You may have noticed some colorful runners through downtown a few weeks ago.

You witnessed the result of a new running fad called COLOR RUNS. I want to spread the love about both organizations (The Color Run hosted the event in Seattle on May 13) but CMY5K is hosting another run 5,000-runner event on August 12, 2012 in Magnuson Park.

There’s not much more to say about it. Where white, run a 5K and get coated with (non-harmful) clouds of colorful powdery goodness. Through each color zone, you’ll get covered in a different color:

• 1K-cyan
• 2K-magenta
• 3K-yellow
• 4K-green
• 5K-a combination of all colors

According to the website, “CMY5K  is the running equivalent of Dorothy’s house landing on the Wicked Witch. Waves of virginal white runners and walkers will start every 3-5 minutes. Then, at each kilometer, CMY5K staff and volunteers will powder participants in Color Splash Zones.” Basically you end up looking like this:

Photo courtesy of CMY5K

REGISTER HERE NOW BEFORE IT SELLS OUT!

Sunday is going to be a busy day for group athletic adventures and fun. With the 17th riding of the Haul Ash Redhook Tour De Brew there’s no doubt the Burke Gilman Trail is going to a freeway of bikers and an occasional traffic jam of strollers, skateboards and joggers. Well, tack on to that the 30th annual Beat the Bridge 8K run taking place in the University/Montlake area and you have a recipe for biker runner soup.

The event consists of an 8k run and wheelchair race, 4-mile walk, 1-mile fun run, and diaper derby for toddlers.  The event is called Beat the Bridge because the University Bridge is raised during the race and the goal is to BEAT the raising of the bridge.  Have no fear, if you don’t beat the bridge, there is a band and prizes for those who get caught.  After a few minutes, the bridge goes back down, allowing everyone to finish.

Although online registration has closed, you can still register for Beat the Bridge in person on Saturday, May 19 from noon 5:00 p.m. or on Sunday, May 20 starting at 6:45 a.m. The registration area is in parking lot E18, located off Montlake Blvd just north of the Alaska Airlines Arena.Beat the Bridge to Beat Diabetes is a fundraiser for JDRF, the largest nongovernmental contributor of research to cure, treat, and prevent type 1 diabetes (T1D).

Hope to see you out at one of these events this weekend – or at least dodging riders on the Burke.

With our summer sadly winding down, there are still a few ways you can take advantage of the outdoors, while giving something back to your community. There is a wonderful volunteer opportunity for women in King County and the surrounding areas called Girls on the Run. Girls on the Run is an after school program for elementary school girls in 4th-6th grade. The girls gather together with their “team” two days a week for ten weeks to learn about being healthy, positive young women, all while getting excercise and training for the end of the year 5k!

There are still a few coaching opportunities available for women in the North Seattle area, or those who are willing to travel there. I’m actually coaching this year up in Lake Forest Park!! HOWEVER, if you are like most people, and don’t have a ton of time to give, I’d like to suggest you sign up to be a Running Buddy!

A Running Buddy’s commitment is very low. The duties simply involve being paired with one of the young participants and running (or walking in some instances) alongside them during the 5k. This is a rewarding volunteer opportunity, as you’re able to personally ensure these girls complete their goal that they’ve been working toward for the past 10 weeks, and make sure they have a great time doing it! The program has approximately 350 girls participating this season, and needs that many Running Buddies to accommodate!

If this sounds like something you are interested in, please go to the following link and sign up. And who knows, maybe you’ll just have so much fun that you’ll decide to coach in subsequent seasons.

If you have any questions, visit their website, or feel free to shoot me an email. I look forward to seeing some of you at the 5k!

Many Seattleites have already been gearing up for the two big Seafair weekends of the summer with the Seafair Pirates landing on Alki Beach a few weeks ago and the Annual Pirate’s Booty Seafair Milk Carton Derby.

Things really get heated up this Saturday, July 30 with the Seafair Torchlight run at 6:30pm and parade at 7:30pm through downtown Seattle. The Seattle Sounders’ own Drew Carey is the Grand Marshall of the parade so gather you blankets and chairs and get downtown early to stake out your viewing place.

The next weekend, August 6-7 Seafair Weekend is actually where it’s at. Hydroplane races, the Blue Angels, Fleet Week and  hopefully lots of sun. Viewing for the Blue Angles is limitless, you can pretty much be anywhere on or around Lake Washington and get a glimpse, and certaily hear, the six U.S. Navy aircraft. The whole weekend is chalk full of entertainment stages, exhibits and activities, beer gardens and food. I’m pretty sure no one sleeps in Seattle during this weekend.

I just saw the Seafair Pirates last night heading out of town in their trusty ship, “Moby Dick” and they promised two weekends full of fun Seattle style. No really, I was stopped at a crosswalk downtown and had a little chat with two of them. This is a true story. So… don’t miss out!

