free Running

Normal running isn't the only type, there are defiantly more then one style to do this, there is free running which has always interested me, this is what ill look into below...

Free running or freerunning is a form of urban acrobatics in which participants, known as free runners (or practitioners, though this is a generic term used for freerunning and parkour), use the city and rural landscape to perform movements through its structures. It incorporates efficient movements from parkour, and adds aesthetic vaults and other acrobatics, such as tricking and street stunts, creating an athletic and aesthetically pleasing way of moving. It is commonly practiced at gymnasiums and in urban areas (such as cities or towns) that are cluttered with obstacles.

Moves specific to free running are not easy to define, as most free runners use a combination of street stunts and parkour techniques. Free running focuses on freedom and beauty of movements, so many parkour techniques, such as vaults, may be carried out in a more aesthetically pleasing way, despite the fact that it may decrease the efficiency of the move.

Street stunts tend to be performed on flat ground or off a height, whereas free running movements tend to involve the use of obstacles or the general idea of movement from one place to another.

Due to the nature of free running, moves can be subject to the environment as well as ones own interpretation. Because of this there is virtually a limitless amount of "moves" one can perform. Some basic examples of movements which are more likely to be classed as free running moves than parkour or street stunts include:

Dash Vault Vaulting your body over a platform using your arms for forward momentum. Diving Frontflip/Eagle Flip/Superman Flip A frontflip is executed over a wall or other obstacle, usually with a large drop on the other side. It is referred to as a diving frontflip (or dive front) because the athlete is required to dive over the obstacle before initiating the tuck. Dive Roll When jumping, dive body forward landing into a roll on ground. Kong Vault/Monkey Vault Vaulting your body over a railing or platform using your palms for momentum to push off. Reverse Kong Vault Instead of vaulting over a railing with a Monkey Vault, which may be the most efficient way, the athlete adds a 360 degree spin along the horizontal axis to make the movement more aesthetically pleasing, as well as increasing their coordination. Turn Vault Vaulting over a wall or platform while turning your body 180 degrees to jump down. Wall Flip The athlete runs to a wall, places a foot on, and does a backflip off of the wall. Wall Spin The athlete runs to a wall, jumps, places both hands on the wall, and vertically rotates 360 degrees while remaining in contact with the wall. Pushing off with one hand helps the rotation.

Nike Advert...

Brands behind running...

There are so brands behind running and the whole sporting event, some of these are more well known then others but i will now post the list here of the ones which i can think off to show how much of a broad range there is... 

Reebock
Everlast
Spalding
Jordan
Champs
Sky sports
Russell
Vans
Quick Silver
New Balance
Puma
Speedo
Quicksilver
Krew

Adidas

The ones which interest me the most from all of these has to be the New Balance as these are the only running shoes which are still made in the UK although they dont have a strong look on how they have been created and what they need to do.

There are so many more brands out there that still have yet to be advertised for strongly, and thats the only way in which people will remember you for.

Facts on Activity.

1. Run for Your Life

There are many health benefits associated with running. Many doctors recommend running to reduce chances of stroke, heart disease and hypertension. Studies indicate that running reduces the chances of contracting breast cancer. Runners even age more slowly because of natural human growth hormones released during the exercise. This is the same hormone that some people inject into the face to achieve a younger and healthier appearance. When you make running a habit, your muscles get toned, your joints become more flexible and your bones grow stronger. Ideal for managing weight, running is a healthy addition to your exercise regime.

2. Stretch for Success

Stretching before you begin running warms up your muscles, increases blood flow and helps avoid injuries. However, even stretching has controversy attached to it. Some runners think stretching cold muscles leads to tears and strains, the very injuries you're attempting to prevent by stretching. Professionals suggest walking for five minutes prior to stretching. Walking helps warm up the muscles gently, so you can stretch without straining. The bottom line is that you should develop a routine that works for your body. Going slowly in the beginning and warming up either by walking or stretching is always a good idea.

3. The Great Form Debate

The controversy over whether or not running form is important is growing. Coaches and trainers believe good form is a way to conserve energy and run faster, but many runners think form has little to do with successful running. The fact is, everyone is built differently, and it's unlikely that one set form will work for everyone. Experts recommend you avoid form instructions that make you feel awkward or uncomfortable. Let your body tell you what works and what doesn't. Conserve energy by avoiding bounces and keeping your stride close to the ground.

4. Go Running, be Happy

Running is a great way to rev up your metabolism and increase your energy levels. Cross country skiing is the only physical activity that burns more calories than running. Running releases endorphins, the chemicals in the brain that make you feel happy; this is how the expression "Runner's high" came about. You can go from feeling fatigued and devoid of energy to excited and energized with a 20-minute run.

5. Shoe Shopping

When picking out running shoes, shop in the afternoon when your feet are at their largest. You might also try buying a half size larger than normal to allow for the movement of running. Look for cushioning to act as a shock absorber. Find shoes that are comfortable and offer support. Shop with a professional, don't go to a discount store for a pair of pretty athletic shoes. Remember, pretty won't help when your feet hurt. Wear moisture wicking socks, as cotton causes blistering and makes your feet stink. Buy shoes every four to six months. You can also invest in multiple pairs and rotate them to make each pair last longer

Other Types of Running...

These are the range of different running styles which you can do, each ranging in difficulty and how you want to achieve it all, for example fartlek is a sprint based style of jogging. this is created through short quick runs which really challenge and help to shred weight and create bigger muscles. this is a difficult style of running which will really tire you out fast and make you feel worn out... There is others in the list below, which are all worth looking at and trying out.

