Running commentary

The New Year, perhaps along with our unseasonably mild weather, appears to have inspired a number of locals to get out on the trail, either for the first time or in increased numbers.

I feel almost proud to report that I have run every single day of 2010 through the seventeenth, bumping my weekly total up to 25 miles as of January 16.

I have my first race of 2010 planned for the end of February and hope some other Sisters folks will journey over the mountains to join me for the February 27 Buck Mountain Mudslinger Run at Silver Falls State Park.

It's touted as a 6.5-mile hilly race that is guaranteed to leave finishers wet and muddy. It looks like a few of the Sisters High School cross country team members plan to give it a try along with Sisters Athletic Club's Tate Metcalf, masters runner Rhonda Townsend Schantz, and some of the Kanzig clan. Information on the race, including how to register, is available at http://www.runwildadventures.com.

Training run open to all:

With the trails clear and a race to prepare for, my wife and I checked out one of our favorite courses Saturday, west of Tollgate, and found it in surprisingly good shape; so much so that we hope to do it again this weekend and thought we should invite anyone that wants to join us. Meet at the tennis court in Tollgate at 9 a.m. on Saturday, January 23. If it snows a bunch, bring your cross country skis and we'll improvise!

The course heads directly west of Tollgate, crosses Cold Springs Cutoff Road and continues west briefly before intersecting a cinder road that runs uphill for a couple of miles before meeting the Windigo Trail, that leads back to Cold Springs Campground.

From there a Forest Service road points back toward Tollgate.

The route is estimated to be right around nine miles.

Since I am still in very slow mode, I plan to bring up the rear, but will mark the course a bit ahead of time to help make sure the leaders can find their way.

If you'd like to let me know you are coming, feel free to e-mail me at [email protected]

A proposed new race in Sisters will benefit the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at St. Charles Medical Center.

The first annual "Baby, I Love You" race, benefitting the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at St. Charles, is tentatively scheduled for Saturday, February 13 at Sisters High School. The eight-kilometer (4.98-mile) course will include paved, dirt, and gravel roads. Official announcement of the race will come within the next week if final details come together.

Weekly community training runs proposed:

Talk around town suggests that some local runners would like to organize a weekly run schedule. Send me your suggestions for a meeting place and time, and I'll do what I can to promote it. Once summer arrives, the cross country team will publish its schedule, which is open to all ages.

Running with cougars:

The recent cougar sighting in Tollgate, literally right behind my house, altered my level of comfort of running out my back gate, at least for a day or two.

I had to remind myself that statistics are definitely on my side, and that I needed to remain mindful of avoiding running alone at dawn or dusk in the woods. However, it's not as though this latest pair of cougars suddenly dropped out of outer space or that it's not far more dangerous for me to run along the road with cars zipping past. We share the forest with the cougars, hopefully peacefully. I do hope that my respect for their majesty is equal to their desire to leave me alone, however. Let's all be safe out there.