The Erie Runners Club/Her Times women's 5K is slated for Sat., Oct. 11 at 9 a.m.

New this year:
* No separate run and walk division. All the 5K entrants will be entered in one division which means you can feel free to run, walk or do some combination of both (without it skewing the walk results).

* Award categories for the Women's 5K starting at 8 and under, 9-12, 13-15, 16-19 & up.

* Kid's races! Races for kids after the women's 5K (approx. 10 a.m.) Age divisions: 8-10 (1 mile), 6-7 (1/4 mile), 4-5 (1/8 mile) and 2-3 (toddler trot). Price: FREE....provided you preregister by 10/1. Otherwise...it will be $5 per child. T-shirts will be available (preregistered only) for $5 per shirt.

Most runners are suckers for running keepsakes and the Cleveland Marathon organizers send out a really cool one each year: A customized post card with your name, finish time, rankings (among total finishers, among finishers in your gender and among your division).

Check it out:

Two of my all-time favorite local running guys -- Mike Vieyra and Fred Beckwith -- are causing me to question their sanity once again by doing another 50-mile run across Erie County.

The run is slated for 7 a.m. on Sat., June 14 starting in Edinboro. They'll be running from Edinboro to Ripley, N.Y.

All runners are invited to join them and they emphasize that you don't have to do the entire 50 miles. Just pick a spot along the way and join up. Trust me...these guys are some of the friendliest runners (and wisest!) you'll ever meet. If you're a perfect stranger, you'll be an old friend in a mile or two.

Last year, they averaged 12-minute miles while walking all uphills and taking a few breaks. Mike says if they get enough participants, they'll likely have a group running a pace under the 12-minute pace and one over.

For more info., send an email to mike.vieyra@zurn.com!

The husband and I are hoping to join them for a dozen miles...or.....hell, maybe more.

Here's the course:

When you're just getting started in a sport, it's hard to learn the lingo. Running and walking, like any sport, has it's own special language and local phrases. Each week, I'll define a term or phrase that will help you not only walk the walk (or run the run), but talk the talk.

When a runner refers to their "splits," they are referring to a fraction of the distance they are running -- most typically miles. So, for a 5K (3.1 miles), your splits would be at mile 1, mile 2 and mile 3.

OK...so now that you know where your splits are, let me explain what they are: Splits are, basically, your pace for that mile.

Saturday is the Live Strong 5K run/walk in Edinboro. Race starts at 8 a.m. at Edinboro University and is being held "To raise awareness that cancer strikes all people, even those we think of as the healthiest in our community. To honor those athletes who are currently battling cancer and in memory of the athletes we have lost to cancer."

Sounds like a great new race for a worthy cause. And, finishing in the Stadium would be pretty cool.

Bring your water..it's going to be a scorcher (finally! woohoo!).

The June issue of Her Times magazine ran in yesterday's Erie Times-News and contained a full page of info. encouraging women to try the Erie Runners Club beginning run/walk program at Presque Isle and set a goal to participate in the Her Times 5K on Oct. 11 at Presque Isle State Park.

If you missed it, you can download a PDF of the page here.Download file">

If you plan to follow the beginning run/walk program & are wondering what the future holds, you can download the entire 5K training program here. Download file">

I typically do my weekend long runs solo -- not by choice, but rather because few want to start early (6:30 a.m.) on the weekends. And, most of the groups meet on the west side....which is quite a drive for me.

So, when my friend Mike V. emailed me last Friday to invite me on a long run in my neck of the woods on Saturday at 7 a.m., I quickly answered back, "I'm in!"

Mike & Michelle are training for a 100-miler, so they were doing a 10.75 mile loop three times that morning. I committed to one loop and said I'd consider doing two loops.

Mike pointed me to MapMyRun.com to see the run he'd planned:

Doesn't look bad, eh?

But...had I taken a glance at the elevation chart or the NAMES of the roads several of which included the word "HILL" (except Lee Road which, ironically, was one GIGANTIC hill) I'd have known better.

It was hot, very hilly and kinda hellish, but...all worth it for the chance to do a long, challenging fun with friends. Sure, I wanted to die a few times, but...I also laughed a lot and we covered a lot of ground (literally and figuratively) while we chatted and ran three abreast -- you can do that when you're waaaaayyyyy out in the country where most of the vehicles on the road are tractors or recreational vehicles.

All in all -- it was a rave run (to steal Runner's World's term) and I'd highly recommend it if you're looking for a challenging, scenic country course. Park at the main parking lot at Lake Pleasant (where the porta potties are).

Here's the route if you want to take a closer look.

Bring water -- you're going to need it if it's a hot day (dusty roads, little shade) and there is none available at the parking area.

Also be sure to bring sunscreen and a hat. And, be aware that in the country folks rarely tie their dogs up. We had a few dogs run out at us, but they were all friendly.

I would NOT recommend you run this route alone (especially you ladies) as it's remote and isolated in spots. This is a run to con a friend into. Just don't tell them about the hill thing.

When you're just getting started in a sport, it's hard to learn the lingo. Running and walking, like any sport, has it's own special language and local phrases. Each week, I'll define a term or phrase that will help you not only walk the walk (or run the run), but talk the talk.

