Rain, rain, go away ... this waterlogged runner has had enough. I'm a bonafide snow-hater, but when it comes to winter running, I'll take snow over rain any day.

Both of my runs were rained out this weekend. Of course, "rained out" might imply I actually went outside and gave it a try, but...I didn't. All it took was the tappity tap of the raindrops on our aluminum sunroom roof to send me scurring (or rather dragging my feet, pouting and moping) to the treadmill in my cozy, dry basement.

As I sweated through 10 miles on the great moving belt in the basement
I, once again, wondered what the heck I was thinking signing up for a spring marathon. A glance at the calendar shows that my marathon-training long runs begin in February already.

I just hope I won't have to do them in my basement.

Speaking of February and running, the Erie Runners Club is hosting it's annual Valentine's Day Prediction Run on Sat., Feb. 11 at 10 a.m.

If you need a good reason to run -- here's one -- the first person to cross the line may not be the winner. You could be the 34th person, the 56th person or the 210th person in and be the winner.

Why?

Because this is a race like no other. You will not be racing for place, but rather for pace. You will be predicting your pace per mile. Those who's pace per mile is on target with their prediction win.

Need another reason to run?

Guess what you win?

Chocolate.

Ah...yes, see now there's something worth running for.

In all seriousness, this is a fun race. You don't know the exact distance (otherwise some might be able to know -- to the second -- how fast they'll run the race), but race organizers promise it's between four and six miles. You tell them how fast you think you'll run the miles (8 minute miles, 7:45 minute miles, etc.) and they'll do the math for you.

The premium for this race is really cool -- a R-tek fleece vest with the ERC logo. The vest is availabe in men's, women's (and I believe kid's sizes) and a ton of different colors.

Because of the swanky premium, the cost of the race is higher than usual ($40), but if you choose not to order the vest and you just want to run the race, you can do that for $10.

Warning: If you want the vest, you MUST preregister by Jan. 31!

For an application or for more information about the race, visit www.erie-runnersclub.org.