Category Archives: Running

Running downhill, hiking up

One thing I like about 5Ks: Like snowflakes, no two are alike. That’s not to say they don’t have similarities: they’re all 3.1 miles, for example (usually). This summer’s four-race BluePoints 5K Race Series, for instance, is turning out to be a very fast series. read more

This weekend, celebrate your outdoors independence

You’ll need the extended three-day July 4 weekened to fit in everything going on in North Carolina this weekend.

Coast

North Carolina’s salt marshes offer some of the best paddling in the state. One minute you’ve sweeping views to the mainland or across the Atlantic, the next you’re in a labryinthine waterway weaving amid salt marsh cord grass. It helps to have a guide to show the way — and to explain this coastal habitat. read more

What? No weekend plans? Then make some

To paraphrase a former vice president attempting to paraphrase a popular saying from the ’70s, a June weekend is a terrible thing to waste. So don’t.

Coast

No matter how far you’ve ever walked, I’m guessing you’ve never walked back in time. You can Saturday, on the monthly two-hour historical walking tour through Wilmington’s Oakdale Cemetery. read more

Neuse Greenway on schedule for September opening

The first 8-mile stretch of the Neuse River Greenway in Raleigh is on target to open this September, Raleigh senior greenway planner Vic Lebsock said Thursday.

“Yes, I am,” he replied when asked if he was confident of the late summer opening.

The 8-mile stretch, from Falls of Neuse Road just below the Falls Lake dam south to the WRAL Soccer Complex, is part of the Neuse River Greenway, which will run 28 miles, from Falls Lake dam south to the Johnston County Line. The entire $30 million project is  scheduled to be complete in early 2013. read more

Obstacles are no obstacle for these 5Ks

I wrote the following story for both the Charlotte Observer and The News & Observer; it ran in both papers May 31, 2011. It runs here in an expanded form with links.

They go by names such as the Gladiator, Warrior, Rugged Maniac, Spartan and Tough Mudder. They feature obstacles ranging from mud pits covered by barbed wire to a gauntlet of dangling, live electric wires. To pitch themselves they use adjectives like “grueling” and “insane,” boast that the Navy SEALS and British special forces had a hand in their design, and feature promotional videos of paramedics carting bloodied contestants off the field of battle. read more