Recovery Run

A recovery run is a relatively short run performed at a steady, slow pace. Recovery runs serve to add a little mileage to a runner’s training without taking away from performance in the harder, more important workouts that precede and follow them. Recovery runs are best done as the next run after a hard workout such as an interval run. Do your recovery runs as slowly as necessary to feel relatively comfortable despite lingering fatigue from your previous run.

Example: 4 miles easy

Base Run

A base run is a relatively short to moderate-length run undertaken at a runner’s natural pace. While individual base runs are not meant to be challenging, they are meant to be done frequently, and in the aggregate they stimulate big improvements in aerobic capacity, endurance, and running economy.

Example: 6 miles at natural pace

Long Run

Generally, a long run is simply a base run that lasts long enough to leave a runner moderately to severely fatigued.  The function of a long run is to increase raw endurance. The distance or duration required to achieve this effect depends, of course, on your current level of endurance. As a general rule, your longest run should be long enough to give you confidence that raw endurance will not limit you in races.

Example: 15 miles at natural pace

Progression Run

A progression run is a run that begins at a runner’s natural pace and ends with a faster segment at anywhere from marathon to 10K pace.  These runs are generally intended to be moderately challenging—harder than base runs but easier than most threshold and interval runs.

Example: 5 miles at natural pace + 1 mile at half-marathon pace

Fartlek Run

A fartlek run is a base run sprinkled with short, fast intervals. You can think of a fartlek run as a gentle interval session.  It’s a good way to begin the process of developing efficiency and fatigue resistance at faster speeds in the early phases of the training cycle, or to get a moderate dose of fast running later in the training cycle in addition to the larger doses provided by tempo/threshold and interval workouts.

Example: 6 miles at natural pace with 6 x 30 seconds at 5K race pace scattered throughout

Hill Repetitions

Hill repetitions are repeated short segments of hard uphill running. They increase aerobic power, high-intensity fatigue resistance, pain tolerance, and run-specific strength. The ideal hill on which to run hill repetitions features a steady, moderate gradient (4-6 percent). Hill repetitions are typically done at the end of the base-building period as a relatively safe way to introduce harder high-intensity training into the program.

Example: 2 miles of easy jogging (warm-up) + 10 x 1 minute uphill at roughly 1500m race effort with 2.5-minute jogging recoveries + 2 miles easy jogging (cool-down)

Tempo Run

A tempo run is a workout that features one or two sustained efforts somewhere in the range of lactate threshold intensity, which is the fastest pace that can be sustained for one hour in highly fit runners and the fastest pace that can be sustained for 20 minutes in less fit runners.  Tempo/threshold runs serve to increase the speed you can sustain for a prolonged period of time and to increase the time you can sustain a relatively fast pace.

Example: 1 mile of easy jogging (warm-up) + 4 miles at lactate threshold pace + 1 mile of easy jogging (cool-down)

There is a special type of tempo run that is known as a marathon-pace run. A prolonged run at marathon pace is a good workout to perform at a very challenging level in the final weeks of preparation for a marathon, after you’ve established adequate raw endurance with long runs and longer progression runs featuring smaller amounts of marathon-pace running.

Example: 2 miles at natural pace + 13.1 miles at marathon pace

Intervals

Interval workouts consist of repeated shorter segments of fast running separated by slow jogging “recoveries”. This format enables a runner to pack more fast running into a single workout than he or she could with a single prolonged fast effort to exhaustion.

Interval workouts are typically sub categorised as short intervals and long intervals. Long intervals are 600-1200m segments run in the range of 5K race pace with easy jogging recoveries between them.  They’re an excellent means of progressively developing efficiency and fatigue resistance at fast running speeds.

Example: 1 mile of easy jogging (warm-up) + 5 x 1 km at 5K race pace with 400m jogging recoveries + 1 mile of easy jogging (cool-down)

Other types of running...

Even though when you say running you think of excercise there are many others as well i will post these these below..

Running as a waiter, this is one that many wont think of, you do this when you take the food from the kitchen., its classed as running due to the constant walking back and forth that you do. this is one which i learnt whilst i worked in a pub for the past two years of my life

Another reason that you may decide to run could be for a charity event, when you wear a suit for some charity or for another cause similar. These are the ways in which you can collect money for a good cause. this is something that i would like to achieve and finally do so that it would make most sense

Running Event Finders.

There are many websites around the internet which can help you find different running events which will help you to find all the other people who have the same style of running ambitions as you and want to achieve the same goals when it comes to there personal exercise regime...

These are just two of the first sites which i found that can link into this and make you see the way, as you can see from the bottom link you can then see thats where i can type in a search and see the way in which i want to run and where i want to run. 

Activity Research.

Running is a means of terrestrial locomotion allowing humans and other animals to move rapidly on foot. It is simply defined in athletics terms as a gait in which at regular points during the running cycle both feet are off the ground. This is in contrast to walking, where one foot is always in contact with the ground, the legs are kept mostly straight and the center of gravity vaults over the legs in an inverted pendulum fashion. A characteristic feature of a running body from the viewpoint of spring-mass mechanics, is that changes in kinetic and potential energy within a stride occur simultaneously, with energy storage accomplished by springy tendons and passive muscle elasticity.The term running can refer to any of a variety of speeds ranging from jogging to sprinting.




Fun Facts
The ancestors of mankind developed the ability to run about four and a half million years ago
The first recorded Olympic Games took place in 776 BCE

Chosen Activity.

For my activity i have chosen to do "Running" i think this one will give me the best possible way to experiment with it the most and then it will allow me to be able to look at something that i really enjoy, the way in which you can just run around the streets and not have to worry about whats going on around you.


at the same time getting fit and active, its nice to have that feeling after the run, yeah maybe during you feel like crap, look like crap but still that after feeling once you have finished running you get a feeling that you have done well and that its all totally worth it.


