Dear Athlete!
 

Announcing at Rock 'n' Roll Chicago

Pneumonia. A scary word for anyone, especially a runner!  Denial. Another word...not scary, but accurate as a descriptive for a runner. Me. Both. Last month I felt a little under the weather and chose to "run through it". With 5 announcing assignments around the country in three weekends including Rock 'N Roll Chicago plus directing another race, I was jumping on and off flights, hitting different hotels and climates and the end result was a visit to a doctor who proclaimed I had been fighting pneumonia. That was last month and I dutifully took a few weeks off. Lesson for all of us is the obvious: if you're feeling poorly, back off immediately and go see a doc.
 
Remember my request for training buddies to show up at my house at 5:30 a.m.?  We now have 5 people showing up most mornings and they range from Kenyan-fast Peter Tanui (President of the Kipture Primary School Foundation  ...he's very kind to us!) to me, the slowest of the lot due to missing most of last month. The collective results of training together are interesting: Frank and Bill Mauser (Frank is preparing for the Rock 'N Roll Denver Marathon) both set personal bests in a recent 5K and Paul Lewandowski has improved his 5K time from previous years. It must be their collective attempts to outrun my dog, Wesley! 
 
My buddy, Brock Qwimby (co-owner of the Boulder Running Company in Greenwood Village/DTC) has invited me to come to one of his "Pub Runs" on Tuesday evenings! 3+ miles of easy running followed by free beer (or soft drinks!) and food. They fire up a grill for everyone and as a bonus give a 15% discount to anyone who shows up! I know other running stores are offering similar nights or mornings, but this one is less than a mile from my house! How perfect is that!?! Brock is also handling the 2011 Kaiser Permanente Colfax Marathon expo for next May. Watch for announcements about that event and stop by and visit the event staff at the expo at Rock 'N Roll Denver in October!
 
My good friends the Chiplin's (Estes Park Active at Altitude) have just announced an exciting addition to their array of offerings: a "Running Vacation" website. I've trained from their beautiful multi-bedroom home and it's fantastic. My one regret is that we don't get up there often enough! Tell your low-altitude friends to come visit! You'll look like a star!
 
Check out our calendar for our September offerings. Leading off is the Set the Pace 5K this Sunday at Denver's City Park. It highlights Prostate Cancer Awareness Week (19-25 September). Guys, I urge you to get screened for free! Here's the link to find a location nearest you (Click). Dr. David Crawford, the preeminent international expert has designed the best possible testing and again it's free during this timeframe. No excuses!
 
Two other events later in the month offer sensational food for post-event (the races are fun, too!), FASB Fitness Festival 5K on September 11th and the Panerathon 5/10K in Westminster on September 26th. 
 
Sign-ups for the Halloween Hustle 5K at Elitch Gardens are increasing every day. Friday the 3rd is one of the early registration deadlines for a reduced fee. Remember, you will get a tech t-shirt PLUS a ticket to Elitch Gardens for use on that day. Kid's can enjoy the Family activities during the day (BooVille and Trick and Treat Trail) and when the sun goes down, the adults get Fright By Night! Forms are in your favorite running store! 

Also Lonnie Somers, of Hallucination Sports has two entries and VIP perks for the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon for auction.  Proceeds will beneift his charity, Fetal Hope.  if you are interested, contact him at lonnie@hallucinationsports.com.