrived as university students from the Apache and Navajo reservations of Arizona and New Mexico and remained in the city to work after graduating. Most of the area's American Indians, however, live in independent pueblos to the north and south of the city; all but a few of Albuquerque's pueblos lie within an hour's drive of Downtown. Albuquerque also has a growing community of South and Southeast Asians, many of whom began to work in the high-technology and service sectors in the mid-1970s.
Albuquerque's recent pattern of growth, with suburbs expanding farther from the city centre, has created de facto segregation in housing. Members of ethnic minorities are concentrated in older sections of the city along the Rio Grande, and those of the "white" majority tend to reside in the foothills of the Sandia Mountains.
For hundreds of years before and after the arrival of the Spanish, the basis of Albuquerque's economy was agricultural, and small farms and large cattle ranches surrounded the pueblos and Old Town. During Spanish rule, Albuquerque served as a shipping point for metal ores and timber brought in from nearby mines and mills, though the city's distance from Mexico kept Albuquerque from gaining economic importance outside the region. After the arrival of transcontinental rail lines in the early 1880s, however, Albuquerque became an important distribution centre for imported and locally produced goods. Since the mid-20th century, agriculture has been of relatively little economic importance to the city, and only a few ranches still operate. Albuquerque's modern economy is based on light manufacturing, services, and research and development.
Present-day Albuquerque serves as a transportation centre for commerce and industry. Manufactures include electronics, lumber, machinery, and foodstuffs. By the early 1990s, several high-technology firms had established plants for the manufacture of semiconductors and other computer components.
Finance and other services
Sandia National Laboratories, an assemblage of government laboratories and offices, military installations, and other manufacturing firms, and the University of New Mexico are the city's largest employers. However, most of Albuquerque's workforce is employed in service jobs, particularly in restaurants, hotels, and retail shops. In the late 1990s the average income of city dwellers was the second lowest in the Southwest, and unemployment and underemployment were prevalent, particularly in the predominantly Hispanic South Valley. Conditions improved in the following decade, with Albuquerque's economy generally resembling those of other southwestern cities.
Tourism is an important adjunct to the economy. Old Town, the original Spanish settlement, draws many visitors. The Sandia Peak Ski Area, with an aerial tramway, is a few miles northeast.
By virtue of its location along the Rio Grande, running north-south, and across level uplands leading to the mountains to the east and west, Albuquerque has long been a transportation centre. Beginning in the 19th century, several railroad lines ran through the city, which today is served by the Union Pacific and Amtrak. Two major interstate highways pass through the city, intersecting in the heart of Downtown. Both highways, as well as local arterials, are regularly congested; alternatives to relieve some of the crowding in the city itself (such as light rail service and streetcars) have been discussed by city officials. A short-run commuter railroad runs along the main interstate corridor from the northern town of Bernalillo to the outlier southern town of Belen through downtown Albuquerque. Albuquerque International Airport is among the busiest in the western United States, with direct flights to domestic cities and connections to numerous international destinations.
Administration and society
Government and municipal services
Albuquerque is governed by a mayor and a nine-member city council. Like many cities in the West, the elected council's power is secondary to that of the appointed city manager, whose office controls the budget and most day-to-day governmental operations. The city provides waste-collection services, police and fire protection, and the maintenance of a network of municipal parks.
Albuquerque enjoys a long tradition of excellent health care, with several modern private and public hospitals, a legacy of both the military presence in the area and the city's role as a convalescent centre during the nationwide tuberculosis epidemic in the early 20th century. In addition to private and public facilities, both the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the U.S. Indian Health Service operate clinics and hospitals in Albuquerque.
Albuquerque boasts several fine private schools and the state's principal higher educational institution, the University of New Mexico (1889). The city is also the site of the Albuquerque Technical-Vocational Institute. At the beginning of the 21st century, however, Albuquerque's public education system suffered from overcrowding and a lack of funding.
Cultural life
As a cultural centre, Albuquerque has long been overshadowed by its northern neighbour, Santa Fe, with its carefully preserved historic architecture and thriving arts district. Since the 1990s, however, Nob Hill, the area along Central Avenue (old Route 66) east of the University of New Mexico campus, has grown to become the heart of Albuquerque's culture and nightlife. Restaurants, art galleries, theatres, and cinemas are plentiful, as are bookstores that sometimes feature readings and appearances by well-known local writers such as novelists Tony Hillerman and Rudolfo A. Anaya and poets Jimmy Santiago Baca and Patricia Clark Smith.