These are my reasons for wanting to pick running as my activity. The next posts will all be based around this and the ins and outs of this will then become clear to me.

Opinion Summarised.

This would be a great one for me to do for my final presentation, however im not 100% sure if it will totally work as, trying to convince people that they have never seen or heard of that its good is going to prove rather difficult, however i still have another 3 projects to research into so it could change a lot in the time that i have. 


I will look into the other possible outcomes for what i can find and what i decide to do, then ill look into them and this will give me the final ones which im wanting to do. 

Survey.

Opinion Stats.

Lowest amount of US views: 6.14 million
Highest amount of US views: 11.49 million


Director: Pamela Fryman


Seasons: 7 so far.


Episodes: 140 released episodes.

Evil Laugh,

Opinions awards and nominations

Nominated for: 35

Won: 9 

Mostly won by: Neil Patrick Harris (Barney Stinson)

Opinion Books.

There has been a range of books brought out that will link in with the TV series and how they can all publise the ways that you want to get involved with the line up of the characters that go on and how you want to be apart of the ever growing TV series. 

The books below are three books which have been created to link in with the TV series and this will then allow you to be able know the ins and outs of the player of the TV series "Barney Stinson"

The book above is known as the bro code and this one is here for the purpose of wanting to know how he thinks about his fellow "bros" and this then makes you see some of the articles are really funny and mean a lot for example ... 

Article 12 : Bros do not share dessert.

Article 15 : A Bro never dances with his arms above his head. 

Article 49 : When asked, "Do you need some help?" a Bro shall automatically respond, "i got it," whether or not he's actually got it.EXCEPTIONS: Carrying an expensive TV, parallel parking an expensive car, loading an expensive TV into an expensive car.

They are some examples of what you would find inside the bro code book, this is actually a really funny book to read if you want something to do but i wouldn't recommend going out and buying it. I did this and now you can find it all online in a PDF format, this is a shame really as if they were to get more funding then they would be able to release more books and keep the TV sitcom going for much longer

This playbook is a book which is made for all of Barney Stinson's best moves and how he is able to pull the women which he does, this makes him a very funny character in the TV series. Some of them are really simple but then it can range out to a lot better ones which seem impossible but on the TV series he pulls them off and manages to sort it out. However in real life these would be just embarrassing and would be a waste of your time, hence what makes it so funny and great to watch. Some examples are posted below...

This leads to a range of different ways to pull and sleep with girls, the best techniques are in this book and really show the best way in which you can see what the whole show is summarised down too, or around barney stinson's character at least! 

This is one book which i ain't managed to read yet yet but it still has to be good as the ratings on it are pretty decent. This book is basically to help any bro out when he is just doing every day things, this allows you to be able to keep even further up to date on what is going on and what you want to achieve. This book is impossible to find online as in PDF formats but you still are able to read the back of the book and if you are really interested in it you can go to the shop to buy it and see what is going on with it. 

Season Synopsis.

Season One

In the year 2030, Ted Mosby (voiced by Bob Saget) sits his daughter and son down to tell them the story of how he met their mother.

The story begins in 2005 with Ted (Josh Radnor) as a single, 27-year-old architect living with his two best friends from college; Marshall Eriksen (Jason Segel), a law student, and Lily Aldrin (Alyson Hannigan), a kindergarten teacher, and an aspiring artist. Lily and Marshall have been dating for almost nine years when Marshall finally proposes. Their engagement causes Ted to think about marriage and finding his soul mate, much to the disgust of his self-appointed best friend Barney Stinson (Neil Patrick Harris), whom he met in the restroom at a bar. Barney is a serial womanizer who concocts elaborate con games, usually involving costumes and fake identities, designed to bed women he discards immediately afterward.

Ted begins his search for his perfect soul mate and meets an ambitious young reporter from Canada, Robin Scherbatsky (Cobie Smulders), with whom he quickly falls in love. Robin, however, doesn't want to rush into a relationship and the two decide to be friends. Future Ted reveals that Robin is not the mother after referring to her as his children's "Aunt Robin".

Ted begins dating a baker, Victoria (Ashley Williams), whom he meets at a friend's wedding, causing Robin to become jealous and realize she does have feelings for Ted. Victoria moves to Germany for a dessert fellowship, and she and Ted try a long-distance relationship. Once Ted learns Robin has feelings for him, he tells her he broke up with Victoria, even though he hasn't. They almost have sex when Victoria calls and Robin answers, mistaking Ted's phone for her own. Ted and Victoria then break up and an angry Robin distances herself from Ted, but they eventually make up and decide to date.

Meanwhile, Lily begins to wonder if she's missed any opportunities because of her relationship with Marshall, and decides to pursue an art fellowship in San Francisco, breaking up with Marshall in the process. The season ends with Ted coming back to the apartment, the morning after spending the night with Robin for the first time, to find Marshall sitting in the rain with Lily's engagement ring, devastated by their sudden break up.

Season Two

Ted and Robin are now a couple; meanwhile, a heartbroken Marshall tries to continue his life without Lily. After enduring numerous emotional breakdowns, Marshall's friends step in, and Barney, using sly catch phrases and pick up lines, tries to get Marshall back in the dating game. Later, Lily, after finally realizing she is not meant to be an artist, returns to New York. She is reunited with Marshall, and the end of the season culminates in their marriage. Also, everyone discovers Robin was a Canadian teen pop star known as Robin Sparkles in the early 90s, with a hit single "Let's Go To The Mall." In this time Marshall and Barney create a bet on whether Robin was involved in "adult films." When Barney discovers that he was wrong the popular "slap bet" was created which permits Marshall to slap Barney in the face five times as hard as he can at any given time in the future, whenever Marshall chooses, which he does twice during this season. It is revealed Barney has a gay, black brother named James (Wayne Brady). Also, Barney reveals Bob Barker is his father, unaware that his mother lied to him, and takes a trip to California to be a contestant on The Price is Right to meet his "father."

