Interested in shepherding the next generation of runners to the start line? Check this out:

Highmark is offering Running 101 again this year, and we’re looking for coaches and assistant coaches to help new runners train for and run their first 5K.

Training starts Monday, July 8 and the goal is to run The QUAD Games 5K on Saturday, September 14.

As a coach or assistant coach, you’ll work with a group of individuals for one hour, one evening each week for 10 weeks at a designated community site in or around Erie. The registration link below will take you to a site that outlines what days and times are needed for each community site.

We’ll provide step-by-step training curriculum, which includes information about general race preparation, physical activity progression, basic nutrition and motivation. No prior coaching experience is required, but you must meet the following criteria to be a coach:

• * Hold a health-related degree, OR hold an active fitness certification (Certified Personal Trainer/Group Exercise Instructor)
• * Be CPR-certified or are willing to be certified
• * Have previously run a 5K, at a minimum
• * Jog or run for personal physical fitness

To be an assistant coach, you must have:

• * Previously participated in a 5K, at a minimum
• * Regularly/occasionally run or jog for personal physical fitness
• * CPR certified or willing to be certified

At the end of the program, you will receive a special thank you gift: a $100 gift card to Dick’s Sporting Goods.

Interested?  Email running101@highmark.com

As you may or may not know, Penn State Behrend, in Harborcreek, has a brand-new track-and-field facility.  This Saturday, April 27, the college is hosting its very first track meet ever!  Local rivals Mercyhurst University and Gannon University will be coming to compete, so it’s sure to be a meet worth watching.

Admission is free, and there’s plenty of room around the track to sit (on grass, so bring a blanket) and watch all the action.  All the details here.

These student athletes are just amazing and, as a runner, I find it fascinating to watch how quickly they can tear up 400 meters. It looks effortless!

I work at Penn State Behrend now and, as part of my 3-day-a-week marathon training plan, I’m doing speed work.  The first week I had to do track work, I emailed Behrend’s track coach — Greg Cooper — and asked if the team would be on the track that night and, if they were, if he’d mind if I used a lane.

“No problem, it will show the kids that running is a lifelong activity!” he said.

So…I lingered at my desk for awhile and took my time getting up to the track in hopes the kids might be done.  No such luck, they were still finishing up their workout.

Let’s just say I felt like a trundling warthog among lithe gazelles.  I promptly changed my Monday night track workouts to later in the evening.

Regarding the track

BTW, friends, I’ve hesitated to put this out here in writing less someone spoil it all for us, but…the track is open for public use when it is not being used by the college. This means, you’re welcome to go there and do your own speed work.

But…I beg of you…clean up after yourself, be respectful of the facilities, and please chastise anyone else who is not.  I once saw a couple up there who were letting their child ride their little bike on the track (Um…don’t do that)…and don’t bring your dog.

DO bring a water bottle though…cause there are no water fountains. There are porta potties nearby.

To get to the track, park in the main Erie lot (stop at Police Services & get a guest parking pass if it’s daytime), take the paved trail in the far left corner of the lot that has a sign out front that says “Behrend Fields.” Walk up about a 1/4 mile and the track is on your left, set up on a hill…and it is fantastic.

Worth Reading

* Do you feel like you’re faster in the dark? Here’s why.

* A Penn State Behrend alumna shares her 2013 Boston Marathon story.

* New York Times: A Moment from the Boston Marathon. Through audio, stories & photos, this interactive feature highlights as many people as the NYT could track down from one famous finish line photo.  Stunning piece of modern journalism.

* Just can’t lose that extra weight? Maybe it’s all in your head: 10 psychological hurdles keeping you from losing weight and how to overcome them.

Fun stuff

* Test your Running IQ (Um….I failed)

* 10 ‘Healthy’ foods that are actually bad for you — a hilarious take by The Onion on the classic fitness magazine story.

T-shirt of the Week

Available here in various styles for $20+

Ewwww…..that smell.

If you’ve run at Presque Isle State Park or spent any time around Lake Erie lately, you know what I’m talking about right? Dead fish. Ugh.

It’s actually a natural die 0ff of gizzard shad, the preferred food of large-mouth bass. And the park is working on cleaning them up. Here’s the park’s official statement on the smelly situation:

A gizzard shad die off has occurred in Presque Isle Bay and Lake Erie this winter. This natural die-off included predominantly juvenile gizzard shad and some larger sized adult fish were also affected that over-winter in Presque Isle Bay and Lake Erie. These winter die-offs are not unusual and are related to temperature stresses. When visiting shoreline areas along Presque Isle State Park, visitors may experience areas of heavy fish kill. Park crews are working to clean all swimming beaches on Presque Isle on the lake side, and public boat launches and heavily used access areas along the Presque Isle Bay side of the park. General advice is that the public and their pets should avoid contact with these dead fish along the shoreline. Expect mild nuisance odor conditions in the area as the fish decay. Conditions will improve as fish are cleaned up and decay through natural processes entering into the summer months.