Recreational areas include the Albuquerque Biological Park, which encompasses the Rio Grande Zoo, the Albuquerque Aquarium, and the Rio Grande Botanic Gardens and Conservatory. Downtown Albuquerque houses the KiMo Theater, a restored masterpiece of Pueblo Deco, a blend of Pueblo Indian and Art Deco styles; the Albuquerque Museum, a repository for historical documents and artworks; and the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science. The Maxwell Museum of Anthropology, on the campus of the University of New Mexico, holds important collections of Native American artifacts, as does the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center.
Albuquerque's most popular annual events are the New Mexico State Fair, held in mid-September, and the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, one of the largest ballooning festivals in the world, which takes place in early October.
The early period
Archaeological evidence indicates that humans have lived in the area of what is now Albuquerque for at least 10,000 years, making it one of the longest continuously settled sites in the Americas. When Spanish explorers under conquistador Francisco Vásquez de Coronado entered the area in 1540, the Tiwa people were living in pueblos along the Rio Grande and its tributary streams, cultivating extensive gardens in the river's floodplain. Distance from other settlements had not kept the Tiwa from participating in a trade network that extended as far east as the Great Plains and as far south as Mexico. Coronado's expedition used one pueblo, Kuaua (preserved as the Coronado State Monument), as a base of operations from 1540 to 1541, sending scouting parties deep into present-day Kansas in its quest for the Seven Golden Cities of Cíbola.
Spanish and Mexican rule
In 1610 the Spanish government established the provincial capital of New Mexico at Santa Fe, some 60 miles (100 km) northeast of present-day Albuquerque. The capital and other Spanish centres were abandoned following the violent Pueblo Rebellion of 1680. After the reconquest of 1692, the Spanish governors wanted to establish a stronger military presence in the region. In 1706 provincial governor Don Francisco Cuervo y Valdés ordered that a Spanish garrison (the future Albuquerque) be established near the Tiwa pueblos. By Spanish law, to gain recognition as a village, the new settlement was required to have a population of 30 Spanish families. Only 18 families came to the area with the first group of settlers, but Cuervo y Valdés managed to entice others by providing military protection and by constructing a small, pleasant town that became known for its cleanliness and orderliness, as well as its mission church, San Felipe de Neri. In the next century, a growing Spanish population joined the Tiwa people who were spread across the valley. Albuquerque grew from a few dozen adobe houses and pueblos to several hundred sturdy structures, nourished by an extensive system of acequias, or irrigation canals.
In 1806 Spanish soldiers intercepted an American exploring party led by U.S. Army Lt. Zebulon Montgomery Pike, who was then surveying the newly acquired lands of the Louisiana Purchase. Pike protested that he did not know that he was in Spanish territory, and the Spanish governor released him and escorted him to the border. Pike returned to Washington with a report that praised Albuquerque and Santa Fe. His report encouraged the arrival of American traders, buffalo hunters, and travelers in Albuquerque, many of whom followed the Santa Fe Trail.
By 1820 Anglo-American settlers had become a regular presence in the Albuquerque area, a cause of concern for the Spanish government. When Mexico won independence from Spain in 1821, New Mexico came under Mexican rule. During the Mexican-American War (1846–48), American troops under Gen. Stephen Watts Kearny occupied Albuquerque and encountered no resistance. Most of Kearny's troops moved on to California, but he left a small garrison to protect the area. At the end of the war, after defeating Mexico, the American government made New Mexico an official U.S. territory in 1850. Santa Fe remained the territorial capital, and a fort was established in Albuquerque.
Growth of Albuquerque
Albuquerque's fort and federal garrison came under attack at the outbreak of the American Civil War, when the territory suffered minor Confederate cavalry raids. In the winter of 1862, Confederate soldiers led by Gen. H.H. Sibley captured the town and held it until March, when Union forces arrived. In the years following the war, New Mexico Territory experienced the rise of an important livestock industry, with cattle ranchers and sheepherders bringing livestock and other animals into the area. Faced with the need to drive their herds hundreds of miles overland to market, the livestock producers lobbied for a freight railroad in the 1870s. Several regional lines finally extended to the city by 1880.
Albuquerque's Old Town had lost importance by the late 19th century, when the railroad depot was built 2 miles (3 km) away, closer to the city's present government centre. In the following years, Albuquerque appeared to be two cities in one—the Spanish Old Town, with its small buildings and winding lanes, and a sprawling American city.
Albuquerque became a major regional transportation centre, with rail lines serving as important instruments of economic growth. The territory's population grew with the arrival of workers and immigrants, and Albuquerque was incorporated as a town in 1885. By 1891 the town had become a city. By 1918 thousands of "health seekers"—mostly victims of tuberculosis and other pulmonary diseases—had flocked to Albuquerque, which was served by several hospitals built by the federal government.
