The Carnival of the Runners

Welcome to the first-ever of the Carnival of the Runners, a weekly roundup of the best running-related posts in the blogosphere!

Think you’re not tough enough to run a marathon? “Brooklyn“, a 33-year-old runner with Cystic Fibrosis, didn’t think he was either.

If you’d have asked him about running one a year ago, his reply would have been, “when pigs fly!”

But watching thousands of runners stream by him on the streets of Brooklyn last November during the NYC Marathon stirred something inside of him.

“God, it’d be neat to do that, he thought. No, not neat. Great! Fantastic! I could never do that. Could I?

He could and he did!

On Sunday, Brooklyn finished Cincinatti’s Flying Pig Marathon.

He says the power of prayer helped him pull through, but I’m betting all those miles in the Prospect Park had something to do with it, too…

Kara also ran the race in 4:46 — a PR by 45-minutes! — and says she’d recommend it to anyone.

Meanwhile, California, running reporters Jon Segal and Ken Ottmar finished the Big Sur Marathon last weekend and are tasting the post-race blues. “Yeah, I still walk around my house with my Big Sur International Marathon medal around my neck,” writes Jon. “Just yesterday, I forgot that I was wearing it and left the house with it on.”

Earlier, Jon said running a marathon is something anyone could do. “I’m ready for the run,” he wrote. “It’s not because I’m talented or especially athletic. It’s because I got off my butt and ran the miles.”

Mad triathlete Beast took on the Leatherman’s Loop 10K last weekend, running through what sounds like the craziest course ever. He battled with mud that sucked off his shoes while fording streams and climbing slippery rocks to meet the challenge.

“Walking around after the finish was quite a spectacle,” he writes. “Everyone was covered from head to toe in mud and several runners had ice packs on their ankles.”

The Running Chick with the Orange Hat took the time to write a cool thank-you letter to running for all it has done for her, while Chelle ponders her 25-year love affair with the sport.

Don urges runners not to get caught up in what their coach, guru or parents say — take responsibility for your running career.

Alison wasn’t flattered when a strange guy pacing her remarked, “You’re the fastest woman I’ve ever encountered in Central Park.” (Probably not a smart thing to say, unless you’re Paul Tergat!). She wonders what guys who sprint to catch up to her have to prove…
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To be included in next week’s Carnival, email your link to running {at} derekrose.com