In the season finale, Ted reveals to Barney that he and Robin have been broken up for some time due to their conflicting views on marriage and kids. They didn't tell anyone in order to avoid taking attention away from Lily and Marshall's wedding. The season ends with Barney excited at the prospect of Ted and himself being single guys on the town again, and ends the season with Barney saying, "This is going to be legen- wait for it..."

Season Three

Barney begins the season with the word, "-dary!" Robin returns from a trip to Argentina with her new boyfriend, Gael (Enrique Iglesias), and Ted must adjust to life as just her friend, while watching Robin and Gael fawning over each other. Marshall and Lily decide to move out on their own, falling in love with a place they can't afford. Robin learns of Lily's bad credit rating due to her compulsive shopping for popular brands, and forces Lily to tell Marshall. Despite this, they are able to finally secure their dream apartment, only to discover it's in a bad location and more poorly constructed than they thought (the floor is tilted). Barney is slapped for the third time on Thanksgiving, which Marshall dubs "Slapsgiving."

Ted tells his children he met their mother through a story concerning her yellow umbrella. He finds the umbrella at a club and takes it home after attending a St. Patrick's Day party where his future wife was, although they did not meet. Ted attempts to woo Stella (Sarah Chalke), a dermatologist he sees to remove an embarrassing butterfly tattoo. This culminates in a memorable "two-minute date," which incorporates small talk, dinner, a movie, coffee, two cab rides, and a goodnight kiss, all within two minutes. Robin sleeps with Barney after he comforts her following a break-up with a past Canadian love; Ted is infuriated, and decides to stop being friends with Barney. Meanwhile, an unknown woman begins to sabotage Barney's attempts to hook up. His saboteur is revealed to be Abby (Britney Spears), Stella's receptionist, with a vendetta against him for not calling her after they had sex.

In the season finale, after Ted and Barney get into separate car accidents and end up in the hospital, they renew their friendship. It is revealed Barney has true feelings for Robin, while Ted proposes to Stella in an arcade.

Season Four

Stella says yes to Ted's proposal. Robin takes a new job in Japan, but quickly resigns and returns to New York to attend Ted's wedding, after realizing how much she misses her friends. Stella leaves Ted at the altar to get back together with Tony, the father of her daughter. Barney struggles with his feelings for Robin as his company shifts him to the management team of a new acquisition, Goliath National Bank (GNB).

Marshall and Lily move to their new apartment and debate over whether or not they're ready to have children. Robin becomes roommates with Ted and gets a job as an anchor for a 4 AM news show after Barney sends out her video resume. Ted and Robin decide to sleep together constantly so they won't fight over each other's bad co-living habits. Barney attempts to make them stop fighting to prevent this, revealing to Ted his love for Robin.

Ted finds out Lily has sabotaged all of his relationships with anyone she doesn't approve of and indirectly may have inspired his breakup with Robin. Robin and Ted end up talking about it, causing their friendship to begin moving toward a positive note. After Barney finally sleeps with his 200th woman (and rubs it in the face of the childhood bully who taunted him into pursuing it), he begins to question the purpose of the remainder of his life, leaving him more certain of his feelings for Robin.

Ted, while carrying the yellow umbrella, bumps into Stella and Tony. Tony later decides to visit him, sympathizing with Ted over his loss of Stella. Tony offers him a job as a professor of architecture, which Ted initially turns down.

In the season finale Robin finds out that Barney loves her, and initially refuses to commit to anything but a sex-only relationship; they seemingly end up together anyway. Ted decides that being an architect is leading nowhere, and finally decides to instead to become a college professor. The finale ends with Ted preparing to teach his first class and Future Ted revealing to his kids that one of the women in the class is their mother.

Season Five

Ted begins his job as an architectural professor, standing in the middle of a classroom – although the mother was present, it turns out to be an economics class as he's in the wrong lecture hall. Barney and Robin have had a sexual relationship throughout the summer and Lily locks them in a room, forcing them to come to terms with their relationship. After a rough patch they decide to break up. Robin describes it instead as "two friends getting back together." Barney immediately goes back to his old ways, using the playbook to score with women. Throughout the season Barney and Robin show feelings of regret over their break-up.

Ted dates a graduate student named Cindy (Rachel Bilson) and it is revealed her roommate is his future wife. Robin meets Don, her new co-anchor on her 4 AM TV show. Though she initially dislikes him, the two start dating and eventually she moves in with him. At the end of the season they break up when Don takes a job in Chicago — a job which Robin had previously turned down to stay in New York with Don. Marshall uses his fourth slap on Barney, once again at Thanksgiving. Ted buys a house, which needs to be fixed up badly, but is later revealed to be the future home for Ted and his kids.

Lily and Marshall are still unsure about having kids. After watching four doppelgangers of their group (Lesbian Robin, Moustache Marshall, Stripper Lily and Mexican Wrestler Ted) they decide to leave the big decision to the universe's "infinite wisdom" and start trying when they have seen Barney's Doppelganger. In the season finale, Barney disguises himself to have sex with a girl from every country in the world, and Lily and Marshall mistake him for the final doppelganger. When Marshall finds out, he decides not to tell Lily, fearing she will want to wait even longer to have children. Lily eventually finds out and decides to wait. In the season finale, Lily thinks she sees Barney's doppelganger as a hot dog vendor, which causes the group to realize she is seeing what she wants to see, and play along. Eventually Barney agrees having babies is not a stupid idea and Lily and Marshall should go forth. The season ends with Lily asking Marshall to "put a baby in my belly."