Newcomers to Albuquerque soon displaced the hidalgos, or noblemen, of the Spanish past to form a mostly "white" business elite, made up of merchants, bankers, and ranchers. With the rise of this new elite by the start of World War I, Albuquerque emerged as a conservative, Republican-dominated political centre that exercised broad influence on both New Mexico and the neighbouring regions of eastern Arizona and western Texas. Among the first acts of the new Republican majority was the institution of the city manager form of government in 1917, an innovation that broke the power of the predominantly Democratic ward bosses and their Hispanic constituencies.
The U.S. government's presence increased in the 1930s, when more than a hundred federal agencies established offices in the city. The federal mark on the city grew even stronger after World War II, when the government chose Albuquerque as the site for the Sandia Complex (now Sandia National Laboratories), a diverse group of industrial facilities, military bases, laboratories, and offices, which earned the city the nickname "Little Washington." Kirtland Air Force Base, established in 1942 as Kirtland Army Air Field, developed as an important testing ground for various weapons (some nuclear), while Albuquerque became a processing centre for stores of uranium mined on the nearby Colorado Plateau. During the Cold War period, Albuquerque was considered a strike target in the event of nuclear war with the Soviet Union.
The contemporary city
At the end of the Cold War, Albuquerque's economy began to diversify, especially in the development of solar energy systems and computer equipment. Even so, it remains heavily dependent on federal and military expenditures. The city's explosive postwar growth—from a population of 35,449 in 1940 to more than 500,000 by the turn of the 21st century—mirrored that of the entire Southwest, and it did not slow down in the first decade of the 21st century.
Learn More in these related Britannica articles:
New Mexico
New Mexico, constituent state of the United States of America. It became the 47th state of the union in 1912. New Mexico ranks fifth among the 50 U.S. states in terms of total area and is bounded by Colorado to the north, Oklahoma and Texas to the east, Texas and…
Rio Grande
Rio Grande, fifth longest river of North America, and the 20th longest in the world, forming the border between the U.S. state of Texas and Mexico. Rising as a clear, snow-fed mountain stream more than…
Sandia Mountains
Sandia Mountains, mountain range in central New Mexico, U.S., northeast of Albuquerque and east of the Rio Grande. Located largely within a part of the Cibola National Forest, the range extends southward for about 30 miles (48 km), and the mountains continue on as the Manzano Mountains. It is believed…
Viceroyalty of New Spain
Viceroyalty of New Spain, the first of the four viceroyalties that Spain created to govern its conquered lands in the New World. Established in 1535, it initially included all land north of the Isthmus of Panama under Spanish control. This later came to include upper…
Santa Fe
Santa Fe, capital of New Mexico, U.S., and seat (1852) of Santa Fe county, in the north-central part of the state, on the Santa Fe River. It lies in the northern Rio Grande valley at 6,996 feet (2,132 metres) above sea level, at the foot of the Sangre de Cristo…


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In the face of smog, soot, and global warming, governments have been trying to regulate cleaner cars for the past fifty to sixty years. What was their most pitifully unsuccessful attempt of all?
It's hard to beat the short-lived licensing for hybrid vehicles to use the HOV lane. California famously issued HOV stickers to hybrids from 2005-2007. It played a big part in the growth of nationwide hybrid sales, which jumped from 85,000 in 2004 to 207,000 in 2005, up to 353,000 in 2007.
The success came at a price. Carpool lanes filled up and people started to loathe hybrid drivers. California let the last decals expire early in 2011, but the stigma of owning a hybrid still sticks. How else have governments and citizen action groups failed to make driving 'green?'
(QOTD is your chance to address the day's most pressing automotive questions and to experience the opinions of the insightful insiders, practicing pundits, and gleeful gearheads that make up the Jalopnik commentariat. If you've got a suggestion for a good Question of the Day, send an email to tips at jalopnik dot com.)
Photo Credit: waltarrrrr


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Hello all!
I've just signed up for the Henley Half Marathon on Sunday 13 October.
13.1 miles starting along the Thames towpath, then up Fawley Hill, and back along Fairmile to the finish. I'm aiming to complete the course in just under 2 hours. I've a few unnecessary pounds to shed between now and race day, but the training has already started…
I realise a lot of people ask for donations, but if you have it in you to make one more, I would greatly appreciate it. You can give here – http://www.justgiving.com/robruns10in10.
This is part of my on-going campaign to raise funds for Brathay Trust, a charitable foundation that works with vulnerable and disadvantaged young people throughout the UK, helping them develop the skills, confidence and motivation to make positive choices in their lives. These kids are often trapped in a vicious circle of abuse, drugs and crime – and without the help of Brathay Trust they would never escape.
In May 2012 I already raised over £3,500 for Brathay, by running 10 official marathons on 10 consecutive days round Lake Windermere. If you want to know what that feels like, check out my journal about the event.
However, my original fund-raising target was £5,000 – so I have unfinished business, to the tune of £1,500.
