Happy Friday!

What a windy, wacky weather week. Tuesday evening at All Comers' it was chilly enough that I wore jeans, a long-sleeved T and a jacket. Today, it's supposed to be 80. Tomorrow 84. Only in Minnesota ...

I'm making cookies to bring tomorrow to the Chester Woods events. I'm working registration as well. I'm looking forward to it! I probably will not be wearing white socks, however. Could be a touch of mud in those woods. But that's to be expected for trail running. As of Wed., there were 91 registered. Lots of out of town folks. RTC members added to the registrants: Greg Sellnow and Kit Hawkins. Just in: K.C. Reed is running as well. ;-)

Off Season Striders will be running from Panera South tomorrow at 7:30, running on paved trails. 8 to 12 miles, or however many miles you like, actually. Coffee and carbs afterwards.

RTC members running in the MSHSL track & field meets today and tomorrow at Hamline University: Brian Wille (1600m), Travis Beniak (1600m, 3200m). Best of luck, runners! Track and Field on TV: Nike Prefontaine meet (Eugene, OR) Sunday at 3:00 pm on NBC.

Kathy Cook reports, "Thanks very much to the Rochester Track Club and Larry Pederson for loaning us the megaphone to use for the Track and Field Day at Folwell Elementary School this past week. We had about 150 kids from grades 3, 4, 5 outside most of the day running races from 50 yards to 440s and participating in field events like high jump, long jump and softball & frisbee throw. The megaphone made it much easier to get everyone in the right place at the right time to keep the day flowing. Here's a photo of some of our 3rd graders at the start of a relay race. "

Kevin Torgerson will be spending the weekend on top of the Plymouth Rainbow Foods (I think I reported the wrong store in an earlier post this week). You can make a pledge online to get him (and wife Lori!) off the roof and support Special Olympics at the same time. Select the Plymouth store ( NOT the Plymouth Station or the one on Rockford Road). The address for the store is 10200 6th Ave NE, Plymouth, Olson Memorial Hwy.

I recommended that the library purchase Bart Yasso's "My Life on the Run" and they approved the recommendation. So look for that book on the shelves in the near future. I'm very much enjoying it. I read about 1/2 of it yesterday evening. It's a very quick read.

Nice Letter to the Editor from RTC board member Tom O'Leary in the Thursday paper. Very well said.

Half-Marathon Coach needed. Alex Tsatsoulis is the Team Challenge Manager at the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation Minnesota/Dakotas Chapter. They have their Team Challenge event coming up soon which helps train walkers and runners to participate in the Rock 'N' Roll San Antonio Half Marathon in November of this year. They are working to start recruiting participants from the Rochester area, and are looking to recruit a running coach to help them train and prepare for the half marathon. You can find more information about their Team Challenge program on their website, and can contact Alex at atsatsoulis@ccfa.org.

A couple new events have been added to the RTC calendar, so make sure you're checking it frequently: Fountain Trail Runners 5K on June 14 and the Brownsdale 4-H 5K on June 21. I'm pretty sure I'm going to run the Zumbrota 10K on 6/21. I've not done that race before and I'm all for supporting the trail systems in SE MN. They're a wonderful resource during all 4 seasons, actually.

Sign up for the Running Room 20-minute challenge on July 16 at 6 pm. It's free. All you have to do is walk or run for 20 minutes. Last year I walked. You get a free hat, and they're quite nice. I've got a couple of them from the previous years' events and wear them often. Bring your friends and family. All ages welcome.

From Tom O'Shaughnessy: Go Vertical Chicago registration opens at 9 AM on June 10th. The event is November 10, 2008. Tom reports that it usually closes quickly. Entry field is limited to 2250. It's the world's largest indoor stair climb (Sears Tower--110 stories). Tom reports that there is usually a contingent of firemen who do the event with 40-lb. packs on their backs.

Couple of posts on Run Minnesota blog about red-winged blackbirds. I'm glad to know that I'm not the only runner that has to deal with these territorial creatures. And all along I thought it was the females that were dive-bombing my head. Not.

News from the Saxman household: Ted is finally recovering from his pneumonia after returning to the doctor on Monday for some meds to help with the symptoms (wracking cough). I purchased Eric's plane to ticket to Spain the other day, so he's officially going now. He leaves in September, returning in December. If you're into canning, or making preserves/jelly, pie, etc., Rochester Area Youth for Christ are taking orders for their peaches. I bought some from the back of a truck at a S.A. one year and got on their mailing list. They're Coloroado peaches, and quite good. An 18-lb. lug (36-40 pieces) is $29, half lug $15. Colorado pears are $24 for a 20-lb. box and $14 for a half box. Orders can be place by email or 507-288-4567. Delivery expected mid-August.

Well, that's it for now. Here's a quote from Bart Yasso's My Life on the Run: "Live simply so that others can simply live."

Happy trails!