The Sandi McCool Champions of Hope 5K Dothan, AL Oct. 20 

Fall is here and it has started out with beautiful weather. What a great time of year to be a runner. Many of you are busy preparing for a fall marathon. We hope your training is going well and wish you the best on race day! 

If you're looking for a race to run, whether it's a 5k or a marathon, you can find it in the Running Journal race calendar. Click here to find a race now.  

Get ready for the Fall Racing Season with the October issue of Running Journal. Veteran runner and marathoner, Carolyn Mather, shares tips on preparing for the marathon. Lena Hollmann shows us how running can help fight off the aging process and Bryan Graydon discusses the importance of kids running programs. You'll also find our 2013 Marathon & Half Marathon Wall calendar, more articles, race results, and our comprehensive race calendar! 

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National Runner Survey is anonymous and confidential. Go to http://www.surveymk.com/s/NRS13RUSA to take the survey.

George Nelsen of the Peninsula Track Club in Virginia encourages older runners to take up competitive walking. Writing in the club's newsletter, he said "As runners age and slow down, or get injured, they should become fast walkers and start doing ultras." He added, "Rather than beating ourselves up going ever more slowly and encountering more injuries, we runners need to embrace walking." And, he said, "At some point in very long ultras, strong walkers will eventually overtake all but the very strongest runners." Nelsen is race director of the Virginia 24 Hour Run for Cancer, which will next be held April 20-21, 2013.

Bennett Randman in the Mississippi Track Club's Magnolia Runner: "The scientific truth is that as we age our fast-twitch muscles don't work as efficiently as they used to. It's just the way it is. We do slow down. Everyone will sooner or later deal with this as we continue our running and walking. I know that I speak for all of us old-schoolers when I say that the reason we continue is because we love the thrill of competition, the adrenaline rush, and the feeling of accomplishment upon finishing. We love the fellowship and the natural high we feel and the new friends we make."

Paul Ryan, GOP VP candidate, incorrectly told radio interviewer Hugh Hewitt that his personal marathon best was "Under three, high twos. I had a two hour and fifty-something." He was off by more than an hour, having run Grandma's Marathon in Duluth, Minnesota in 1990 in 4:01:25. Ryan apologized for his faulty memory and said his brother, Tobin, who has run the Boston Marathon, pointed out the mistake to him. Ryan is dedicated to physical fitness after, as a teen, finding his father dead of a heart attack, a fate also suffered by his grandfather and great-grandfather, all three in their 50s.

Birmingham, AL, Track Club is raising money to install a water fountain on a popular running area - Jemison Trail. Donations are tax deductible Donation levels are Bronze $10, Silver $20, Gold $50, Platinum $100. To make a donation:

http://www.raceit.com/search/event.aspx?id=15069

Leah Thorvilson, four-time Little Rock Marathon champion, will speak Oct. 10 at 10 a.m. about her upcoming race plans, including the New York City Marathon. Thorvilson, who ran in the Olympic Marathon Trials, will speak at a press conference to be held at the Peabody Little Rock. She will be joined by Richard Finn, director of Media Relations and Sports Strategy of the Nov. 4 NYC Marathon, and Gina Pharis, executive director of the Little Rock Marathon.

Fred Lebow, co-founder of the New York City Marathon: "The marathon is a charismatic event. It has everything. It has drama. It has competition. It has camaraderie. It has heroism. Every jogger can't dream of being an Olympic champion but he can dream of finishing a marathon." (Birmingham Track Club newsletter)

"Slightly worn" running shoes will be donated to AMVETS Service Foundation by the Army Ten Miler. Runners who wish to donate can do so at the Ten-Miler's Health & Fitness Expo on Oct. 19-20 at the DC Armory. Proceeds will allow AMVETS to give further support to America's veterans.

Dink Taylor, who writes a popular column for his Fleet Feet store in Huntsville, AL, offers good advice to all runners: "I have spent most of my life training hard and staying fit to prepare myself for what life throws at me."

Peter Pressman, president of the Nashville (TN) Striders, recalled in his newsletter column that his first marathon was in Portland, Oregon and the registration fee was $8! Fifth place finisher that day was Jeff Galloway in 2:23:56, an hour faster than Pressman, who said Galloway has continued "to play a vital role through the years in my training and return to running."

Paraphrasing from the Gulf Winds Track Club newsletter: "Before you criticize someone, you should run a mile in his/her shoes. That way, when you criticize him/her, you're a mile away and you have the shoes."

Michael deLisle in the Knoxville (TN) Track Club magazine shared some memories from a stack of training logs dating back into the early 1990s. Here's a real adventure: "Cave Creek Loop. Serious miscalculation of weather. Caught in hail and lightning storm. Took cover in cave till water began to rise, then braved mudslides and flooded roads to finally make it home."

Donna Deegan will be the guest speaker at the Oct. 10 meeting of the Florida Track Club of Gainesville beginning at 7:30 p.m. Deegan is the founder of 26.2 with Donna held in Jacksonville each February. A marathoner, Donna created The Donna Foundation to provide funds to meet critical needs of First Coast women living with breast cancer. She has authored two books about her battles with breast cancer. She is a three-time survivor.

Shorter days as the fall and winter season sets in mean more darkness for morning and evening runs. Be sure to protect yourself with reflective gear.

Don't forget to send information on your race for the print and online Running Journal Race Calender, plus this Racing South Newsletter. It's easy to list your event. Click here to submit your race details to our race calendar today.