10 Ways to Pay It Forward

If you're like me, then sometimes your running becomes a very inward experience. You focus on your training, your eating, your runs, and your cross training or you just use the time to think about work, your family, and money issues, or you just think about absolutely nothing. And there's nothing wrong with that. Nothing at all. Running is probably one of the most therapeutic things (and cheapest forms of therapy) a person can do to help them find balance and stay sane in this hectic world of ours.

However, as a runner, I think it's also good to pay-it-forward. You know, give a little back to your fellow running buddies, to that nice lady you pass on the greenway every Saturday (but don't know her name), to the local running shop that helped you pick out just the right pair of shoes, to various mentors who've inspired you along the way, and to the running community (local or virtual) who have contributed to your running in one way or another.

Listed below are 10 ways during 2010 that you can give back to the running community by paying-it-forward. These are only 10, I'd love to here your ideas too!

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1. Invite that colleague at work, at church, in your civic club that 's asked you about your running, to join you for a run. Go easy and show him/her the ropes.

2. Volunteer to help with a local race. Most will love the help!

3. Take that fellow running buddy who is down in the dumps over his/her training to breakfast or lunch and give him/her a pep talk. Encourage. Inspire. Motivate.

4. Find out the name of that unknown runner you pass each week. Let him/her know how inspiring it is to see him/her on your runs.

5. Listen to your running buddies. Find out more about their running experiences. Did they run in college? Did they just start running last year? A listening ear and a genuine interest can be extremely motivating.

6. Share your favorite running routes and in the process you'll probably learn a few new ones yourself!

7. Volunteer your time with a local youth running and/or track team. See if your local Parks and Recreation Department has a youth running program. If not, maybe you can organize one. Or see if there are any non-profit organizations in your community related to helping get our youth fit, such as GOFAR.

8. Be the debater in your running group. There's nothing like runners talking about "runner stuff." Start up a lively (but intelligent) discussion about the latest new running theory, injury-prevention technique, or the best running form. You'll be surprised how much you and your buddies will learn. Even if you don't all agree, if you all go back and investigate a little further the topics you've discussed while on the run, then you'll all be the better for it.

9. Give back to the community. Hold a shoe drive! You can donate the shoes to your local Goodwill Industries or send them to Soles4Souls who will distribute them to the shoeless around the world.

10. Run for a cause. Whether it's for organized groups like Team in Training and Joints in Motion or just your neighbor down the street that's hit some obstacle in their life, sometimes running for something other than the sake of running can bring a whole new element to your sport while at the same time helping others in need.

A True Crime Read for Runners!

Oh what a tangled web we weave. Are you an avid runner? Are you and avid reader? Do you like mysteries? who-done-its? true-crime? If so, then I have just the book for you.

I'm a lover of fiction and my favorite books tend to be legal thrillers and mysteries, but I've never ventured much into true crime. That is, until I discovered Lynda Drews' new book Run at Destruction. Lynda, a runner and Wisconsin native, has written an in depth account of the shocking and unexpected death of a runner—Pam Bulik—in 1980s small-town Wisconsin.
The plot line of Run at Destruction seems more like a movie of the week than a real-life story. It has all the elements of a Hollywood saga—a small-town setting, a young couple (teachers) devoted to each other and to their love of running, an unfaithful husband, a secret love affair, and a tragic unexplained death.

Runners will really appreciate the way Drews weaves in the ties to the running community. Anyone who's a runner can relate to the tight-knit, loyal support of the running community. This book shows how that support was rocked to its core by the horrific event that befell two of this small community's members.

Without spilling too many beans, Run at Destruction is the story of what appeared to be a loving couple—Pam and Bob Bulik—who were avid runners and very active in the local running community. As in many marriages, something goes awry and Bob seeks the affections of another woman. This story takes a detour when the wife (Pam) is later found dead. The problem is how did she die? Was it accidental? Suicide? Negligent homicide? Premeditated murder?

Instead of merely recounting the events of the case, Drews pulls the readers into the story and into the 1980s heyday of running. While reading the book I had the strongest urge to don a terry-cloth headband, a pair of gym shorts with white piping, and a pair of athletic knee socks with the strips at the top! You see, the reason Drews is able to pull you in with such vivid detail is because she was there. Pam Bulik was Lynda Drews' best friend.

Like a road race, Drews writes in such a way that starts with a steady pace and then ramps it up as she nears the finish. She begins with the disappearance of Pam and takes you all the way to the courtroom drama and sentencing of Pam's husband, Bob. Even though Bob is sentenced, there are still a lot of unanswered questions. You'll have to read the book to answer those questions for yourself.

Newspaper Blog Helps Unite the Local Running Community

My hometown newspaper—The Greensboro News & Record—has recently added a wonderful service for the local running community. Eddie Wooten, the Church and State Team editor for the paper and a runner himself, recently added a running blog titled Running Shorts to the paper's website. Wooten began running in 2003 and has entered and finished 12 marathons, seven half-marathons, two Ultimate Runners, the Blue Ridge Relay and occasional 5Ks and 10Ks. Wooten hopes the blog will bring the running community together by introducing runners to people they see on the local greenways, to some of the elite runners in the area, to people running for various causes, and to people who just want to run. I'm really looking forward to following the blog and learning more about my fellow local runners. (FYI: Greensboro readers, scroll down the right sidebar and you'll find a link for the Running Shorts blog under "Social Network 4Runners" and under "Local Running Services.")

I've been a member of several running social networks such as dailymile, athinks, Runner's Lounge, seriousrunning, etc. These sites have been great for connecting with fellow runners across North Carolina, the US, as well as the world. But until, Wooten's local blog, I never realized all the great info I was missing out on right here in my own backyard. It got me to wondering if there were other newspapers around the country hosting a blog specifically for local runners. My research didn't uncover many community-based running blogs. Most of the newspaper blogs I found featured general fitness posts not particularly aimed at uniting the running community. Kudos to Eddie Wooten and the Greensboro News & Record for being trend-setters! Here's a few of the blogs I did find:

Arizona:

The Arizona Daily Star has recently added a running blog which is part of a bigger website (aznightbuzz.com/running) that includes a calendar of local running and walking events, news, training tips and other information about running in the Tucson area. The blog is geared for all levels of runners and walkers, too.

California:
The Sacramento Bee provides a Health & Fitness Blog for its readers "presenting the latest research on health issues and fitness trends in the region and the nation." A recent post titled "Youth Sports Participation = Emergency Room Visits" points out that 22 percent of hospital emergency department visits are from sports-related injuries of children ages 5 to 17.

New York:

The Post-Standard of Syracuse, NY features a Health & Fitness Blog. This blog features local residents accomplishing their health-related goals as well as providing general fitness and health information. A current post reads "Exercise, calorie counting help Syracuse sisters drop a combined 304 pounds."

Tennessee:

The Knoxville News Sentinel provides a fitness blog that includes all types of fitness-related information including running. A recent posting titled "Running with headphones, or without?" talks about the pluses and minuses of running with headphones in light of a recent Runner's World column about a 17-year-old runner that was struck by a car during a nighttime 5K/10K in Bakersfield, Calif.

If your local newspaper features a blog specifically designed for the local running community, let me know and send me a link. I'd love to check it out. I'm sure Eddie Wooten would too.