Photo by Brian Berchtold

OK, I’ll admit, I scoffed when I first heard about the Barber Beast on the Bay adventure race, primarily because I’m tighter than two coats of paint and was annoyed that the race had a $100 registration fee.

But, after participating in a 3-mile Beast on the Bay trial run on Sunday, I can say with every confidence — it’s going to be worth every freaking buck.

Open up your checkbooks and chalk it up to a good cause (the Barber Center) and one bad@#$ hometown opportunity. This is one race you aren’t going to want to miss.**

First impressions

First impressions count and from their first press conference to the race’s website to this weekend’s trial run (and the very detailed instructions/Parking map/course map we received in advance), race organizers have impressed me wholeheartedly.

These people have their stuff together. This is going to be a first-class race and it’s going to go smoothly and flawlessly. I am in awe of the amount of planning and effort that has already went into this race, a race that is not happening until September, mind you. (Heck, I direct a race a few weeks later and I don’t even have my application done yet).

The very fact that they hosted a test run is testimony to the every-detail-thought-out event that you can expect.  Event organizers wanted to test their registration and bag-drop process, they wanted to make sure the wave times were going to work, and they wanted to try a few of the planned obstacles.

There were more than 50 area runners on Sunday morning who were willing to be the Beast’s guinea pigs.  And, they’ve got the bruised and scraped forearms and bloody knees to prove it.

It’s going to be a beast

Folks, this is going to be a tough race. It is being designed by Erie athlete and former Navy SEAL, John Walker, who, based on my experience yesterday, is not going to go easy on our civilian candy a@#$es.

It’s going to be a challenge. I don’t care if you run 50Ks or 100Ks, running miles on sand and pulling yourself up and over three 10-foot (?) storage boxes with nothing more than a rope and a hand, if you’re lucky, from a strong guy on top, is going to stretch your physical limits.

The little beast trial run

The trial run started at Waldameer. Waves of runners went off every 10 minutes. We ran down to beach no. 1 and were directed onto the sand just after the condos across from Sara’s.  SAND. (Yep…prepare yourself now).  We ran over a few natural obstacles — sand-stick-stone hills, a driftwood-strewn obstacle and up and over at least a half dozen sand mounds.

Then, we came to the metal storage boxes with ropes dangling from the top. Three in a row. And we had to get up and over them — twice  (it was an out and back course). These were definitely the most challenging obstacle on Sunday and they left most runners, including yours truly, with bruised, swelled and bloodied forearms and knees.  Getting down was almost harder than getting up.

If you think I’m complaining, you’ve never done an adventure race.  War wounds are expected and, frankly, I think most participants would be disappointed if they didn’t have bruises to show off and brag about the next day (see my photos below! ) .

The turn around consisted of about 9,567 tires (well, it seemed that way) that you had to high-step it through.

There were water stops, an enthusiastic and crowd-rallying DJ, an entire photo/video crew, a costumed mascot, and a mini party, complete with bananas, granola bars, water, free “Beast on the Bay” tumblers, and beer at the finish line.  And, THAT was just for the “test” run.

The verdict

This is a don’t-miss event if you’re the type who likes a challenge and isn’t afraid to get a little banged up to get your kicks.

Want more opinions?

Ask any of these people who battled the Beast on Sunday.

A few lousy photos

Here are a few photos I took. I’m sure there will be many, many more photos of this event based on the five-man crew Erie photographer, and runner, Rob Frank from Rob Frank Photography had there. UPDATE: There are now 284 photos here.

**  There are a few types of people I’d recommend miss this race: pregnant women, kids, those who aren’t physically fit and/or don’t run, runners who don’t want to get injured (or take the risk of getting injured), and those who are planning to run the Erie Marathon the next week because you will get banged up, bruised and bloodied and one week before your “big race” is a really bad time to do that.

 Worth Reading

* Jezebel: The People Who Watch Marathons

“One of the many puzzling aspects of yesterday’s attacks was the question of what, exactly, the perpetrators thought they’d accomplish by targeting what basically amounts to a celebration of human tenacity. If anything, the tragedy in Boston will further solidify the bond between runner and spectator. And when the Chicago marathon happens this October, I’ll show up to run harder, and they’ll show up to cheer louder. If anyone thought this attack would discourage the runners or the watchers, they’ve clearly never been to a marathon.”