Season Six

In the season opening, Ted sees Cindy again with a girl who he thinks to be her roommate, but she turns out to be Cindy's girlfriend whom she later marries. After prodding by Barney, Ted is eventually hired by GNB once more as the architect of the bank's new headquarters (which was originally scrapped in Season 4). However, he encounters opposition when he meets Zoey Pierson (Jennifer Morrison), a woman who is protesting against GNB for selecting a decrepit hotel, the Arcadian, to be torn down for the headquarters. Over the season, Ted's encounters with Zoey eventually blossom into a relationship after she divorces her rich husband, but they break up as he puts his career over love, leading to the Arcadian's demolition. Ted also resolves not to get back with Zoey.

Having agreed to conceive a baby at the end of the previous season, Lily and Marshall keep having sex, hoping she will get pregnant. Around Christmas, they have a false alarm and later seek fertility testing. However, tragedy strikes when Marshall's father passes away, leaving him devastated and the gang comforting him. Marshall tries to get over his father's death and live again. Despite a pledge to Lily to work harder for their future, Marshall resigns from GNB and follows his dream of being an environmental lawyer. Zoey also hires him as her lawyer in what became a futile battle to save the Arcadian. At the end of the season, Lily reveals that she is pregnant.

Barney finally admits to the gang that Bob Barker is not his real father, especially when his mother decides to sell the house he grew up in and his brother, James, meets his own father. Loretta offers the identity of Barney's father on a sheet of paper, but Barney tears this up after realizing her efforts as a single mother. At the funeral of Marshall's father, Barney tells Loretta that he wants to see his father at last. The man, Jerome Whittaker, is eventually revealed to be someone whom Barney thought was his guardian. Barney is disappointed because Jerome was not the free-wheeling man he knew as a child. Although he tries to bring back Jerry's old ways, Barney admits that he wants to settle down someday. He is also introduced to Nora, a co-worker of Robin, for whom he develops feelings. After an initial falling out, the season finale indicates a possible future revival of their relationship, where Barney asks her for coffee and Nora tells Barney that "it's never too late" to wear a sun-dress.

Robin continues to work at her talk show, Come On, Get Up, New York!, but the presence of a new hyperactive co-host forces her to leave. She is accepted as a researcher in another network, World Wide News. The gang also discovers more of her past as the Canadian pop star Robin Sparkles. Robin also encounters a man she has had a secret crush on since first seeing him when she and Ted were dating, and Future Ted hints that there will be more of him later.

A short scene during both the first and last episode of the season feature a wedding set sometime in the future, which is where Ted will meet his future wife. In the last episode it is revealed to be Barney's wedding.

Secondary Characters.

Ted's future wife

The eponymous mother has been an unseen character so far. Present Ted hasn't met her yet, while Future Ted has only mentioned very little about her. In "Belly Full of Turkey" a stripper tells Ted that her name is Tracy, right before Future Ted makes a joke telling his kids that she is their mother. In "Wait for It", it is revealed that the short story of how they met involved her yellow umbrella. In "No Tomorrow", Ted finds the umbrella at a club and takes it home after attending a St. Patrick's Day party which she also attended but at which they did not meet. He says he was glad this happened, as he behaved badly at the party, getting drunk, impersonating someone to get free drinks on their tab, and telling a woman he wants to have sex with her, then never see her again. Stella (Sarah Chalke) mentions in passing to Ted when he tries to ask her out that she has only been out once to a party that year, which was St Patrick's Day, hinting that it may have been her yellow umbrella (this later turns out to be false). Future Ted strongly implies that his wife is a brunette, telling his children in "Shelter Island" that had he married the blonde Stella, they would have turned out to be blond (his children are both, like Ted, brunettes). On his first day of teaching as Professor Mosby, as seen in the season 4 finale "The Leap", he is seen in front of the classroom of students, one of which Future Ted says is the titular mother. But in the first episode of season 5, "Definitions", it is revealed that he was actually in the wrong classroom, Economics instead of Architecture. Then in "Girls Versus Suits", Ted dates a graduate student named Cindy (played by Rachel Bilson), whose roommate is his future wife—when in Cindy and the mother's apartment he picks up many of her belongings and comments on how compatible he and Cindy are (thinking they are Cindy's) and glimpses her foot as she disappears into her room after taking a shower. Ted finds out at this time that his future wife plays bass guitar in a band. Ted forgets to take the yellow umbrella with him when he goes out, and Future Ted mentions, "And this is how your mother got her yellow umbrella back." In the season 6 opener "Big Days" it is revealed Ted meets his future wife during a wedding at which he is the best man. Later in the episode "Glitter" Ted's old high school friend Punchy asks Ted to be the best man at Punchy's wedding. In the episode "False Positive" Robin asks Ted to be her future best man, should she ever get married. In the episode 'Challenge Accepted", it is revealed that Ted meets his future wife at Barney's wedding.

 

Ted's daughter and son 

Not much is known about them, except that they still do not know all the events that led to Ted meeting their mother and that they are in their late teens in the year 2030, meaning they probably were born sometime in the early 2012s. In his twenties, Ted apparently wanted to name the children Luke and Leia because in "Milk" Ted was told to "swear on his unborn son and daughter," to which he replied, "I swear on Luke and Leia." This is obviously a reference to Star Wars. The daughter is played by Lyndsy Fonseca, and the son is played by David Henrie.

