Changing Directions

Track runners know exactly where to go: run hard, turn left. I'm more of a cross country runner, where every course is different and you expect twists and turns. You learn to welcome those changes and the challenges they create. Changing directions isn't only necessary, it can be fun too!

This is a year of zigging an zagging for The Sporting Life. Our first event of the year, Irish Run Saint Paul (Sunday, March 24) changed names (it used be called the St Patrick's Day Human Race), headquarters (now Ramsey Jr High in St Paul) and literally changed directions with the course (the new start faces west instead of east). All that makes it almost a new event despite a 40+ year legacy.

Our next event is also on the move. Grand On the Go is evolving from Grand Old Day On the Go, with a date change to Sunday, April 21 (registration opens 2/27/13). When Grand Avenue Business Association (GABA) decided that they no longer wanted the races as part of the Grand Old Day festival, we began to look for alternatives. The event will now be part of a new TSL initiative, in partnership with GABA. Grand 4 Fitness will be a series of health and fitness initiatives up and down Grand Avenue for four days in April (18-21).

Of course change doesn't mean throwing out everything. Irish Run Saint Paul will be covering most of the same terrain as the old route, just in a different order. Teams are back, and it's still part of the MDRA Grand Prix and USATF Minnesota team circuit.We're even bringing back a post race party that had been missing for a few years (details coming soon).

Grand On the Go will feature the familiar course and format (8K skate and run, 5K run/walk and youth run). Teams will be back too.

Zebras on the move

Social media is a great tool to keep up with changes. Be sure to check out or Facebook page and Twitter feed. We'll be coming soon to Pinterest too.

How is 2013 shaping up for you? Any big changes? It isn't always easy, but with the right attitude, changing directions can be fun. Happy zigging!

Turning 40: an event to remember

For runners, turning forty means you've become a Master. Whoever came up with that designation clearly had a marketing background. 'Master' sounds much better than 'middle-aged' the same way 'dried plums' sounds much better than 'prunes.' You've achieved something ('we're dried plums!') rather simply becoming pruney.

Forty is just the start of being a masters runner. You have your fifties, sixties, seventies and beyond to look forward to. For a race, things are a little different. Ten years is remarkable, twenty is rare, thirty is amazing and forty is almost non-existent. Other than the Boston Marathon (116 years and counting), can you name an event that has hit forty?

Minnesota has had a long history of impressive events, but no major race (1000+ participants) has yet hit forty, not Grandma's Marathon, not Get In Gear, not Twin Cities Marathon. That's about to change. Want to attend a special 40th birthday party? Come to Summit Avenue in St Paul on March 18, 2012 for the St Patrick's Day Human Race!

The event that started as the St Patrick's Day Mini-Marathon has been held on Summit Avenue each March since 1973, making the 2012 edition its fortieth. Originally a five-mile run, it now includes an 8K run (4.97 miles), 5K run/walk (3.1 miles) and youth run (0.25 and 0.5 miles).

I have worked the event each year since 1981 and been race director since the late 1980s. It's a humbling experience to guide an event with such an amazing history. I'll write more about that history, but now I'm busy starting to plan a party, and I need your help. What should we add or change about the event that would make it extra special? Something  that you've seen at other events, or something that you've never seen before. Maybe something we are already doing but could do better, or something we used to do and you think we should bring back. Turning 40 is a big deal, and we're ready to shake things up!

We'll collect the ideas and let you help decide which ones we should do. Feel free to spread the word (this isn't a surprise party after all). We want to hear from you, the participants that have made this a great event.

Help us become masters. Leave your ideas in a comment below, or on our Facebook page. The St Patrick's Day Human Race is turning 40 and we're ready to celebrate. Help us make it an event to remember!