You may recall my adventure of the Ragnar Relay this past summer…the 187-mile, 12-person relay from Blaine, Wash. to Whidbey Island? Well the mother of all running relays, where it all started, is the Hood to Coast down in Oregon. One that I aspire to do some day. And one smart soul made a documentary of the hilly run from Timberline Lodge on Oregon’s Mount Hood to the beach in Seaside, Ore., it’s the world’s largest relay, with 15,000 participants.

I’ll be there with bells on!

Photo credit: Seattle Jingle Bell Run website

Usually a figure of speech but literally, this Sunday, December 12, I will be there with bells on. Bells on my tennis shoes that is! At the Seattle Jingle Bell Run/Walk 2010.

Starting at Westlake Center and winding through downtown, this 5K run benefits the Arthritis Foundation makes it’s 26th annual appearance to get runners, walkers, adults, kids and elves in the holiday spirit and raise money for one of the nation’s leading causes of disability. Indiviual and team enteries were encouraged to drum up donations and sponsors for the event. So far $502,803 (as of this morning)  has been raised toward a goal of $750,000! Every single runner counts, in this case.

And it’s not too late to register. While online registration is now closed, you can register on Saturday, December 11 between 10am – 4pm at North Seattle Community College in the College Center building at the Baxter Events Center, or on Sunday starting at 6:45am inside Westlake Center on the third floor.  Registration fee for adults is $30 on Saturday and increases to $40 on Sunday.

The morning is chalk full of fun pre-race events for kids and adults including a photo booth and costume contest. And, of course, for the adults the event concludes at the Widmer Brothers Holiday Cheer (beer) Garden!

Here’s the full schedule:

• 6:45 a.m. – Last Minute Registration & Will Call open
• 7:00 a.m. – On the Edge Images Photo Booth opens
• 8–8:30am – Warm 106.9 Costume Contest judging (Warm 106.9 booth)
• 8:20 a.m. – Children’s 1k Run with the Elves
• 8:30 a.m. – Meet the 2010 Honorees (stage)
• 8:45 a.m. – Last Minute Registration & Will Call close
• 8:50 a.m. – Rudolph Runners race wave (red bibs)
• 9:00 a.m. – Dasher Dashers race wave (green bibs)
• 9:10 a.m. – Santa Striders race wave (white bibs)
• 9:15 a.m. – Widmer Brothers Holiday Cheer Garden opens

For more answers to your questions see the event FAQ here.

Now, I’m sure there are a wide range of Thanksgiving traditions out there that people have been doing with their families or their friends or their cats (if they don’t have family or friends).  I am also pretty sure that approximately 99% of those lovely traditions involve in some way stuffing yourself with various foodstuffs until you absolutely can’t stuff any more.  This is why I was a bit surprised to find when perusing the Seattle Times weekend event calendar there were eight Thanksgiving themed running events listed for both this weekend and next.  And those are just the ones the Seattle Times published so I’m sure there are even more.

This means that from Lakewood to Green Lake and beyond people run as part of their Thanksgiving celebration.  Now, I should mention that I do NOT run…unless I’m being chased by a bear, or a mountain lion, or a mugger, or, well, I think you get the picture.  I do not enjoy running.  I am sure that is partly because of my lack of inshapeness and aversion to most forms of excercise.  More than anything I think it may have been the public humiliation of having to run in class in grade school and coming in second to last (there was usually at least one kid who was walking just to be difficult, or because they had asthma).  The point is, trauma or not, I do not like to run.

I still find it somewhat odd that a holiday generally dedicated to gluttony has so many athletic events.  Of course most of them are for a good cause.  The Seattle Turkey Trot benefits the Ballard Food Bank and the Wobble to Gobble 5K Fun Run/Walk benefits the Auburn Riverside Mentorship Program.    I suppose if you’re using running as a way to give a little on Thanksgiving, then that makes sense.

Also, since running isn’t inherently Thanksgivingy some of the events have added elements to make them a little more festive.  The Norpoint Turkey Trot (for some reason half of them are “Turkey Trot”) is having a contest for best Turkey costumes.  Because really the only ting better that running, is running while looking like an ass in a bulky turkey costume.  By far the most confusing Thanksgiving/running event is the Green Lake Gobble & Mashed Potato Munch Off which combines running and competitive eating.  (Thankfully the mashed potato eating contest is AFTER the running otherwise I imagine there would have also been a spirited vomiting contest.)

So if for some reason you like to run and want to support some nice charities along the way sign up for one of this or next weekends events.  Or perhaps if you hate running but feel the need to punish yourself because you ate too much turkey you can also sign up.  Either way I’m sure they will be thankful for your support.

Hands-down one of the most awesome races/relays/family activities in Seattle is creeping up on us. And just in the nick of time to help us detox from this crazy warm weather we’re having in November- if this is La Nina, then I’ll take it.

Gather your friends, co-workers, family, and any one else looking to have a great time (and perhaps burn some calories too) and participate in the Winter Pineapple Classic 2010. Strap on your grass skirt, secure your coconuts and hang on to your pineapples (literally) because this is no ordinary jog around the park.