If you can help me complete my original goal on this one event, that would be formidable. £50, £10 or even £5 – every little counts!
Thank you in advance for your generosity – and if anyone is interested in running or supporting on the day (or in joining me for a couple of pints and a large lunch after the race), just let me know!
My attention was recently drawn to Science Alert, an educational web site that posts updates on scientific news and research in Australia and New Zealand. So far so good – I enjoy keeping up with science news from around the world, so after adding them to my RSS feed I checked to see if there was a UK equivalent.
Surprise surprise – www.sciencealert.co.uk takes me to the International Journal of Poultry Sciences. This publication, whose articles are freely accessible online, describes in exhaustive detail the methods used by the poultry industry to manufacture (for there is no other word) the product that is then sold, somewhat misleadingly, as meat.
Of course, the Science Alert I mentioned first has absolutely nothing to do with this UK-based web site of the same name. Before any feathers get ruffled, I only mention them here as the reason I stumbled across the poultry scientists in the first place.
I know it's all been said before, so I'm not going to deliver my own version of Food, Inc. right here on my blog. But I'll definitely be following this web site (and reviewing their articles) to see just how mind-boggling their practices can be. Read a few of them yourself, and you'll never see a chicken from Sainsbury's or Publix in the same light.
An example from the current issue:
Strategies to Improve the Utilization of Tannin-Rich Feed Materials by Poultry
Tannins are well known as anti-nutritive factors that hinder the utilization of feeds by monogastric animals especially poultry. Tannins depressed growth rate and feed utilization by forming complexes with proteins and carbohydrates or inhibition of digestive enzymes. Unlike ruminant animals, poultry do not have microbes in their gastrointestinal tract to detoxify or reduce the effect of tannins, but several methods have been used to reduce the tannin content of poultry feeds for better utilization. These methods are mainly physical and chemical in nature. The physical methods are cooking, dehulling, autoclaving, toasting / roasting and soaking, while the chemical methods include, use of wood ash, addition of tallow, use of tannin binding agents, use of enzymes, germination and urea treatment. The choice of method(s) will depend on their effectiveness in reducing tannin and the cost involved.
Sounds delicious. Wood ash? Urea treatment? If I were a battery chicken I'd be licking my chops at the thought of my next meal.
In the meantime Alex and I are now making a point of purchasing only locally sourced organic free-range meat, which actually tastes as one imagines a chicken, lamb or cow should taste. Poultry scientists, eat your hearts out – we'd already abandoned you well before I stumbled across your Frankenstein journal – but it would definitely have tipped the balance for us, and I hope it will for others!
Just a quick post this evening to say that my paleo journey is starting smoothly. I have now spent ten days following the basic guidelines – no grain or derivatives, no legumes, no dairy. I am feeling quite normal, and adapting to the new routine is much easier than I expected.
As with any new regime it takes a while for the body to settle into the new conditions. But already I see some effects. I've lost nearly 5 pounds (without any significant running mileage or other physical exertion). My resting heart rate has dropped from 60bpm (my normal average during all the marathon running earlier this year) to around 50bpm, which indicates that my heart is now working slightly less hard.
Of course it is far too early to read anything significant into these numbers, but they encourage me to believe that the paleo path can actually make a positive difference to my overall health.
Most importantly this has not been particularly difficult. Our weekly shop now looks a little different, with larger than normal quantities of fruit and vegetables. I used to eat massive amounts of pasta and rice, but these have dropped to zero. Coffee in the morning is now black rather than latte. And the evening beer (or whisky) is unfortunately a thing of the past.
But it's not too hard. It is actually enjoyable to come up with creative new meals, and breakfast in particular is a delicious start to the day! This weekend we were invited to a barbecue, which would be something of a challenge on most diets – but since meat and veg are "all you can eat" in paleo, I was able to go back for seconds and thirds, and nobody even realised I was watching what I eat!
I definitely feel my metabolism changing, and I have not yet faced the challenge of fuelling for high weekly running mileage. One step at a time – but I already look forward to running my first paleo marathon…
Click on the images to taste – I'll bet your mouth starts watering!!
I've never been fussy about what I eat. Actually, that's not true. I am fussy, but in a good way. I avoid fast food like the plague, and I've always preferred organic and free-range over the mass-produced output of Food, Inc.
My preference is based on common sense, the desire to remain healthy, and a taste for quality. In addition, I believe it is important to support one's local economy and producers rather than lining the balance-sheet of yet another industrial corporation.
In summary I will eat pretty much anything – so long as it is healthy, and if possible not processed or artificial. I avoid sugary drinks and (to the best of my ability) anything with high fructose corn syrup.
Combined with an active lifestyle and significant amounts of endurance running, surely this should be enough to keep me in good shape?