*Washington Post: ‘If you are losing faith in human nature, go out and watch a marathon’

* I’m not even going to pretend to understand this, but I know some of you will and are really into this, so…here you are, eggheads: How to Improve your VO2 Max.

* Short on cross training time. Try this 30-minute bodyweight workout.

 Video of the Week

This guy — Carlin Isles — is jaw-droppingly amazing: (And, why aren’t we into rugby here in the USA — looks like a fun sport to watch!).

Worth Reading

* 12 most annoying types you encounter at the gym. Snicker.  These 12 types of people are why I QUIT the gym and bought a whole crapload of weights and DVDs and workout in my own basement where I don’t have to deal with The Abdominator, The Fishermen, or those Herculass bitches.

* Planning a big-city vacation? Here, according to Outside Magazine, are the best cities for runners. I can vouch for Minneapolis.

What’s the coolest city you’ve ever run in? (post a comment or email me and I’ll include your answer in a Friday Q&A blog post!).

* Running & reading — my two favorite things in life (and, according to Will Smith, they key to life) — are being combined in a unique high school program that features Tim Catalano and Adam Goucher’s Run the Edge book (a worthy read, friends) and culminates with a 5K for students, teachers, staff, and the community.

* What it’s like to direct the Boston Marathon. A first-person account from the race director.

Video of the Week

Run with Ryan Hall. This is awesome, especially when Ryan shows up:

T-shirt of the Week

If you’re going to ride a $4K bike, ride it in style:

Available here for $79.99

Well, well, well…..Erie kicks arse! Our area is nicely represented at this year’s Boston Marathon coming up on Monday, April 15.

Here are the  hometown (and near enough for us to claim them as ours) runners who’ll be going the distance in Beantown:

 The Boston Marathon, like a lot of big marathons, offers a runner alert function that sends either emails or texts regarding the progress of runners during the race.

Worth checking out

* 14 Things Every New Runner Should Know

* Water stop rules

* Why you can’t lose weight (pretty solid stuff here)

* Pondering a switch to minimalist running? Some things to consider.

Just for fun

T-shirt of the Week

Available here for $25

Looking to test your race mettle and maybe even bring home a medal from a place other than Presque Isle State Park? Check out the Spring into Spirit 5K in Edinboro.

Benefitting McKean Elementary School, this 5K fun run/walk is a family-friendly event that begins with a cannon start on the campus of Edinboro University near Sox Harris Stadium.

While some (OK, most of us) runners will treat this as a competitive event, the focus is quite obviously on family & fun. Only the top overall male and female with get awards and there will not be “official” timing, but… there is still tons of good reasons to this race.

Here are the deets (yep, I just said “deets,” cause I’m super-cool like that):

The theme of our event is a spirit run, which is designed to bring the community together through physical activity and team spirit. Each participant will be encouraged to show their team spirit through costumes and apparel and awards will be offered to the most spirited runner or walker.

The 5k fun run/walk event will start at 10:00A.M. on May 4th, 2013. The runners will start at Scotland road and end with one loop on the track.

Due to the nature of the event we will not offer official timing. We will offer prizes to the first male and the female finishers.

Lancer Loop: The Lancer Loop will begin immediately following the 5K event at 11:00 A.M. There will be different age groups and each age group will start the race at a different time. The kids will run a 100m, 200m, or 400m depending on their age. The Lancer Loop will be available to school-aged children, and each participant will receive a prize at the end of their run.

Boro Fitness Frenzy/Event Social – Youth activities will be offered during the 5k fun run/walk and after the youth fun run. A parent/guardian/supervisor must be present with the child during the activities. We will offer a variety of fun activities. The children can go and participate and whatever station they would like. We will offer stations like a parachute game, a hula hoop area, and a dance area. To correspond with our spirit theme; we will have mascots, spirit games, and spirit awards.

The event social and awards ceremony will take place after the kids run. The event social will consist of refreshments, a 50-50 raffle, and continuing with the kids activities.

Date & Time: May 4, 2013
• Same day Registration: 8:30am
• Packet Pickup: 8:45 to 9:45am
• 5K Race: 10:00am
• Kids Race: 11:00am
• Post-Race Social: 11:00am
• Kids events: on-going

Event Pricing
• Kids run (ages 5-12): $7
• 5k participants: $15 for students -$20 for adults
• Late Registration: $25
• Special group pricing: $5 per child with a registered adult; $5 per child with more than one child registered

Online Registration: http://register.bigwhitetrailer.com/search/event.aspx?id=20224

Pre-Registration deadline: April 19th

Premium: Guaranteed only to pre-registration participants. Some may be available on race day.