 

Carl 

Played by Joe Nieves. Bartender at MacLaren's Bar, which is frequented by the main characters. In the pilot, he is dating a Lebanese girl. In "The Pineapple Incident" he writes his phone number on a very drunk Ted's arm to call if he gets lost. Although never stated in the show, creators Carter Bays and Craig Thomas mention on the Season 1 DVD that Carl’s last name is MacLaren and he owns the bar (thus the name). During Carter Bays and Craig Thomas's commentary track for The Pineapple Incident, it was stated that Joe Nieves, who plays Carl, received the part after the scene he was supposed to be in was cut from the pilot but no one had told him, and he turned up on set in full costume (he was meant to be a police officer). As no-one wanted to tell him that they had cut his scene, they gave him the role of Carl.

 

Ranjit 

Played by Marshall Manesh. Ranjit is the cab and limo driver from Bangladesh who drives the main characters around on a few occasions and, on one occasion, drinks champagne with them in MacLaren's bar. He also drives the limo right after Marshall and Lily are married. Ranjit helps Ted with his two-minute date with his dermatologist Stella in the episode "Ten Sessions" as well as driving Barney and Ted to Ted's 30th birthday party in the episode "The Goat". In episode 15 of season 5, Ranjit is heard speaking Persian in an argument in favor of ducks. Indeed, the actor is Iranian, but it appears as an inconsistency as Ranjit is supposed to be from Bangladesh, and therefore speak Bengali. In the episode Three Days of Snow he was at the airport to pick someone up when he saw Lily and when he learned she needed a ride he left the person he was supposed to pick to help Lily. Ranjit appears in 11 episodes; his latest appearance being in "Challenge Accepted".

 

Victoria 

Played by Ashley Williams. Baker at Buttercup Bakery. She and Ted met at a wedding reception for which she had made the cake, where they spend the night hanging around by themselves under the promise that they will never see each other again so as not to ruin their memory of that night. This promise is soon broken and they start up a relationship with each other. This is complicated when she is offered a cooking fellowship in Germany. They eventually decide that a long distance relationship cannot work and break up. A vision of her appears to Ted shortly before the break-up, when he lies to Robin about having already ended the relationship before the fact. Appears in 6 episodes- would have been made the mother if the show was canceled after the first season.

 

Stella Zinman

Played by Sarah Chalke. Ted's dermatologist, who removes his ill-advised butterfly tramp stamp tattoo. Ted attempts to convince her to go out with him over the course of the episode Ten Sessions. Stella initially refuses, telling Ted that she has to focus on being a mother to her daughter, but eventually agrees to go on a two minute lunch date. She and Ted begin dating soon after. Her future with Ted is intentionally left up in the air and there is some speculation that she may be Ted's eventual wife. In the last episode of season three, Ted proposed to Stella, and in the season four premiere she accepted. On Shelter Island, after her sister's wedding falls apart, she and Ted agreed to take over the wedding. She ends up leaving Ted at the altar and getting back together with Tony, her ex-boyfriend and the father of her daughter. Appears in nine episodes among seasons three and four. She later appears in Right Place Right Time as the mystery woman who all the tiny events of Ted's day cause him to meet; she is still with Tony and it is he, feeling guilty for stealing Ted's fiance, who gets Ted his teaching position. Shortly after Ted bumps into her on the street she moves with Tony to California where Tony made a movie about the love triangle called The Wedding Bride. The gang go to see it and are stunned about how much liberty Tony took with the story.

 

James Stinson 

Played by Wayne Brady. Barney's African-American and gay half-brother who also enjoys wearing suits and acts nearly the same as his brother - they used to go out on the pull together ('no crossover of targets'). He is married and he and his husband have one adopted son. In the sixth season episode "Cleaning House," James found his father, a man named Sam Gibbs. He has appeared in three episodes to date.

 

Brad 

Played by Joe Manganiello. A friend of Marshall's from law school. Brad and Marshall begin to hang out after they both discover they are single after getting dumped by their respective girlfriends, Kara and Lily. They go to brunch and to a musical together. Meanwhile, the bromance between Brad and Marshall becomes increasingly awkward. Eventually, Brad gets back together with his girlfriend. He also attends Marshall's bachelor party and wedding, where he chases away Lily's high school boyfriend, Scooter. He gets punched in the face by Barney when he tries to kiss Robin at a hockey game. Appears in 5 episodes.

 

Stuart 

Played by Matt Boren. A good friend of Ted and Marshall's who accompanies them to Marshall's bachelor party. Stuart also was about get married to another friend of Ted's, Claudia, but when Ted wanted to bring a guest to their wedding Claudia freaked out that no more people could come. Ted went behind Claudia's back and asked Stuart if he could bring Robin to his wedding and Stuart agreed. This resulted in Stuart and Claudia breaking up; Marshall eventually got the two of them back together. He briefly appears in Intervention, where in they intervene out of their concerns for him about his alcoholism. In Baby Talk, he and Claudia have a daughter named Esther.

 

Wendy the Waitress 

Played by Charlene Amoia. A waitress from MacLaren's bar. Characterized as sweet and somewhat naive, she appears well liked by The Gang who always refer to her as "Wendy The Waitress". Barney has had a brief relationship with her which ended up with her getting over the breakup easily, while he was convinced that she was trying to kill him and all the drinks she served him were poisoned. In that episode, Robin jokingly refers to her as "Wendy the Waitress-hyphen-Stinson." It is also revealed in season 6 that Wendy the Waitress falls in love and is later married to Marshall's ex-co worker Meeker (Daniel G. O'Brien) who found out they both hate Marshall after his "Go Green" fiasco. She and Meeker have three kids in the future.