Yet like so many people, I struggle with bad cholesterol and chronic weight gain. For a while now I have been resigned to this as my genetic lot. There is nothing more I can do about it that I'm not already doing.
Or is there?
During the last few months, my complacency has been challenged. I have heard many stories, some from close friends, about weight coming off and staying off. They feel ten years younger and their energy levels are through the roof. Health is greatly improved, with dramatic reductions in cholesterol, and in at least one case disappearance of diabetes. These stories sound too good to be true, but as they come from people I know and respect, I have to listen to them.
I approach most things in life as a sceptic, meaning simply that I take nothing for granted. This does not make me negative – on the contrary, I am ready to give any idea a chance, but it has to stand up to scrutiny (the original meaning of scepticism) and rigorous testing.
This approach leads me to dismiss dietary trends, for the most part, as marketing-driven social or commercial fads that are designed primarily to sell books and products.
I watch people try them and fail, either because the systems don't work, or because they are too complicated for any normal person to sustain for more than a few weeks. They fail my tests of logic, or science, or plausibility, or simplicity, or commercial honesty, or observable success rate.
In my world, a dietary trend has to pass all these tests before I will even consider trying it for myself. To date I have never come across anything that passed just one test, let alone all of them.
Enter the paleolithic diet. From the Wikipedia article linked here:
Paleolithic nutrition is based on the premise that modern humans are genetically adapted to the diet of their Paleolithic ancestors and that […] an ideal diet for human health and well-being is one that resembles this ancestral diet.
Proponents suggest that with the advent of agriculture 10,000 years ago we started eating grains, legumes and dairy products, which had played no part in our diet for the previous 2.5 million years. Until then we had eaten essentially the meat we hunted and the vegetables we gathered.
This change is so recent in evolutionary terms that our bodies have not had time to evolve genetically to accommodate the "new" foods. Our metabolism strains to process the starches and sugars, and arguably many of our modern health disorders spring from this root cause. Weight, insulin, cholesterol, hormones, immune system are all affected.
Interestingly the paleolithic diet is not a diet in the usual sense, but rather a lifestyle. It is based on a simple principle that is easy to understand and easy to implement: avoid certain food types, but eat as much as you want of the rest. The underlying science is intuitively plausible, and increasingly confirmed by unbiased peer reviews. Last but not least, the real-life stories in my own circle of friends provide evidence of some fairly remarkable benefits.
So for the first time since I first became concerned many years ago about my propensity to gain weight, I have reached the next step. After talking to friends and reading the literature, everything stands up to scrutiny. At this point I cannot in all honesty dismiss the concept without first trying it for myself. It would appear that I have nothing to lose and everything to gain.
So starting this weekend I am officially "paleo". No more grains, flour, bread, pasta or rice. No more legumes (beans, peas, peanuts). No more dairy products. Minimal amounts of starchy vegetables. Otherwise as much fruit, vegetables, nuts, meat and fish as I can eat. Not difficult to remember, and actually not much of a constraint once I get used to fuelling for marathons on something other than pasta.
Here is lunch for today, after 3 hours of vigorous gardening: romaine lettuce, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, mandarin pieces, sardines, nuts, oil & vinegar dressing. I would have eaten a second bowl, except I was too full to move.
As part of my experiment I will document my progress from time to time, in the hope that it may provide insight for others following a similar path. Check back soon for my next post, and feel free to leave your comments.
Finish Time — 06:07:10
Average Pace — 14:01 per mile
Steps Taken — 58,747
Mantra of the Day — "Keep your eye on the goal"
The beautiful spring morning on Day 10 was somewhat overshadowed by my apprehension about the day. Physically I woke up in slightly better condition than on previous days, but only marginally. Steve and Guido from Body Rehab worked their magic, but despite this I was not confident about my ability to "boss" my way around yet another marathon distance.
Despite all the talk about this being the "lap of honour", "easiest marathon of the ten", "light at the end of the tunnel", I could not stop thinking that the course and its challenges still demanded serious respect. And despite the resilience of my body in recovering from a potentially damaging injury, I was conscious (and apprehensive) that the slightest mis-step could undo all the progress of the last few days and reduce me to a hobbling walk.
Still, as I said earlier in the week, there is no courage without fear. So I did my best to harness my negative emotions and turn them into energy that would drive me round the course.
Ideally I would have liked to take the main 10-in-10 start today, making the most of the official send-off for Day 10. But this would have meant that I absolutely had to finish inside a 6-hour window in order to get back in time for the medal ceremony, which I did not want to miss at any price. So I made the tough decision to go for the early (and lonely) start along with Toks and Stuart.
As it turns out this decision was wise, because although I still ran to finish inside 6 hours, I did not have to deal with the pressure and stress of missing a once-in-a-lifetime moment if I needed a bit of extra time!
