Ugly Christmas Sweaters!

Sweet! Ugly Christmas Sweater Run! You only get to wear those babies so often, so get them out and run!

Let's Race!

RACES FOR WEEK OF DECEMBER 6th TO DECEMBER 12th

December 11th / Jingle Bells Run 8k and 5k / Eugene, OR

December 11th / Ugly Holiday Sweater Dash 1mile run / West Linn, OR

December 11th / Christmas Rush 10k and 5k / Kent, WA

December 11th / Run Rudolph Run 5k / Edmonds, WA

December 11th / Winter Solstice 5k / Bainbridge Island, WA

December 11th / Jingle Bell Run 4 mile / Bellingham, WA

December 11th / Birch Bay Ghost Marathon and 30k / Birch Bay, WA

December 12th / Jingle Bell Run 5k / Seattle, WA

December 12th / Holiday Half-Marathon and 5k / Portland, OR

Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner!

Yes, my friends, that's 50,000 words in one month - making me, FINALLY, a winner at Nanowrimo!

And it's a good thing, because I have to immediately, and without delay, start working on my Christmas Story in 25 Parts, titled: 25 Doors. Head over there every day this December and enjoy an original Christmas story with original art from none other than Jennifer Lommers.

Enjoy!

Race T-Shirt Review - Corvallis 5k

Hey, maybe they finally figured it out...yes, dark gray is a fantastic color for a race t-shirt! Much like the Eugene Marathon t-shirt, the Corvallis 5k shirt is a nice, dark shade of gray. It goes with everything and it doesn't show your lunch that you spilled like a white shirt, it's all good!

I like the design as well. Simple, yet modern. Not a bunch of ugly graphics mucking up the shirt, and the combination of dark gray, white, and orange makes the best of the Corvallis/Oregon State University connection.

Shirt: A-

Turning the Last Corner at Nanowrimo!

40,814

That's words. And I've got six days left. I'm on track and I'm on pace. I'm feeling it. Time for the kick coming down the last straightaway.

Cheer me on!

Holiday Run Time!

Well, we can't all be fortunate enough to run in the snow, but the Holiday season is still an amazingly fun time to run a race. The cold weather, the jingle bells on shoes, the santa hats - it all adds up to a great race season!

Let's race!

RACES FOR WEEK OF NOVEMBER 29th TO DECEMBER 5th

December 4th / Jingle Bell Run 5k / Bend, OR

December 4th / Shellburg Falls Trail Run 10k / Lyons, OR

December 4th / Reindeer Run Half-Marathon, 10k and 5k / St. Helens, OR

December 4th / Toys for Tots 10k and 5k / Arlington, WA

December 4th / Ridgefield Holiday Fun Run 10k and 5k / Ridgefield, WA

December 4th / Fort Vancouver 5k / Vancouver, WA

December 4th / Fairhaven Frosty 10k and 5k / Bellingham, WA

December 4th / Skagit Jingle Bell Run 4 mile / Mt. Vernon, WA

December 5th / Children's Home Society's Red Stocking 5k / Seattle, WA

December 5th / Jingle Bell Run 4 mile / Bellingham, WA

December 5th / Christmas Rush Fun Run 10k and 5k / Kent, WA

December 5th / K9 Candy Cane 5k / Renton, WA

December 5th / Jingle Bell Run 5k / Portland, OR

Best Running Song for November!

How can you possibly go wrong running to a song titled Breakneck Speed? Hey, you can't. It's by the Tokyo Police Club, and yeah, it's another Canadian band. What can I say? The Great White North really puts out some great bands! It's a great tune to run to and has a pretty good driving beat for a 10k or a half-marathon.

And here's a cool live version.

Nothing like a great song to get your feet moving. Have a good run.

Past Best Running Songs:
October: Two Door Cinema Club / "Something Good Can Work"
September: Stone Temple Pilots / "Cinnamon"
August: Louis XIV / "Guilt by Association"
July: Devo / "Fresh"
June: Saliva / "Your Disease"
May: Metric / "Gold Guns Girls"
April: OK Go / "This Too Shall Pass"
March: The Hours / "Ali In The Jungle"
February: Los Fabulosos Cadillacs / "El Matador"
January: White Rabbits / "Percussion Gun"
December: Deftones / "Knife Prty"
November: The Kooks / "Always Where I Need To Be"
October: At the Drive In / "One Armed Scissor"
September: Silversun Pickups / "Lazy Eye"
August: Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros / "Johnny Appleseed"
July: Deathray / "I Wanna Lose Control (Uh Oh)"
June: Raconteurs / "Salute Your Solution"
May: Tea Party / "Save Me"
April: Bloc Party / "Like Eating Glass"
Ever: The English Beat / "I Confess"

Halfway Home at Nanowrimo!

