Run, paddle, ski in your shorts. They’re all options this weekend.
Coast
It may be too late to sign up (let alone train) for the 2nd Annual Quintiles Wrightsville Beach Marathon, but you’ve probably got at least a 5K in you. Just south of Wrightsville Beach, in Carolina Beach, you’ll find the 7th Annual Steve Haydu St. Patricks Lo-Tide Run benefiting one or more cancer patients and their families. (If you’ve got more than a 5K in you there’s a 10K as well.) Starts on the beach, ends on the beach. Registration starts at 7 a.m., the 10K at 8:45, 5k at 9. $27. Go here for more details.read more
This weekend’s theme for action: Water, in its various forms.
Piedmont
At first blush (a blush suggestive of hypothermia?), the notion of taking a 4-hour kayak trip in 30-degree weather might seem daft. But then, this particular trip is on Belews Lake, which the sponsoring Piedmont Environmental Center notes, “being a power plant lake [Duke Energy] where water is used to cool energy-producing turbines, the heated water … is much warmer than ambient air temperatures. The result is a three-foot deep blanket of warm air — perfect for the kayaker!”read more
I’ve been following the schizophrenic Christmas weather forecasts as closely as anyone. In part, because I love a white Christmas and haven’t seen one since the Denver blizzard of ’82. I’m also keeping a close watch to see whether I should dig out the cross-country skis (in the event of 6 inches or more), the sled (a minimum of 3 inches), or the hiking boots (a photogenic dusting).read more
Last week, according to SkiSoutheast.com, between 18 and 22 inches of snow fell in North Carolina’s high country, more snow is falling (Ski Beech reported 9 inches of new snow overnight), and snow is expected to fall throughout the week. That’s good news for the state’s downhill ski industry, although cold temperatures alone is enough to make ski areas and their sophisticated snowmaking operations happy. The true benefactors of this ongoing dump of Mother Nature’s own?read more