The spectacular weather lifted my spirits and I made good enough time to Newby Bridge. From here on, there were lots of course stewards setting up for the main marathon, supporters at various points, and local residents clapping from their front gardens. Every little encouragement was an extra boost and I maintained a steady pace all through the tough rolling hills from miles 14 to 18.
In case this all sounds easy, I can assure you that this was one of my hardest days out on the course. For the first time since Day 3 I felt that I was really running again, with some quarter or half-mile intervals where I was striding out and re-discovering my normal running style. But at every moment I was afraid to over-stride, or misplace my foot, and aggravate my ankle again. So I tried to keep it under control and focus on the 6-hour finish.
Bowness at mile 20 was a huge boost with large crowds cheering me through. Then Ice Cream Mountain sapped my legs and my energy, and for the next couple of miles I had to back right off the pace for fear of blowing a gasket.
At mile 23 the lead runner of the main marathon came through, clock on the race car showing 2:24. At this point my own time was 5:24. I had to make a massive mental and emotional effort not to grind to a halt, out of sheer disgust at how slow I have been moving this last week…
Although absolutely everybody has been tremendously supportive through my injury and my recovery, there is always a little voice in the back of one's own head that says "you're an idiot, what are you trying to prove, look at these guys who are orders of magnitude stronger and fitter than you can ever hope to become." This voice is quietly destructive, and very hard indeed to silence.
But with just 3 miles to go of this extraordinary 262-mile journey, I was not going to let myself be intimidated by some guy with a mere three-hour lead. So I gritted my teeth, put my inner chimp back in his cage, sucked down an energy gel, recalculated my finish time at about 6:10, and went for it!
The last mile or so through Ambleside and Clappersgate was phenomenal, with every single person I passed offering congratulations and encouragement. The pain and fatigue faded away, and I actually felt as if I was running properly again for the first time in a week!
Pushing up the Brathay driveway for the tenth and final time, I started to feel a sense of accomplishment that I had actually completed this amazing journey — while at the same time knowing that it will take me weeks and months to really understand what it is that I have done.
All of this went out of my head as I rounded the corner on to the crowded lawn. Spectators cheering and applauding; my name on the loudspeakers; Alex waiting for me at the finish line with my medal; surprise visit from Mrs Evans (Class 4); previous 10-in-10ers welcoming me to the club… So much emotion! This is without question the most intense finish of any race that I have ever run.
The rest of the day was a blur of activity. Highlights were the medal ceremony with fell-running legend Joss Naylor, and the 10-in-10 banquet in the evening. I will remember this day for many, many years to come!
I will post again in a day or two, because I have so much more to tell about this extraordinary journey that I have now completed.
In the meantime, I would like to thank you very warmly for following my progress, for your countless messages of support, and for your generous donations to Brathay Trust.
If you have made a pledge contingent upon me finishing the event, now is the moment to visit my fund-raising page.
Oh, and… those who had money on me pulling out early may want to consider doubling their stake and donating it to Brathay :)
Finish Time — 06:21:58
Average Pace — 14:35 per mile
Steps Taken — 57,295
Mantra of the Day — "Run strong, run light"
In case you've missed it previously, make sure to watch every day's video on Cumbria Live TV. It's compelling stuff, and a great insight into the challenges we have faced during this event!
Every morning here at Brathay, the alarm clock is harder to obey, and the bed is harder to leave. There is a definite progression of fatigue — no surprise of course, but it is interesting to watch how it evolves. Most surprising is how it takes the body about 60 minutes to move into "active" gear. When I first get out of bed I literally have trouble standing, and yet an hour later I am walking to Body Rehab with little or no discomfort. And once they finish with me I am capable of taking the start line of another marathon. I still have a hard time understanding how the body manages this transition, day after day.
And so it was that I started Day 9 at a gentle jog that held nicely to Hawkshead, my first refuelling station. Warmed up at this point, I decided to pick up the pace a little and see what happened. Everything felt good, I continued at a 13:30 pace for about 10 miles. Arriving at Fell Foot just after the halfway point, I was surprised and happy to see Sue (one of my colleagues), who had driven out to the course just to say hello.
At this point I was on target to finish the day in under 6 hours, but my left quad started to cause trouble and I had to slow the pace a little. Only six more miles and I was in Bowness greeting family by the roadside — what a treat to have so much support during this difficult second half of the course!
The six miles after Bowness were a world of pain. My thigh felt as if it had an iron spike driven through it and I was forced to take the downhills at little better than a walk. At the top of Ice Cream Mountain I was in such a mental "zone" that I have no idea who all the people were — but I do thank you all for coming out to support!
