Continue reading »]]> It has been a while since I have updated the site.  Busy at work, having new baby, taking the winter off from running and my Garmin breaking on me has hampered my progress on this site.  I apologize to those who have sent me races to add and comments on the site.  I appreciate the input from everyone and I will get back to regular posts and trail maps soon.

In the meantime, I have updated the What to Wear page so that it is working correctly again.  Please let me know if you find any issues with it.  I have tuned this to my preferences, so if you run hotter or cooler than me, please adjust the temperature accordingly.

You can find the new and updated What to Wear page here.

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Button Down Dash Logo

Toss your coat and tie, kick-off your wingtips, and get ready for a low-risk, high-reward race down Sugarloaf Parkway at the Gwinnett Chamber’s inaugural Button Down Dash Presented by Gwinnett Medical Center on August 11. Join us for this early morning run as Gwinnett races to become the healthiest community in the country.

The 5k/10k run – benefiting local charities Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Dream House for Medically Fragile Children and Gwinnett Medical Center Foundation – is designed to encourage positive competition among businesses, co-workers, friends and family. Following the race, value-added festivities at the finish line will keep everyone in good spirits.

Sponsorship deadline to be included on the T-shirt is Wednesday, July 25.

Race Day Info:
Saturday, August 11, 2012
6:30 am – Registration / 7:30 am – Race
Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce
6500 Sugarloaf Parkway, Duluth, GA 30097

Course Map:

Button Down Dash – Course Map

Continue reading »]]> Date: Friday, September 14 – Saturday, September 16, 2012

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Gridiron Trail Rush

Gridiron Trail Rush – 5k Race
This is a football-themed trail run with obstacles
August 25, 2012 at 8:00am
Georgia International Horse Park – Conyers, GA

This is a one-of-a-kind trail running event with fun football themed obstacles. Run our 5k trail run with a GTR football and make your way through a banner entry, tackling dummies, agility poles, creek run, mud pit, tires, hay piles and a whole lot more with an end-zone finish line. We are currently designing new obstacles this year. And of course — be sure to wear your favorite college or pro colors and enjoy a fabulous after-party. Bring your family and friends to cheer you on, challenge your rivals, and challenge yourself to discover who is really #1!

I’m posting this race on request from Eric Snell. If you have a race that you would like me to feature on this website, please drop me a line.

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5k Run for a Better Athens

Head on out to Athens, Saturday, June 9th for a nice 5k run.  Race starts at 8:30am.

Take a run around Athens historic Oconee River District! Registration entitles you to food, drink, music and a wonderful route winding through the Oconee River Greenway and Heritage Trail! Athens Running Company will provide official times. And there will be wonderful prizes!

Start Location

Jittery Joe’s Roaster, 780 E Broad St, Athens, Georgia 30601

Registration
Purchase of this ticket entitles you to a race bib, food, drink, music, and a wonderful run through Athens historic Oconee River District! Click here for more information: https://www.wepay.com/events/5k

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65th Air Force Anniversary 5K and Half Marathon

I love feedback on my website!  It lets me know that at least people are reading this and have an interest.  I received a request from Tia Pike to add here event to my race calendar.  I wanted to not only express my appreciation to Tia for her request to ad to the site, but also encourage others to add their events to my calendar.  So – to make this “official” if you leave feedback or drop me a note, I will not only add your event to my calendar, but also build a blog post to describe the event.  Please leave a link or enough info for me and I will post your event.  Thanks Tia!

This race is for the 65th Air Force Anniversary and takes place at the Museum of Aviation in Warner Robbins.  Both races begin at the Museum of Aviation. The 5k is a flat, paved course. Water will be available at the start/finish and the halfway mark. The half-marathon will be a combination of paved roads and shaded, dirt trails. Plenty of hydration stations will be in place along the route.

For detailed information about this race and to register, please visit their website at: http://www.racerpal.com/races/AirForce65.html

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Finish line of the Peachtree Road Race

Registration is now open for the 43rd annual Peachtree Road Race. This is the largest 10k race in the world and there are 60,000 slots available. The course starts at Lenox mall and takes you through Buckhead, past Piedmont Hospital, through Midtown and ends in Piedmont park. Registration does not guarantee you a spot this year and runs through March 22nd. You will be entered into a “lottery” to get your number, so good luck to everyone! I hope to see you there!

Click Here for Registration: http://www.ajc.com/sports/peachtree-road-race/

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Vickery Creek Running Trail Map

Vickery Creek is one of the largest parks in the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area group of parks. It is a huge park (about 254 acres) and had lots of trails. Some are pretty steep hills, most are single-track, but there are trails where you can run side-by-side as well. You can run for miles out here without seeing anyone. It seems that most people just don’t run here compared to the other parks.

Vickery Creek can be a fun place to run – if you know where you’re going. I went over here without reviewing the trail maps and ended up going down a trail that was closed. Instead of turning back, I decided to try to go around the closed area and ended up hiking through the woods for a while. Climbing up hills covered in foliage does not make for a fun time. Fortunately, I made it back onto the path and kept on going.

Big Creeks winds through the park as well.  As you run through, you will see lots of vantage points to stop and admire the view.  There is a dam  that is really cool – make sure to stop and check it out.  This also seems to be a “make-out” point for teenagers.  I seem to startle a couple of them every time I am running through.

I highly recommend Vickery Creek for nice, quiet trail runs with some hills and not a whole lot of traffic.

Click here for the official trail map: Vickery Creek – Official Trail Map

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Barefoot Running

After a long run the other day on the Silver Comet Trail, for some reason I decided to take off my shoes and run another half mile barefoot.  I’m not even sure what inspired me to do this, but I took off my shoes and socks, left them on a bench and took off.  In a strange way, it almost felt like jumping into the ocean naked.

It was January, so I could feel the cold wind between my toes and although the asphalt of the Silver Comet roughed up the skin on my feet, the cold helped numb them up.  I was skeptical at first, but as I ram further, I could definitely understand why barefoot runners are so into this.  Running on the front part of your foot forces you to turn over faster and take shorter strides.  You actually feel like you’re running faster – and according to my watch – I was!

As I got back to the parking lot, I could feel gravel and pebbles beneath my feet and you really have to watch where you step.  As a distance runner, I like to keep my head up and look forward, but it truly impossible to do barefoot – you have to keep your eyes in front of you to avoid rocks, glass, dog poop, etc.  I knew that if I wanted to run barefoot again, I would have to be on a well paved road or trail, build up the skin on my feet or get some of those “barefoot shoes”.

The next day, my legs were sore in ways they never had been before.  I had no pain in my knees but my calves were on fire!  I could tell that all of the stress of pavement pounding was absorbed by my calves and not jarring my knees anymore.  I knew I had to try it again…

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Gold Branch Trail Map

The Gold Branch trail is part of the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area system.  It is a nice, quiet loop of single-track trails through a heavily wooded area.  The trail curves down to Bull Sluice Lake and follows the edge of the lake for a good distance.  There are great views here and it is a great place to escape the city.

The parking lot is off Lower Roswell Rd and is easy to miss.  Once you park you will see the trail-head at the corner of the lot heading down into the woods.  There are maps posted intermittently throughout the park, but this one will give you a good idea of the layout.  There are great lake views, swamp areas, boardwalks and wooded paths.

There are a total of about 5 miles of trails here and some are more clearly marked than others.  I found it was easy to follow a nice, well groomed trail straight into a very narrow trail around rocks and trees next to the lake.  It is a great place to do some trail running, but watch out for roots and rocks.

Here are the “official” trail maps for the Gold Branch Unit:

Gold Branch Unit – Official Trail Map