The "K" found at the end of many race names stands for kilometer. A kilometer is "a unit of length, the common measure of distances equal to 1000 meters, and equivalent to 3280.8 feet or 0.621 mile," according to www.dictionary.com.

Though we do not use the metric measuring system here in the U.S., most runs/walks are measured in kilometers. (The United Kingdom and the United States are the only two developed countries that have not changed their road signs from miles to kilometers.).

5K = 3.1 miles
10K = 6.21 miles
15K = 9.3 miles

You guessed it...I'm on vacation next week.

I'll blog if the mood strikes and if we're actually home for more than an hour. I have a GIANT list of fun things to do with the girls next week - rain, shine, hot or cold -- we've got lots of options. From Claytopia to the beach to mini golf to the art museum -- we'll be on a quest to pack every day with fun!

Don't forget the Moonshine Shuffle 5K this Saturday -- always a BLAST with a fuuuunnnnn after party with FREE cheesecake for all (homemade!).

The weather was perfect for the ERC's Moonshine Shuffle 5K on Saturday night. There were 240 finishers in the 5K and another 40 in the kid's races. You can see results here. I just noticed they have my age wrong, but..it doesn't matter much since there are no awards in this race for charity.

Dan & I ended up running the 5K at a comfortably slow pace since we'd run 20+ miles with Mike, Fred and Michelle earlier that day. Yeah...we raced after running 20 miles from Edinboro to Union City.

I was surprised at how good I felt after having run 20 miles (more on that later).

Here are a few photos:

MSS race director extraordinairre -- Dale Werner

Adam runs his first race -- with a little help from his Mom, Jen.

OK...it wasn't quite a marathon (26.2 miles), but darn close. Funny thing is...it didn't feel like an almost-marathon.

My husband and I joined Mike, Michelle and Fred for their 2nd annual R.A.C.E. (run across the county of Erie). We started right by the University at the corner of Normal Street and Route 6N at 6 a.m. Saturday.

...is now available. Download it here.

Barb Filutze's Step-By-Step run/walk program starts tonight at 6 p.m. at Presque Isle State Park at the Cookhouse (on the bay side across from Waterworks).

All the info you need can be found here.

Remember, if you can't make it tonight...that's OK... you can sign up any week!

When you're just getting started in a sport, it's hard to learn the lingo. Running and walking, like any sport, has it's own special language and local phrases. Each week, I'll define a term or phrase that will help you not only walk the walk (or run the run), but talk the talk.

When runners talk about doing hill repeats they are talking, literally, about running up the same hill again & again.

Why?

Because it's there.

No ... really, they run them to get stronger. Hill running -- and doing repeats -- helps runners build strength, improve speed (especially on hills) and use muscle groups that aren't challenged on flat courses.

If you want to improve your running and/or racing performance -- start running hills. Trust me, they will be make you stronger and, consequently, faster.

Summer racing season is now in full gear (uh...even if summer weather isn't!) with a slate of races planned for every weekend (and a few weekdays) in July.

Hey...the bright spot in the lousy weather is that cooler temps make for much more pleasant running conditions!

Upcoming events include:

• The Knights of Columbus Fourth of July race on...you guessed it...July 4 @ Our Lady of Mercy catholic church on Bartlett road in Harborcreek. I can't find an application or information online, but...here's a link to the church site. Race starts at 8 a.m. and there are two events -- a 10K run and a 3 mile fitness walk. It's always a fun race because they have post-race refreshments that include Genesee Beer. That's right folks...Genesee....nothing like getting your 4th off to a good start with a beer buzz at 9 a.m. :-)

• The Gathering at French Creek 5K is a Friday night (7:30 p.m.) race -- a nice change of pace from the usual Saturday & Sunday morning race times. Rick Magee and the Roadhouse Rockers play before the race (6:30 on the main stage) and there are fireworks after the race at dusk. We've never done this race, but we're all signed up to participate this year. Here's the schedule of events at the festival.

• The Cherry Fest 5K is in North East on Sat., July 12 at 8 a.m. at Gibson Park. Peninsula runners beware -- there are hills in North East and you will run a couple in this race.

• If you want to go further east, there's another 5K race on Sat., July 12 across the state line in Mayville, N.Y. Info here.

• Thursday, July 17 is the Waterford 5K. Info here.

• Hot on the heels of all those 5Ks is something a little bit more challenging -- the Presque Isle Half Marathon. This one is a blast, folks. OK...actually, it's usually gawd-awful humid and hot, but...still...it's a race, around our beautiful peninsula that draws runners from several states. Application & info here. Get your application in THIS week to take advantage of the early deadline discount!

• More racing fun can be found at the Cambridge Springs 5K on Sat., July 26 at 9 a.m. Info here.

• The end of July brings Discover Presque Isle and the Presque Isle Duathlon. This is a 20K bike race that is sandwiched between two 5K runs. So, you run...then you pedal, pedal, pedal....then you run again. You can do it all yourself (you badass!) or you can do what I do...find yourself a partner and handle only the part you want (in my case, I do the 5K runs, big bro Joe does the biking). Application & info can be found here.