Despite the pain I somehow sensed that this was not a damaging injury but rather a response to accumulated fatigue. So all along I had been recalculating my pace, and saw that I could finish comfortably inside yesterday's time, without compromising my physical state for the Day 10 showdown.
Arriving at the bottom of the driveway I was caught by Matt who offered to finish together, a grand gesture from a guy who finishes this course two to two-and-a-half hours faster than me. Thank you Matt for giving me the extra ounce of oomph to get up the final climb today! End result — nearly 10 minutes quicker than yesterday, and I am satisfied with this, given the difficulties I have had to overcome to get back to this point.
I dare to dream that I will have a storming run tomorrow on Day 10, but I have to be realistic and admit that it is unlikely I will crack 6 hours. For this reason I will be taking the early start at 7:30am with a handful of other runners (supporters welcome!), so as to have time to complete the course and change in time for the various ceremonies at 3:30pm.
Brathay is now buzzing with runners who have arrived for tomorrow's annual Windermere Marathon, along with their friends and families. It was nice to be stopped by a few people who recognised me from the blogs and videos — and to chat with them about this amazing event.
Despite the excitement and the buzz, I am not doing this for curiosity or for entertainment. I am doing it to help kids who otherwise will have nobody to give them the respect they deserve. As Paul Foster put it perfectly in his Day 8 interview — running 10 marathons is the easy part; putting your hand in your pocket is harder, but you can do it, and the time is now! Thank you for your support!
Finish Time — 06:31:17
Average Pace — 14:56 per mile
Steps Taken — 60,605
Mantra of the Day — "You can, you can do it!"
Once again, this morning I took the early start. My thoughts were full of the inspirational video from Class 4. If you haven't watched this yet, you really should!
Grey day again today, but without the rain this time, which makes it marginally easier.
It was good to have Stuart's company for a while, and then Toks and Davey. At the cypress stand before Devil's Gallop I was warmed up, and decided to crank up the same slow but steady rhythm that I have been running at for the last two days.
Despite being so prudent, these early miles were tough for some reason. Reaching mile 10 ahead of schedule was a surprise, and I took my foot off the gas. Could I have continued at a 5:30 finish pace? Maybe, but today was too early to try it. I still wanted to give my ankle more time to recover, and my muscles more time to ease back into a higher pace.
As it turned out, my decision was the right one, and even the few miles I had run harder were quickly taking their toll. From Newby Bridge onwards, I had to fight for every mile. Not just physically — mentally as well. The doubts came crowding in, and the demons hid in the shadows whispering at me that I am not good enough for this challenge.
Arriving at Bowness I did a time-check and realised that I was in a position to match my Day 2 finish time. So I decided to go for it, and finished strong through Ambleside and up the Brathay driveway. The finish itself was intense, and hard to describe. Let's just say it would be difficult to give that much every time…
As it turns out I bettered my Day 2 time by just 7 seconds, scoring my second best time of the event, and putting me at less than a minute from Davey on accumulated time since the beginning of the challenge. High drama in store at the back of the pack!
Brathay 10-in-10 is an extraordinary roller-coaster that swings you violently from pain, to elation, to despair, to amazing camaraderie — and back again. The ride leaves you with emotions as raw as if you had been skinned alive.
Today was hard, very hard. My finish time made me happy. But I am still very afraid of what the next two days hold. Many people here are talking about how Day 9 is the last "real" marathon, there is light at the end of the tunnel, and so on. Personally I cannot listen to any of this. The first 8 days have shown me that this course demands absolute, total respect. The physical and mental control required to get round are huge, bigger than anything I could have imagined. "Just" two days at Windermere is not something I take lightly, even with 8 already under my belt!
Finish Time — 06:42:41
Average Pace — 15:22 per mile
Steps Taken — 58,290
Mantra of the Day — "Listen to your body"
Day 7 started much greyer and damper than yesterday's splendid spring morning. But this is the Lake District after all, and I think we have been lucky with the weather so far. So, on with the rain gear and don't let the spirit be dampened!
Morning therapy at Body Rehab went well, as I realised when someone commented how quiet it was (I have a reputation for being noisy on the table) and when I got out twenty minutes faster than usual.
Opting again for the early start, I caught up with Davey and Toks around mile 3. By this time I was already warmed up and in a similar rhythm to yesterday, so I chugged on into the drizzling rain.
I quickly realised that my ankle pain had almost completely subsided, so despite the dismal weather I was on something of a high. For a mile or two I debated how to play today's run, and decided to opt for a slow and steady pace. The idea being to maximise my physical recovery, and give myself the absolute best chance of a cracking run on Saturday or Sunday.
And so my day unfolded much like yesterday, except that my aches and pains were now "normal" runner's afflictions rather than acute injury. This, I know how to deal with. I settled into the meditative state that makes me enjoy endurance running so much… You relax into the pain, don't fight it, let it absorb you, look at it "from the inside", and perceive it not as an alarm signal but rather as a measure of your capacity and state of fitness.