Yes, I've officially made it past the 25,000 word mark for Nanowrimo!

And I've got a new excerpt up. Check it out!

Thanksgiving Day Runs!

One of the busiest single days of the entire running year...yep, it's Thanksgiving Day.

Sort of odd that so many runs are on a holiday like that, but I guess it makes some sense: almost everyone has the day off, pretty much everyone eats the big meal late, and finally, you know you're going to eat like a stinking pig later in the day, so burning some calories in the morning is a great idea!

Let's race!

RACES FOR WEEK OF NOVEMBER 22nd TO NOVEMBER 28th

November 25th / Sherwood Give n' Gobble 10k and 5k / Sherwood, OR

November 25th / Huffing for Stuffing 10k and 5k / Bozeman, MT

November 25th / Burn the Bird 10k and 5k / Great Falls, MT

November 25th / Oregon Mid Valley Road Race 5.2 mile and 3.75 mile runs / Albany, OR

November 25th / Bend Turkey Trot 10k and 5k / Bend, OR

November 25th / OAC Turkey Trot 5k / Corvallis, OR

November 25th / Turkey Trot 4 mile and 2 mile runs / Eugene, OR

November 25th / Twin Tunnels Thanksgiving Morning Turkey Trot 12k and 5k / Hood River, OR

November 25th / CSI Turkey Trot 5k / Twin Falls, ID

November 25th / Turkey Trot 3.5 mile run / Longview, WA

November 25th / The Oly Trot Thanksgiving Day 4 mile run / Olympia, WA

November 25th / Bainbridge Island Turkey Trot 5k / Bainbridge Island, WA

November 25th / Norpoint Turkey Trot 5k / Tacoma, WA

November 25th / Turkey Trot Clark County / Vancouver, WA

November 25th / Turkey on the Run 12k and 5k / Wenatchee, WA

November 27th / Seattle Marathon 5k / Seattle, WA

November 27th / Winter Wonderland of Lights 6 mile, 4 mile, and 2 mile runs / Portland, OR

November 28th / Hot Buttered Run 12k and 5k / Vancouver, WA

November 28th / Seattle Marathon and Half-Marathon / Seattle, WA

Catching up with Nanowrimo

Yeah, I fell behind a bit yesterday. I was just worn down from too many nights in a row of staying up late and writing. But tonight, I made a nice little comeback and I'm right back on track. Check it out - over 15,000 words! Looking good, looking good...

Wish me well, the next ten days are the make it or break it period. I need to bear down here if I'm going to make 50,000 words by the end of the month.

Oh, and I've got a new excerpt up. Read. Read!

Write on!

*by the way, that's 31% done, with 20 days left*

Taking a Writing Break...to Race!

Taking a quick break from Nanowrimo to think about running. And why not? Pouring rain outside, blowing wind, leaves in the face...time for a run!

Let's race!

RACES FOR WEEK OF NOVEMBER 15th TO NOVEMBER 21st

November 20th / EWEB Run to Stay Warm Half-Marathon, 10k and 5k / Eugene, OR

November 20th / Green Lake Gobble 5k / Seattle, WA

November 20th / GBRC Turkey Trot 5k / Bellingham, WA

November 20th / Turkey Trot 4 mile run / Asotin, WA

November 20th / Jingle Bell 5k Run / Spokane, WA

Thanks to Frazz and Jef Mallet for the strip.

New Pawn Excerpt Up!

I've got a new excerpt up from my novel in progress: Pawn.

Hope you had already seen the first excerpt...cause it's gone!

We're Three Days In! Nanowrimo Ahoy!

Truly, the most amazing thing is that I'm still on pace: 5191 words at the moment. Sing it, baby!

If you're getting the feeling that you're not going to get much in the way of running news this month...well, you're probably right. Don't worry, I'll still get some Race Schedules up and maybe a few other things, but yeah...I'm trying to write 1700 words a day here! I've only got so many hours in the day!

So get out there and run already! We'll talk about it later...

Nanowrimo! It's ON!

Yes, Nanowrimo started today...and I've got 2273 words in the books! I'm actually ahead of the pace! That's got to be a first.

So head on over to my page. I've got an excerpt posted already. I sort of like it - but let me know what you think! I love criticism...good or bad. Let me have it!

Hey, if you're not signed up at Nanowrimo, get on it! We're only a day in. You still have 29 days to pump out your 50,000 words!