Race Directors

If you are interested in having your race become a Featured Event on the RJ website and this newsletter or want information on advertising in our print issue:

  Email: rj@running.net  

We need your help

By Bruce Morrison, Publisher  

Running Journal needs your help.

Please subscribe: http://www.running.net/subscribe-1  

On a kitchen table in 1984, a small running publication called Carolina Runner was started because 200 runners had each given us $10 to subscribe to a proposed publication for runners.

My late wife, Julie, and I raced every weekend to promote the fledging little publication and it was like the little train that chugged its way up the mountain - "I think I can, I think I can ..."

And we kept going - and growing. We not only signed up new subscribers, we also purchased other running publications, including Racing South (established 1976) and Running in Georgia. We joined with other regional running publications across the country and formed the Running Network.

We became Running Journal.

Today, we have the print publication, an around-the-clock website with the best running calendar in the South, and a monthly email newsletter.

And declining national advertising. At least that was the case in 2012.

We have a simple request: If you don't currently subscribe to Running Journal, please do so. Every new subscriber helps us secure advertising. For a nickel less than $20, you can subscribe for a year, plus you'll continue to get the free website and we'll add you to our free email newsletter mailing.

We will continue to cover running in the South, continue to serve race directors, continue to serve runners.

Your support will be genuinely appreciated. Julie, who died when an out-of-control car going backwards slammed head-on into our vehicle, would give you one of her wonderfully warm smiles. In fact, I believe she will.

Please subscribe by going to this secure site:

http://www.running.net/subscribe-1  

Thank you. We wish you a Happy Running New Year.

Runners registered for the cancelled 2012 NYC Marathon will be sent individual emails Jan. 10 offering refunds or guaranteed entry into the marathon in 2013, 2014 or 2015. If you choose guaranteed entry, you will still have to pay to run the marathon. As an alternative, runners may choose guaranteed entry into the NYC Half Marathon to be run March 17. Runners choosing guaranteed entries will not receive a refund and will have to pay fees to run in the selected races.

This race promises to be unusual: The Zombie Run in Louisville, KY, on Sunday, April 21, will feature a staged apocalypse. A flipped tanker with a "toxic compound," zombies will chase you, helicopters circle overhead and military personnel distribute face masks. Then there's a "survivor party."

Participating in regular physical exercise has been found to result in 60% reduction in the risk from sudden cardiac arrest. (Huntsville, AL Track Club magazine)

Start the new year with a training program at your local running store, your local running club, and/or a local running coach. Check with one of the running stores or running clubs in this newsletter to find a program.

Imagine you're told your child has cancer. The 5K 4 Kids will raise funds for families hit with that tragedy. The event will be held Jan. 12 at Hugh Taylor Birch State Park at Fort Lauderdale, FL. A fun run and youth mile will also be held. Info: https://www.raceit.com/Register/?event=16750

Brad Broyles, president of the N. C. Roadrunners Club, listed some questions posed to race directors, including this one: "I haven't trained much for this race, so can my daughter meet me at the halfway point, take my bib, and run the second half for me?"

2013 Competitor Group's Rock 'n' Roll Marathon Series Schedule in the Running Journal southern USA:

Sunday, Feb. 10 - Rock 'n' Roll St. Pete Half Marathon

Sunday, Feb. 24 - Rock 'n' Roll New Orleans Marathon & Half-Marathon.

Saturday, March 16 - Washington, DC, Rock 'n' Roll USA Marathon & CareFirst Rock 'n' Roll USA Half Marathon at the National Mall.

Saturday, April 27 - Nashville, TN, St. Jude Country Music Marathon & Half-Marathon.

Sunday, Sept. 1 - Rock 'n' Roll Virginia Beach Half Marathon

Saturday, Nov. 9 - Rock 'n' Roll Savannah Marathon & Half-Marathon

Give yourself a gift. Running is your gift of private, quiet time ... or you can run with others, sharing your gift.

RRCA championships:

National and regional RRCA championship events have been announced for 2013. Below is a list of these events in the Running Journal southern region. The goal of the RRCA series is "to shine a spotlight on well-run, community-based events, and to promote the sport of running by recognizing the top performing runners in the open, masters, grand masters and senior grand masters categories for both men and women as RRCA champions."

Jan. 5 - Southern Region Championship: Mississippi Blues Marathon, Jackson, Mississippi.

Jan. 5 - Southern Region Championship: Resolution Run Cross Country 10K, Columbia, SC.

April 13 - Southern Region Championship: Sickle Cell Road Race, College Park, Georgia.

June 15 - Southern Region Championship: Go! Mile, Little Rock, Arkansas.

Aug. 3 - National Championship 5K: Woodstock 5K, Anniston, Alabama.

Sept. 8 - Eastern Region Championship: Parks Half Marathon, Bethesda, Maryland.

Sept. 28 - Eastern Region Championship: The Genworth Virginia 10 Miler, Lynchburg, Virginia.

Oct. 5 - Southern Region Championship: Carrboro 10, Carrboro, North Carolina.

Oct. 6 - National Championship Half Marathon: Woodrow Wilson Bridge Half Marathon, Alexandria, Virginia.

Nov. 25 - Southern Region Championship: Space Coast Half Marathon, Cocoa Beach, Florida.

For the complete championship schedule across the country:

http://www.rrca.org/programs/rrca-championship-series

Leonard Vergunst of the Gulf Coast Running Club of Gulfport, Mississippi, sent a list of his area's races for all of 2013. Running Journal's racing calendar is the strongest list of races in the South, we believe, and it's important to be as complete as possible. Running Journal's calendar editor, Shirley Woodward, appreciates all such efforts by running officials. Please send info to RJ@Running.Net.

A "groaner:" Two silkworms had a race. They ended up in a tie.

It's Cold Out There!  

By Lena Hollmann 

When you read this, the days are already getting longer. But they are still about as short as they will be, and it's cold out there! Maybe not compared to what it is like in Maine or Michigan, but probably cold enough for you to wear a long-sleeve shirt, and possibly also tights and gloves when you go for a run.  

It is always an adjustment for us runners in the fall when the days get shorter and the weather gets colder. I welcome the cooler weather because it's easier to race in, but I often struggle with what to wear during my training runs this time of year. It may be 40 degrees when I start at 8 am, but the forecast says it will be 55 when I finish at 9:30. So, should I wear my tights or not? If I wear them I will be mighty warm during the last part of my run, but if I leave them off, my legs will feel like icicles the first couple of miles!

Click here to read the rest of the article. 

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.