Apart from a couple of walk and chat breaks with various supporters around the course, this approach got me all the way to Ice Cream Mountain at mile 22, before the relaxed focus started to deteriorate somewhat, due to fatigue and busy traffic. The last 4 miles were a little tougher, but when you are so close to home the finish line calls out and you just run to reach it.
End result — a very satisfying "discipline run", confirming that my injury is clearing and that I have this event under control. I am also very pleased see the principles of active recovery and minimalist running working so well in an event that is highly taxing by any standards. This in itself is a psychological boost!
As always, I would like to thank everyone who has donated to my fund-raising goal of £5,000. Please help me again by sharing this story with your friends and colleagues, and encouraging them to support the amazing work of Brathay Trust. Thank you!
Nothing I add can possibly do justice to this extraordinary video.
Thank you, Class 4. Keep pushing, we are nearly there!
Finish Time — 06:34:14
Average Pace — 15:03 per mile
Steps Taken — 62,880
Mantra of the Day — "Courage cannot be beaten"
In the same way that Day 4's problems dragged me down at the start of Day 5, so my stronger finish on Day 5 carried over into a more positive outlook this morning. In addition we were treated to a spectacularly beautiful Lake District morning, that would have lifted the spirits of the worst curmudgeon.
Breakfast filled my belly, Body Rehab ninjas worked their magic, and I was almost impatient to get out on the road. What a difference from yesterday's dismal start…
Not wanting to overdo things I started with the same walk-run routine as yesterday so that I could warm up gently. After the first drink station I felt that I could handle a full run, so off I trotted. Amazingly the ankle felt fine, and everything about the spring morning relaxed me and gave me huge confidence for the day. I jogged past the black pig snuffling in his field, I jogged past Randy Crag, I jogged past Hawkshead — and marvel of marvels I jogged up Devil's Gallop. Steepest hill on the whole course, and the first time since Day 1 that I had taken this one at a run.
I settled into my rhythm and went back to the basics of minimalist running. Focus on centre of gravity, weight distribution, feedback from the body, and foot placement. Count the steps, count the breaths. Adjust, fine-tune all the time. And suddenly I was at Newby Bridge, having marked a regular pace on almost every single mile since the start.
Best of all I felt strong, and capable of carrying on at the same pace all day. Mile 14 went by, then mile 16 where Aly had written a message of encouragement on my banana! MIle 18, tick. Mile 20 and I'm in Bowness dodging Japanese tourists and bad drivers. Mile 22, Ice Cream Mountain where I chat briefly to a couple of guys biking Lands End to John O'Groats. Mile 24 and I'm *still* clocking the miles at the exact same pace. The last two miles were a treat. Smooth and easy, no pain to speak of, just looking forward to reaching the finish line.
Today's run, although one of my slower performances, will go down in my personal records as one of my strongest runs ever — psychologically for sure, and also physically given the trials of the last couple of days. Any time you run a full marathon at the same steady pace, mile after mile, you know that you are in control. And it feels good!
I'm curious to see what happens tomorrow. I am on a high from today's performance (almost two hours faster than yesterday) and I will have to rein myself in so as to continue my recovery and be on full form at the weekend. This journey is taking twists and turns that I could never have anticipated…


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Dear Dr. Hip-Hop: Speak. Be Heard. Be Considered
With a unique confluence of education, arts, and youth leadership, hip-hop has become one of the most innovative leadership development and youth engagement tools over the past two decades. Hip-hop is more than just a genre of music; it has transcended its origins from urban settings into the mainstream. This phenomena is a staple form of media with which today's youth can identify and has been cited as a best practice - serving as a catalyst for reaching youth where they are in order to get and keep them engaged in learning, civic activism, leadership, organizing, and revitalizing their neighborhoods.
As part of the next Speak, Be Heard, Be Considered, The Human Relations Council will collaborate its efforts with Wright State University's Bolinga Black Cultural Center and their sponsored Dear Dr. Hip- Hop Series to harness the cultural relevance of hip-hop music - the goal being for it to serve as a catalyst for non-violence advocacy and other societal concerns fundamental to the well-being of young adults throughout the City of Dayton. Dear Dr. Hip-Hop, an urban social/music forum that features arts and entertainment industry executives and Grammy winning rap artists/activists, is designed to convene community and cultural leaders to support an academic and cultural collaboration of contemporary urban music and entertainment.
This panel, infused with the elements of Speak, Be Heard, Be Considered will serve as the conduit for conversation and empowerment; using hip hop as the lens to explore multiple facets of community relations in the Dayton area and cultivate young adult community activism.