 

Zoey Pierson

Played by Jennifer Morrison. Ted first meets Zoey, an activist who is protesting the destruction of an historic New York building, in the 6th season episode "Architect of Destruction". At first Ted is attracted to her even though he is the architect responsible for the building's inevitable demolition. When she finds out that Ted is the architect, she turns on him and spends the next few weeks staking out his house and office to torment him. In the episode "Natural History", Ted meets her rich husband, who calls himself the Captain, at a black-tie event at a museum that the whole gang is invited to because of Ted's building project with Goliath National Bank. Though their interactions that night are somewhat amicable, they leave the museum still hating each other. In the episode "Blitzgiving", she spends the night before Thanksgiving hanging out with the gang, minus Ted, which causes her to invite them to her place for Thanksgiving. In the end, Ted realizes that Zoey is disappointed because her stepdaughter hates her and won't spend Thanksgiving with her. Because of this understanding, Ted and Zoey become friends. Zoey is (by marriage) a van Smoot, whose family is shown to have owned the mansion in which Marshall and Lily were married and an apartment in the Alberta building^. In "Oh Honey", Zoey divorces the Captain, and Zoey and Ted realize they have fallen in love. In "Garbage Island", Future Ted reveals that Zoey is not the mother of his children, and that things did not end well between them. She and Ted broke up in Landmarks. She later appears in Challenge Accepted, and tries to get back together with Ted.

 

Don Frank 

Played by Benjamin Koldyke, Don is Robin's boyfriend and co-anchor in season 5. Robin gets very serious with him and decides to move in. Later he leaves her for a job in Chicago. In season 6, Robin is shown calling him but he never appears on screen. Appears in 6 episodes

 

Loretta Stinson

Played by Frances Conroy, Loretta is Barney's mother, who first appears in The Stinsons. She later appeared in Cleaning House when the group goes to her house when she wants to vacate. She was not a very moral person while her children were young, but later changed. She hides the identity of her children's father from them because she wants to be both their father and mother. Later she reveals the identity of the fathers to them in Season 6.

Background on Characters

Theodore Evelyn "Ted" Mosby (born April 25, 1978) is the main character of How I Met Your Mother, portrayed by Josh Radnor. Ted serves as the show's narrator from the future, voiced by Bob Saget, as he tells his children the long version of how he met their mother. He is a struggling architect and a romantic, believing in an idealized version of love, and wants to get married and start a family. Ted has been best friends with Marshall since they met in college, and lived with him for around 6–8 years. A graduate of Wesleyan University, Ted grew up in Shaker Heights, Ohio with parents Virginia and Alfred Mosby. Ted complains in season 2 that he has never been able to talk about anything deep or difficult with his parents. In this episode the gang goes out to brunch to celebrate Virginia & Alfred's 30th anniversary. Ted soon discovers that his parents had actually divorced 9 months previously, after being separated for 2 years, and had been playing happy family for Ted and his sister's sake. When Ted confronts them he realizes that he doesn't really know anything about them or how they met. Ted vows here and now that when he has kids that he is going to tell them every single detail of how he met their mother thus birthing the entire concept for the series.

Played by Neil Patrick Harris and born in 1975, Barney Stinson is a womanizer, favors suits, enjoys playing laser tag and performing magic tricks often involving fire, and frequently uses the words "awesome" and "legendary," which Ted believes he uses too liberally. Barney is very eager to prove his "awesomeness" by doing things his friends inadvertently suggest (normally something they find ridiculous), prompting him to say his other coined phrase "challenge accepted". Barney is the writer of the Bro Code (though he claims it was written by Barnabus Stinson in the Colonial Era) and the Playbook, from which he documents his favorite moves to use on women. Barney was raised by a single mother, along with his older brother James. He spent very little time with his father when he was a child. In season 6, Barney's father Jerome, returns to his life hoping to make amends for abandoning him as a child. Barney was engaged to a woman in college, a woman who rejected him because of his lack of success and her lack of desire for commitment. Barney still fears committing to another woman. When she broke up with him (leaving him still a virgin), his black, gay brother James Stinson arranged for him to lose his virginity. The woman claimed he was awesome (as a favor to Barney's brother) which ignited Barney's unlimited confidence. Prior to losing his virginity, Barney was a long-haired hippie with plans to join the Peace Corps.

Soon after his rejection, he saw a flier for a sale on suits, thus beginning his suit addiction. Shortly after he met Ted Mosby in the Men's room and announced to that he would "teach Ted how to live," beginning his life with Ted's group of friends where he remains. Barney believes himself to be Ted's best friend. In season 4, Barney realizes he has fallen in love with Robin and spends the next season hiding it from her. The two get together in season 5, but the relationship only lasts for 7 episodes. After their breakup, Barney returned to his womanizing ways, but sometimes shows regret in ending his relationship with Robin. In season 6, Robin introduces him to her friend Nora. Barney first denies that he is attracted to her, but later admits to Robin that he is. Barney and Nora's relationship is short lived, however, because Barney is unwilling to let himself be honest with her about his feelings. In the sixth season finale, it is revealed that Barney will be getting married a little ways in the future, a scene which includes Barney, Ted, Lily and Marshall and does not reveal who the bride is.