The hawaiian themed team event is on Saturday, November 13, 2010, first wave of participants starts at 9:00 A.M. The race is at new venue this year to accommodate additional parking and adequate space to set up the 3-mile-long obstacle course (Mountain Meadows Farm: 10106 422nd Lane SE, North Bend, WA 98045 Map). Your team, carrying a pineapple, is timed as you complete a 5k run with obstacles dispersed throughout the course. You will need your teammates to help complete some obstacles.

Have a little fun with this one, dress up, get dirty, laugh and celebrate the island life without even getting on a plane.

Fees are $60/individual, $105/2-person team, and $185/4-person team.  Please categorize your team as either Honu (Hawaiian for turtle — teams that plan to walk), Wiki (Hawaiian for fast — teams that plan to run), or Kekoa (Hawaiian for warrior — teams that plan to win this race).

Register teams as:

• Teams of two or four in single gender or co-ed teams.
• King Kamehameha teams are 2-person teams over 400 lbs or 4-person teams over 800 lbs.

Awards will be given to the fastest teams in all categories and prizes will be given for Best Aloha Spirit (costume).

The Winter Pineapple Classic happens rain or shine, so while we’re being spoiled now with gorgeous fall weather, be like a Washingtonian and bring a change of warm clothes, just in case.

The Winter Pineapple Classic benefits the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society whose mission is to find a cure for leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma and to improve the quality of life for patients and their families.

So, being an American and unfortunately nonathletic, I have never been much of a soccer fan.  I feel like when I was a kid we were just at the beginning of every little kid playing soccer at some point.  I did not play soccer.  It’s probably mostly because there isn’t really a way to get away from all the running.  I’m not a fan of running.  Unless of course you are the goalie, in which case you don’t have to run much, but you do have to voluntarily stand in front of a net and have other people (far more athletic people) kick a ball at you face.  Playing goalie always seemed lose-lose to me.  If I stop it, I get hit with the ball, but if I don’t get hit with the ball I don’t stop it.  See, lose-lose.  What I’m saying is that soccer is for athletic people.  It’s not like baseball where it’s possible to have a beer belly and still be an All Star pitcher.

Anyway, the point is that I have never really gotten in to soccer.  So, when Seattle got a soccer team I mostly ignored it.  I like sports a lot, especially baseball, but I just couldn’t muster any excitement for soccer.  However, when Liezel suggested we actually go to a game this year I was game.  (You may have noticed Liezel write about the Sounders once or twice…or more) So I tossed on a green sweater (that was the best I could do, gear wise) and she and I went to watch the Sounder’s battle the Columbus Crew for the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.  I really wish I had a better understanding of the soccer system to really understand what that meant.  But I know we won it (for the second year in a row)and it was a lot of fun.

The Sounders in all their highlighter yellow glory!

Since I don’t follow soccer the whole system seems a little confusing.  There are regular season games and games against teams from other countries and “friendlies” and other games that also seem to have no meaning and I just haven’t spent any time trying to figure it out.  I think I will need to go to a few more games to really get energized enough to follow them if I’m not there.  The Sounders are sort of a Seattle sports anomaly as well.  They have a bunch of fans fright off the bat, they seem to actually win things occasionally and I’m pretty sure they shrunk Drew Carey (part owner of the Sounders if you didn’t know).

So, if you’d like to support a Seattle team that actually wins occasionally, check out the sounders.  www.soundersfc.com

Deadlines, deadlines, deadlines. That’s certainly one thing, thanks to my profession, that runs my life. The word might scare some, but I think of it as being given the opportunity to procrastinate up until the last minute… most of the time when I do my best work.

Well not in the case of running, I wouldn’t recommend such theory if you’re planning on participating in this year’s 2010 Seattle Marathon (or half). But training is only part of the commitment. The DEADLINE for signing up for this glorious (?) run at a non-escalated price (really, $85 to run 13.1! I’d rather buy shoes) is approaching. Sign up by next Friday, October 15 and save up to $15 on registration. Prices go up after that.

Register here: http://www.seattlemarathon.org/marathon/register.htm

While it’s one of the more challenging runs in the area to do, courtesy of Seattle’s “rolling” hills, it is one of the more enjoyable runs to do when it comes to weather conditions and scenery. In recent years, the Sunday following the Thanksgiving holiday has been dry and mild (except for that year that it snowed!). The race begins on 5th Avenue between Harrison and Mercer Streets, east of the Experience Music Project. And you can’t beat the view of downtown Seattle and Lake Washington as you’re trudging through your last mile.

There are perks to this pain: All Marathon and Half Marathon run and walk participants receive a Saucony long-sleeved technical fabric shirt and goody bag . Finishers receive a finisher’s medal, certificate of completion, result issue, and individual care, both on the course and following—including food, beverage, space blanket, and availability of medical care, acupuncture, massage and chiropractic care. Prior to the race, take part in the expo and carbo load dinner at the Westin Hotel on the Saturday before the run.

Sign up soon, make the commitment! If you even dabble in running on the occasional weekend, this is a goal that is totally attainable and will be an accomplishment that you’ll be proud of.