Tonight is the last night of Barb Filutze's Step-by-Step Beginning Runners/Walkers program brought to you by the Erie Runners Club.

Tonight's the night those who attended the required # of evenings will get their hard-earned T-shirts and it's also the night you feast like kings (and queens). Yup, tonight is a picnic dinner at the Cookhouse at Presque Isle and will be a great opportunity to mix and mingle with other fitness-minded folks.

The best part about tonight's picnic -- the food is mostly healthy stuff since it's contributed by runners/walkers and folks concerned with physical fitness.

I hope to make an appearance (and scavenge any leftovers), but I have a standing Monday evening date with with my inner-city K.O.C.O. (Knocking Out Childhood Obesity) running kids at my personal trainer's gym at 7 p.m., so.....I won't be making it to Presque Isle until almost 8 p.m.

THIS SUNDAY -- August 17 -- is one of the biggest 10Ks and one of the only races that is still run in the city -- the Hamot 10K. Find an application & all the info you need here. They have a 10K run, a 5K run/walk and a Toddler Trot for the kids (sooooo cute).

I love the Hamot race so much that I refuse to go camping with the family each year because they always choose the weekend of the Hamot race. (Well, yeah...that's the excuse I'm going with, anyway). :-)