 

Marshall Eriksen is played by Jason Segel. Born in 1978 and of Scandinavian descent, Marshall met Ted and Lily during their freshman year at Wesleyan University. He is a Columbia Law School graduate originally from Minnesota. Even though he stands at 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m), he is the shortest male member of his family, which has invented the sport of "baskiceball". Marshall became a lawyer because he was interested in environmental protection laws. Ultimately, he accepted a job at a corporate law firm where his only client is an amusement park riddled with various safety violations. He later joins the legal team at Goliath National Bank, where Barney also works. Marshall is also very good at various games and highly interested in food and paranormal happenings, specifically Sasquatch and Nessie. He can play the piano fairly well, as seen in the episode "Slapsgiving" where he performs a song after slapping Barney. Marshall is an enigma in the episode "Sweet Taste of Liberty" he is relieved when he escapes a fight claiming he has never fought anyone before but proves he is formidable and experienced fighter in the episode "The Fight". It is revealed in "Last Cigarette Ever" that in the future, he and Lily have a son. In early 2011, after being told Marshall and Lily are capable of having a baby, Lily tells Marshall that his dad had a fatal heart attack and died. Marshall and his friends agree his dad's last words towards him were, 'I love you' but they were actually about a foot cream. But during his father's funeral, Marshall says in his eulogy that the last words his father ever said to him were "...rent Crocodile Dundee 3...", which are in fact the last words his father ever spoke to him in person (the last words about foot cream were in a voicemail). In "Last Cigarette Ever", it was revealed that the two have at least one son, and in the season six finale, Lily announces to Marshall that she is pregnant.

Lily Aldrin Played by Alyson Hannigan and born in March 1978, Lily is a kindergarten teacher. She is married to Marshall Eriksen and grew up in Brooklyn, New York. Like Ted, and Marshall, she is also a graduate of Wesleyan University. Lily also dreams of being an artist and at one point painted a portrait of Marshall in the nude. At one point, she had also painted Barney nude for $5000, although she made Barney looking like a Ken doll, in which his crotch were drawn, but not his genitals. Lily sometimes show an interest in the same sex, fantazising and dreaming about women. She seems to be attracted to her friend Robin and have several times hinted that she might be a little bisexual. In episode 22 in season 6, it is shown that she becomes keen to kiss Robin when drinking Martini. She also has a huge debt problem because of her impulsive buying practices. She is able to hide this from Marshall until they apply for a mortgage. She cannot keep a secret, and is often shown to be the most spoiled of the group, but despite those traits she is a very caring person and will much of the time do thankless acts for the good of her friends. In the episode "Mosbius Designs," Barney describes her as "A diabolical puppet master, manipulating every single situation to get exactly what she wants, she is pure evil," and tells Marshall that he has "a good one there, hang on to her." In the episode "The Possimpible," Lily lists her special skills and interests on her resume as:

"Competitive Speed Eater (can eat 33 hot dogs in 8 minutes; New York City Speed Eating Champion, Junior Division, 1995), Painting, (Oils, Acrylics), fluent in Italian, certified in Teaching English as a Second Language, Proficient in Photoshop, Quark, Java."

She met Marshall and Ted in college and almost immediately started dating Marshall. They were together for about 9 years and engaged for almost a year when Lily broke up with Marshall to move to San Francisco to concentrate on her art. She was there for a summer and came back to NYC but Marshall was too hurt that they stayed separated for a few more months. They eventually patched things up and got married. They moved into an apartment in Dowisetrepla, which they did not know at the time stands for Down Wind of the Sewage Treatment Plant. They want children, but for a while were scared so they didn't try. Later Lily and Marshall make an agreement that once they have seen the doppelganger of every member of their gang they will start trying for a child. By the summer of 2010, they have seen all but Barney's doppelganger, when Lily sees what she thinks is his doppelganger (it wasn't). The rest of the gang knew this meant she was ready for a child and let her believe it. In the season six episode, "The Mermaid Theory", future Ted was telling a story (out of place in the present time-line) of a fight that Lily and Barney have while she's pregnant. Future Ted stated that the pregnancy was a "way down the road" from when he told the story. Lily announces in the season 6 finale that she is pregnant, and in "Last Cigarette Ever", future Ted reveals that they have at least one son.

Robin Scherbatsky Played by Cobie Smulders, Robin was born on July 23, 1980, and works as a Television news reporter/co-host of a 4 AM TV news show, 'Come On Get Up New York'. She was originally from Vancouver, British Columbia, and named after her father, who treated her more like a boy than a girl. In many episodes it is implied she is a fan of the Vancouver Canucks. For most of the second season, she dated Ted after Ted spent much of the first season pursuing her romantically. Early in the first season, it was established that she does not become Ted's wife, instead becoming "Aunt Robin" to Ted's children. Despite their break-up, there continued to be some sexual tension between them throughout most of the third season, most obviously when Robin brought home her new Argentinan boyfriend from the trip she and Ted had planned together. As a teenager, she was a teen pop singer named Robin Sparkles who toured malls across Canada following her minor hit "Let's Go to the Mall" and debacle "Sandcastles in the Sand." Her first boyfriend was Simon, who starred in her second music video. In season 4, Robin moves in with Ted after leaving her short-lived job in Japan. During the fourth season finale, she and Barney pursue a relationship, but they end it in season 5. Some of her idiosyncrasies include having predilections towards fights and pronouncing the word picture as pitcher. She also is frequently made fun of for her tendency to laugh while lying, and well as her references to places and history exclusive to Canada, including Mount Waddington and Danby's. Though she stated explicitly throughout the seasons that she does not like children, future Ted mentioned that she eventually grew to like them and even became close to Ted's children (appearing in their drawings). After being unemployed for a while after being in America, Robin found out that she would be deported if she did not get a job. Barney helped her land a job for an early morning show. Soon after she started she got a co-host named Don whom she could not stand. However, she started to have feelings for him and they were a couple for a while. While she was with Don, she had a job opportunity for an anchor job in Chicago, but she turned it down to continue her relationship with Don. However, she was upset when she found out that Don actually accepted the position. In season 6 episode "False Positive", Robin works as a Researcher for World Wide News.